State settles sexual harassment suit for $450,000

CARSON CITY -- The Board of Examiners on Thursday agreed to settle a sexual harassment and wrongful termination complaint filed by a former state employee for $450,000.

Stan Miller, claims manager for the attorney general, recommended the settlement because of the potential for a higher payout at a jury trial that could have totaled $1.3 million if the former employee had prevailed.

The Board of Examiners, made up of Gov. Jim Gibbons, Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto and Secretary of State Ross Miller, approved the settlement for Teri Schloemer, who worked for the Nevada Commission on Tourism.

Schloemer was let go in 2005. She filed a complaint against the state and the agency, which was under the direction of Bruce Bommarito at the time the incident is alleged to have occurred. Bommarito is no longer with the agency or the state.

Bommarito, who took a job with the Travel Industry Association of America in 2006, denied the allegations by Schloemer, who alleged Bommarito required her to travel and dine with him and that he gave her presents, including perfume, jewelry and wine.

A state inquiry cleared Bommarito of wrongdoing, a tourism commission spokeswoman said last year.

Bommarito characterized Schloemer as a disgruntled former employee. She was the commission's North American tour manager until she was fired. She filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Reno in August 2005, which also named the state of Nevada as a defendant.