Former Whatcom County Health and Community Services director Erika Lautenbach has filed a tort claim against the county seeking $1.5 million in damages, alleging sex discrimination, hostile work environment and retaliation by county executive Satpal Sidhu.
The tort claim was filed with Whatcom County Council requesting compensation for the alleged damages. Washington state law requires notice of the tort claim 60 days before a lawsuit can be filed against a county.
County council privately discussed litigation threatened against the county in an August 26 executive session and took no action.
Lautenbach was terminated on March 19 after serving nearly five years as director of the county’s third-largest department. She was appointed to the position in March 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and oversaw significant expansion of services, including the Response Systems Division, Healthy Children’s Fund and severe weather shelters.
The tort claim, filed by Carney Badley Spellman law firm, details a pattern of alleged discriminatory behavior by Sidhu beginning with her 2020 interview. According to the claim, when Lautenbach mentioned she was remodeling her kitchen, Sidhu responded, “Ah, the kitchen, a woman’s palace,” leaving both Lautenbach and deputy executive Tyler Schroeder uncomfortable.
The claim alleges that tensions escalated in early 2025 when Lautenbach participated in a controversial panel hearing regarding former public works director Dr. Jon Hutchings, who faced sexual harassment allegations. As the only woman on the panel, Lautenbach felt pressured to vote that Hutchings had not committed sexual harassment, despite her concerns about the process.
Following her participation in a subsequent council investigation into Hutchings, the claim alleges Sidhu became increasingly hostile toward Lautenbach. The document details multiple confrontations, including a January 17 meeting at a coffee shop where witnesses allegedly observed Sidhu behaving aggressively and forcing Lautenbach to sit beside him rather than across the table.
“This interaction was deeply embarrassing and humiliating to Ms. Lautenbach, as she saw several people she knew there, who likely witnessed Mr. Sidhu’s behavior,” the tort claim states.
The claim also alleges that Sidhu made an inappropriate request for VIP treatment for his wife visiting the emergency room and that Lautenbach reported hostile work environment concerns to multiple officials, including councilmember Jon Scanlon, Sheriff Donnell Tanksley and HR director Melissa Keeley.
Lautenbach took paid family and medical leave February 10-21, 2025 for mental health issues related to the alleged hostile work environment. She was placed on administrative leave March 5 and given less than 24 hours to consider a separation agreement before the deadline was extended to March 10. Despite her legal right to 21 days to consider the agreement as an employee over 40, she was terminated March 19.
The county cited “a failure to provide accurate and complete budget information” and other performance concerns as reasons for her termination, allegations Lautenbach disputes.
Lautenbach has since been appointed chief administrative officer at the state Department of Children, Youth and Families, where she will oversee the 6,000-person organization’s administrative functions at a salary of $194,772.
In a statement by county spokesperson Jed Holmes provided to The Northern Light, he said, “The executive’s office stands by its decision to fire Lautenbach and strongly denies all allegations that Ms. Lautenbach was illegally dismissed.”
“The county will vigorously defend against Ms. Lautenbach’s claims related to her termination, and we look forward to the truth coming to light through the appropriate legal channels,” Holmes told the newspaper.
