Salem resident Beth Schmidt will receive $250,000 from the Mid-Willamette Valley Council of Governments. The regional agency fired the 51-year-old for wearing a T-shirt depicting a famous civil rights painting.

The settlement, first reported by The Oregonian's Maxine Bernstein, resolves a federal lawsuit Schmidt filed against the council, a public consortium of cities and counties across Marion, Polk and Yamhill counties. Schmidt had served as the agency's Safe Routes to School coordinator.

The shirt showed Norman Rockwell's 1964 painting "The Problem We All Live With." It depicts 6-year-old Ruby Bridges being escorted by four federal marshals to a New Orleans school.

The painting includes graffiti of a racist slur in the background, reflecting the racism Bridges faced in 1960 when she became the first Black child to attend William Frantz Elementary School after a federal court ordered integration.

Schmidt wore the shirt to work on Nov. 12, 2023, according to her lawsuit.

A week later, then-interim executive director McRae Carmichael gave her a letter saying the shirt violated the council's policy on "prohibited harassment." Schmidt said she was told her job was not in jeopardy and was directed not to wear the shirt again.

She complied.

Three days later, on Nov. 17, 2023, Carmichael fired her. He told Schmidt three people had complained about the shirt.

Schmidt filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in January 2026, alleging the council violated her First Amendment rights and wrongfully terminated her, according to Salem Reporter.

The case turned in July when U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken rejected the council's motion to dismiss and ruled that Carmichael was not entitled to qualified immunity.

Aiken said she found no evidence Schmidt had violated any policy. The judge noted Schmidt had helped create Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day programs across several Oregon counties.

During the July hearing, Aiken read aloud the state law establishing Nov. 14 as Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day. Gov. Tina Kotek signed that bill, SB 450, in June 2025, making Oregon the third state to pass such legislation.

"I don't think there is a better way of defining an issue of public concern as the wearing of that shirt with that iconic photograph," Aiken said during the July hearing, according to The Oregonian's coverage.

The council's lawyer, Roman Hernandez, had argued in court filings that the agency's "interest in reducing disruption" to its "working environment" outweighed Schmidt's free speech rights. The Oregonian reported that Hernandez and the council's current executive director did not return messages seeking comment on the settlement.

Schmidt, who earned $53,720 a year in the position, has not found work since her firing, according to her attorney, Lake James Perriguey. She said she plans to continue supporting Ruby Bridges' mission.

Whether the settlement includes any admission of liability or policy changes at the council has not been disclosed.