“We’ve received the decision by the appellate court and we intend to honor their decision,” Interim City Manager Deborah Bowie said.

Management at Gainesville City Hall has decided it will begin to reinstate former Regional Transit System bus operator Desiree Heyliger and drop any potential appeal efforts after a recent court ruling.

Last week, Heyliger won a lawsuit against the city for being wrongfully terminated in 2015. The city was also ordered to give her more than three years' worth of back pay.

The three-year legal battle was a result of a pair of incidents in which the city contended Heyliger acted violently toward two passengers within a two-day span. An arbitrator, however, in 2016 found that not to be the case and that the city had unfairly terminated her. The city challenged the ruling, which extended the case for more than three years. Friday, the First District Court of Appeal upheld the arbitrator’s ruling.

Interim City Manager Deborah Bowie said Wednesday that the city will comply with the ruling.

“We’ve received the decision by the appellate court, and we intend to honor their decision,” she said.

Heyliger, 39, was a union member and was represented by local Attorney Eric Lindstrom. According to the union and city’s contract, all arbitration rulings are final and binding.

Bowie said it’s unusual for the city to challenge an arbitrator's ruling and that the city will begin the process to reinstate Heyliger.

She also said the city attorney will contact Lindstrom to discuss Heyliger's owed compensation.

Heyliger could be owed about $120,000 for more than three years work, but Bowie said that may be offset by her current pay at another job.

Since the case began, the city has seen high turnover in upper management and on the City Commission.

According to court records, the city fired Heyliger in 2015 after 14 years after citing a pair of altercations that, officials claimed were “immoral” or “improper conduct” and affected the “goodwill of the community.”

On Oct. 14, 2015, an altercation began when Heyliger told a passenger that she couldn’t have an open-container drink on the bus. The argument escalated and Heyliger swatted the hostile woman’s arm away after the woman shoved her RTS card in Heyliger’s face.

Two days later, a passenger boarded the bus and made a rude comment about Heyliger’s arrival time, then reached his arm around her to pat or grab her shoulder. Heyliger defensively knocked the passenger’s arm away and told him not to touch her.

After both incidents, the city determined her actions violated the city’s code of conduct.

Prior to Heyliger’s termination, she had three minor disciplinary actions against her, none of which were a factor in her firing.

The city paid more than $44,000 for an outside attorney to argue the case.