Age bias lawsuit against U.S. Rep. Duncan settled under controversial 'hush fund'

January 8, 2018 at 1:00 a.m. | Updated January 8, 2018 at 12:58 a.m.

by The Knoxville News Sentinel , Jamie Satterfield

In a Dec. 22, 2011, photograph, U.S. Rep. John J. Duncan Jr. shows off items from his political memorabilia collection in Knoxville, Tenn. The collection was amassed during his 23 years in the U.S. House, and includes items that belonged to his dad, John Duncan Sr., the late Knoxville mayor and congressman. (AP Photo/Adam Brimer, Knoxville News Sentinel)
In a Dec. 22, 2011, photograph, U.S. Rep. John J. Duncan Jr. shows off items from his political memorabilia collection in Knoxville, Tenn. The collection was amassed during his 23 years in the U.S. House, and includes items that belonged to his dad, John Duncan Sr., the late Knoxville mayor and congressman. (AP Photo/Adam Brimer, Knoxville News Sentinel)

If Shirley Taylor had worked for a private employer or a local government when she claimed she was mocked and fired because of her age, she could have sued within two months of filing a complaint with an independent agency.

But Taylor worked for U.S. Rep. John J. Duncan Jr. and faced a barrage of hurdles erected by Congress under a 1995 law now in the national spotlight amid controversy over the payment of secret settlements from a taxpayer-supported fund in sexual harassment claims against members of Congress.

Court records in Taylor's case, filed in 2009 in U.S. District Court in Knoxville, show she ultimately agreed to a settlement which would have been paid from that same fund. How much she was paid remains cloaked in secrecy even though public funds were used, court records show. She can't talk about it. Neither can her attorney.

Read more at our news partner's website, knoxnews.com.

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