A former school bus driver has taken Salmon School District No. 291 to court, alleging years of gender-based discrimination, repeated wage theft, and ultimately a wrongful termination after she sought time off to undergo cancer treatment.
Brooke Monroe filed the lawsuit on April 22, naming the north-central Idaho school district as the defendant. Monroe began driving for the district on October 1, 2014, and the complaint spans roughly a decade of employment — with the most serious allegations concentrated between 2020 and her termination in 2025.
A Pattern of Alleged Discrimination
Monroe claims that transportation department supervisor Mark Austin subjected her to ongoing sex-based discrimination starting in 2020. The lawsuit alleges Austin made his position explicit in August 2024, stating in front of coworkers: “There is no way you can be a supervisor because you’re a female, and you cannot do maintenance.” Monroe and one other person were the only female drivers in the department at the time.
The alleged discrimination extended to how work assignments and seniority were handled. Monroe contends that in August 2024, a substitute driver with less time on the job was assigned trips ahead of her, bypassing her established seniority. That same pattern allegedly continued in November 2024, when a less-senior driver was encouraged to take runs before Monroe. The following February, Monroe says she was pressured to give a male driver with less seniority a preferred work day — and when she offered to take on additional work as a compromise, that extra work was reassigned to a different male driver who had already accumulated overtime.
Wage Disputes and Benefits Denied
The wage theft allegations stretch back to the earliest months of the COVID-19 pandemic. In April 2020, Monroe and a female colleague were asked to shuttle buses to Idaho Falls for maintenance. After weeks of performing that work, Austin allegedly told both women they would not be paid because they “weren’t supposed to be working during COVID.” Monroe’s lawsuit states that male drivers doing comparable work during the same period received compensation.
Wage-related complaints continued into 2025. Monroe’s time card submissions were denied on multiple occasions. The district revoked her $75 monthly stipend for advanced training, attributing the decision to a clerical error — Monroe had written “5/18” instead of “6/18” on a timecard. The district later refused to compensate her for training preparation work in August 2025, characterizing the time she spent as excessive. That same month, Monroe was told she could not access accrued sick leave or donated sick leave because she was not classified as a teacher.
In spring 2025, the district announced plans to divide the combined transportation supervisor and mechanic role into two separate positions. Monroe participated in a five-hour meeting with Austin on June 18, 2025, to discuss the supervisor duties. She ultimately declined to pursue the role, citing the hostile work environment and ongoing discrimination she alleges she had endured for years. Monroe contends the district’s treatment caused her significant stress and anxiety that manifested in physical illness.
Termination and Legal Claims
The lawsuit alleges Monroe was fired after requesting time away from work to receive cancer treatment — a decision she argues violated federal protections under the Family and Medical Leave Act. Her complaint includes counts of gender discrimination, disability discrimination, FMLA interference, FMLA retaliation, wrongful termination, failure to pay earned wages, and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.
Salmon School District No. 291 had not issued a public statement regarding the litigation as of publication. The district is located in Lemhi County in north-central Idaho, approximately 160 miles northwest of Idaho Falls.
What Comes Next
Monroe’s suit is now moving through the Idaho court system. The district will have the opportunity to respond formally to each allegation in the complaint. Employment discrimination cases involving FMLA claims can take months to years to resolve, depending on whether the parties reach a settlement or the matter proceeds to trial. For Idaho residents following similar workplace rights cases, coverage of other court proceedings in the region — including a recent case involving an Idaho Falls federal judge who faced criminal charges — can be found at Bonneville County News.