A lawsuit involving the mayor of Coupeville has been settled and dismissed.

Documents obtained by the News-Times through a public records request report that Mayor Molly Hughes and the Town of Coupeville paid former clerk treasurer Jennifer Carpenter $285,000 to settle a lawsuit filed in July of 2024.

Neither Hughes nor the town admit any wrongdoing as part of the settlement. According to the lawsuit, Carpenter accused Hughes of physically harassing her and subjecting her to other “discriminatory actions” during her employment and then fired her.

The town’s insurance provider, Washington Cities Insurance Authority, handled the lawsuit and will pay the settlement.

Carpenter formally dismissed the lawsuit in November 2025. As the lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice, Carpenter cannot file the same claim against Hughes in the future.

Hughes did not respond to a request for comment by deadline.

According to the complaint, Hughes allegedly nonconsensually and repeatedly physically touched Carpenter’s “buttocks, shoulders, back, arms and her hair,” which Carpenter found “offensive, unwelcome and harmful.” Through “yelling, inappropriate touching, rudeness and derogatory comments,” Hughes allegedly created a hostile work environment based on gender, the complaint alleges.

Hughes allegedly made “stereotypical comments about women in the workplace,” including comments about women with or planning to have children, and female employees using leave to care for children or attend to “feminine issues,” the suit reads.

Carpenter took paid family medical leave to care for her special needs daughter during her tenure.

Further, Carpenter regularly worked weekends, outside of scheduled work time and more than 40 hours per week without overtime. She alleges Hughes docked pay for and required Carpenter to make up time she missed on paid medical leave. Carpenter also alleges she did not get all of her required mid-shift and lunch breaks.

Carpenter’s male colleagues — also working under Hughes’ supervision — allegedly did not experience this hostile work environment. While on paid leave in 2023, Carpenter complained to a town council member about Hughes’ behavior.

Hughes denied any physical harassment, hostile behavior, making stereotypical comments, refusing breaks and terminating Carpenter’s employment in “retaliation,” according to the town’s answer filed in the case.

Hughes lacked sufficient knowledge about whether Carpenter did not receive all wages but denied related claims all the same, the answer added.

A public records request for the settlement and related documents from the town yielded redacted emails — due to attorney-client privilege — but not the settlement document itself, which the News-Times later obtained from the Washington Cities Insurance Authority.