3 ex-workers sue City of Irving over firings

[TexasStooge]

By ERIC AASEN / The Dallas Morning News

IRVING, Texas - Three former city employees have sued the city of Irving, saying that officials fired them wrongfully and violated their free speech rights.

The former code enforcement workers were fired in March because they opened, read and distributed an e-mail attachment from their city e-mail accounts, according to the lawsuit filed in November in Dallas County District Court.

The suit also claims racial and age discrimination and paints a picture of a hostile work environment described as "management by terror." The employees were forbidden to associate with certain individuals and two of the employees were assaulted, the suit alleges.

City officials wouldn't discuss the matter, citing pending litigation, said Saul Pedregon, assistant city attorney.

The suit asks for more than $50,000 in damages. A specific amount will be determined later, said Joan Kennerly, the Dallas attorney for fired employees Jefferson Aldredge, Kenneth Sauer and Deborah Shaklee.

The e-mail in question was mistakenly sent out in February to some employees' city e-mail accounts by a city official, Mr. Sauer said last week. The e-mail attachment included a transcript of an interview with some city employees, he said.

The suit alleges that younger employees who also opened, read and distributed the e-mail attachment weren't fired. "Whether they were supposed to open it or not is a matter of contention," Ms. Kennerly said. "What we're saying of course is that they had the right to free speech, which includes the right to open your own mail."

Ms. Kennerly was fired in 2002 as a senior assistant city attorney for Irving. She said she was fired because she reported a complaint of sexual harassment to the city. City officials could not be reached for comment on her firing.

In addition to the city, four individuals are named defendants: Nancy Bartlett, organizational development and training manager in the city's human resources department; William Elliott, inspections director; Cliff Miller, assistant city manager; and Jo Ann Stout, who used to be a code enforcement manager but is no longer a city employee.

Mr. Elliott would not comment on the suit. Ms. Bartlett, Mr. Miller and Ms. Stout could not be reached for comment.

The suit says the city committed racial and age discrimination by replacing the three fired employees – in their 50s – with two younger, Hispanic employees.

The suit is peppered with a variety of other alleged incidents, which reportedly occurred before the e-mail incident: The employees were disciplined for minor policy infractions and threatened by supervisors with felony prosecution for errors on daily work logs, according to the suit.

In addition, the three employees were forbidden from associating with certain individuals both inside and outside the office, the suit alleges.

Mr. Sauer was required to report to Ms. Stout when he left his desk to use the bathroom, according to the suit.

Following the e-mail incident, Ms. Stout in March allegedly pushed Ms. Shaklee and pulled paperwork from Mr. Sauer's hands, according to the suit.

The suit claims that the fired employees have suffered physical and mental pain, suffering and anguish.

A trial schedule has not been set for the suit.