Without blaming any constituents or the federal government, independent MP Monique Ryan and her former chief of staff Sally Rugg have reached a settlement in their legal dispute.
In January, Rugg filed a lawsuit for unjust dismissal against the federal Teal MP and the Commonwealth, citing violations of the laws governing political employees’ employment and workplace agreements.
On April 28, three months into the litigation, a deal was surreptitiously negotiated, and Rugg accepted an offer of around $100,000 to drop her claim, according to .
According to reports, each side has agreed to cover their own legal expenses.
Ryan told her the termination would go into effect on January 31 of this year when he inadvertently fired her on December 23 of last year.
A week before her job was set to formally cease, Rugg filed a lawsuit in the Federal Court.
She subsequently asked the Federal Court to grant her request to continue working for Ryan throughout the legal dispute, but the judge rejected her request in March, stating that there was “no prospect whatsoever of a cooperative relationship being restored” between the two.
Rugg formerly oversaw campaigns at GetUp and was the CEO of Change.org before joining Ryan’s office.
