PUNXSUTAWNEY — Punxsutawney Borough has settled a $25,000 discrimination lawsuit with its former manager Robert “Toby” Santik.
The Punxsutawney Borough Council, at its regular meeting on May 12, 2025, approved the settlement agreement for “docket number 2:24-CV-01684,” the civil case between Santik and the borough.
According to the civil action lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District Court of Pennsylvania, dated Dec. 11, 2024, Santik, of Punxsutawney, served as Punxsutawney Borough manager until his termination on April 14, 2023. Santik claims that he began facing “retaliatory actions after collaborating with the borough and borough police officers to prevent age discrimination and ensure compliance with the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the parties in September 2022.” Santik believed that the new CBA with borough police officers “unfairly targeted older employees by threatening their sick time, unless they retired early.”
The complaint states that Santik and the then borough treasurer Emily States-Pearce supported a police officer’s request for confirmation that the borough “would continue to pay his health insurance premiums upon retirement.” Santik claims that he began “facing threats of termination” and “ageist discriminatory statements,” including Councilman Eric Story allegedly asking Santik, “Aren’t you near the age of retirement?”
Santik was 71 years of age at the time he claims he was discriminated against.
However, Santik says in the complaint that he did not receive any formal discipline for his “collaborative efforts to avoid age discrimination between the borough and the police department” until seven months later in 2023. The complaint states the borough secretary fell ill in November 2022, falling behind on submitting accounting reports to the treasurer; on Nov. 21, 2022, two Punxsutawney Borough Council members allegedly threatened to terminate Santik due to the reports being behind. He allegedly helped the borough secretary finalize the reports.
On April 7, 2023, the borough treasurer allegedly made a statement that she and her husband would be attending the next council meeting, and “that her husband would have his gun with him,” the complaint says. Santik informed her this was not proper conduct and recommended she not attend the meeting. She agreed and did not attend.
Santik felt as though “any threat was dissipated based on the borough treasurer’s conduct and demeanor.”
At the borough council meeting held April 10, 2023, a motion was made to suspend Santik for two days without pay for “allegedly modifying the police CBA in September 2022.” The council then voted to terminate Santik’s employment “under the pretext of failing to report an alleged threat made by the borough treasurer to council.”
The borough treasurer who made the alleged threat received a written reprimand at the time. The complaint notes that she is much younger than Santik, 72. It also notes the age of the current borough manager, Bill Spencer, 47.
Santik claims that due to his termination from the borough, he has “suffered lost past and future earnings and benefits, and has experienced emotional pain and suffering.”
Santik also filed a complaint with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission/Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, in which he states, “I believe that my suspension and ultimate termination was because of my age and in retaliation for me advocating for others to receive just pay and other benefits to which they were entitled. I believe that the borough’s justification for my suspension and termination were mere pretext for the borough’s discriminatory behavior and practices.”
Santik’s employment as borough manager began in October 2019, he states in the complaint. He notes the achievements he made during his time in this position, including obtaining a $1 million grant “to build a solar panel farm,” and obtaining grant money for the borough’s computer system.
The settlement/release agreement, obtained by the Courier Express through a right-to-know request, states, “In exchange for, and in consideration of Santik’s execution of this agreement, payment shall be issued in the sum of $25,000,” signed by Santik on May 8, 2025 and Punxsutawney Borough Council President Justin Cameron on May 12, 2025.
A mediation session was held with Punxsutawney Borough and Santik on April 22, 2025, in which this case was resolved, according to court documents.
