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JEFFERSON CITY 鈥� Newly released documents have added another quarter million dollars to the cost of the COVID-19 pandemic in Missouri.

According to a breakdown of payouts in lawsuits against the state, a former employee of the Missouri House of Representatives and his attorneys received a $257,552 check drawn from the state鈥檚 Legal Expense Fund in May in connection with a worker discrimination case.

At issue was legislative specialist Tad Mayfield鈥檚 accusation that he was fired from his job of nine years after he advocated for a mask mandate in the Capitol in August 2020.

Court records show Mayfield emailed the speaker of the House and the president of the Missouri Senate suggesting that a mask policy would allow staffers in the Capitol to safely return to the office amid the spread of the deadly respiratory disease.

鈥淚 think it is important to state unequivocally, by not requiring face coverings, the House has become a hostile work environment,鈥� Mayfield wrote. 鈥淚f face masks were required for everyone in the Capitol, I would see no reason why we all couldn鈥檛 go back to work with relative safety.鈥�

The debate over masks mandates became a political flashpoint during the pandemic.

During the legislative sessions held during the outbreak, there were no mask mandates in a building controlled by Republicans who vocally rejected recommendations by health experts on masks, quarantines and vaccinations.

There were some attempts at social distancing in committee hearing rooms via the use of livestreaming for people who want to watch the proceedings from a distance.

A full six weeks of the 2020 session were lost, forcing the Legislature to cram its work into a three-week sprint that spring.

In 2021, the House canceled one week due to positive cases of COVID-19 that began circulating soon after members returned to the building in January.

The Senate also was hit by positive cases in 2021, with at least four lawmakers and additional staff members going into isolation in the early going of last year鈥檚 meeting.

Following his dismissal, Mayfield filed a lawsuit alleging that the termination violated his First Amendment rights.

While top House administrators argued his firing was related to his job performance, Mayfield said he had received positive evaluations from his supervisors.

A jury sided with Mayfield and a federal court of appeals upheld the verdict.

Among the players in the case was U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt, who was attorney general at the time, in charge of defending the state in Mayfield鈥檚 case.

Schmitt fought local efforts to impose mask mandates in cities, counties and schools, as well as vaccination requirements for private-sector workers.

The lawsuit payment records released Monday by Attorney General Andrew Bailey鈥檚 office show Mayfield was represented by the Holman Schiavone law firm of Kansas City.