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Jury finds for disabled veteran in ADA discrimination trial against Clayton County Sheriff’s Office

An African-American woman with glasses and braids testifies in court.
Brittani Williams testifies in the employment discrimination trial, Williams v. Allen. Illustration by Callia Alandete. All rights reserved.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

On May 19, 2023, after a three-day trial, a jury found that the Sheriff’s Office of Clayton County, Georgia, discriminated and retaliated against a disabled veteran after she notified her supervisors of her diagnosis of PTSD. The case was filed in 2019 under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act. The jury awarded the plaintiff back pay equivalent to two years salary, plus compensatory damages, for a total verdict of $202,811.96. The case, captioned Williams v. Allen was tried before Hon. J. P. Boulee in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. Ms. Williams was represented by Regan Keebaugh and James Radford of the Decatur, Georgia law firm Radford & Keebaugh, LLC.

Brittani Williams is a veteran of the U.S. Army Reserves. She had been an employee of the Sheriff’s Office since 2012 and was working as a Sheriff’s Services Clerk. In 2019, after she was transferred from the day shift to the night shift, she sent her supervisors a letter from her providers at the Department of Veteran’s Affairs, notifying them that the shift change may cause her to experience increased symptoms associated with her PTSD. Her immediate supervisors were all willing to work with her, and one gentleman volunteered to escort her to her vehicle in the evening. However, when former Sheriff Victor Hill was informed of the request, he wrote “do a fit for duty status and release from employment.”

At trial, the Sheriff’s Office argued that Ms. Williams’ disability rendered her unqualified for the job, citing her VA disability rating. They also claimed that Ms. Williams was terminated for coming to work one day with her hair dyed red.

However, the jury rejected each of these arguments.

Former Sheriff Victor Hill did not testify at trial. On the day before trial, he reported to federal prison in Arkansas. On October 26, 2022, former Sheriff Hill was convicted in federal court of six counts of willfully depriving pre-trial detainees in his custody of their constitutional rights by strapping them into a restraint chair, resulting in serious bodily harm on each occasion. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison. The jury was presented with Hill’s videotaped deposition, however.

The jury heard testimony from Clayton County Director of Human Resources Pamela Ambles, who urged Hill to seek accommodations for Ms. Williams under the ADA rather than carrying out a “fitness for duty” process. The jury also heard from several of Ms. Williams’ supervisors, who testified that she was a high-performing employee, and that it was no burden to escort her to her vehicle. The witnesses described a heavy-handed, top-down leadership style from former Sheriff Hill, in which people were afraid to make recommendations regarding employment issues for fear of retribution.

“This was a hard fought case in which the Sheriff’s Office filed numerous motions to try and prevent a jury from ever hearing the evidence,” said Regan Keebaugh, who served as lead counsel in the case. “We fought many battles along the way, from her unemployment benefits appeal all the way through to this trial.”

“It was an honor to represent this veteran. Hearing the jury’s verdict was such a proud moment, and it makes the long hours and stress of trial worth it,” said partner James Radford.

Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Whistleblower in Retaliation Case

In a decision issued on June 19, 2014, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a public employee who was terminated after he testified in a case of corruption at Central Alabama Community College. Edward Lane worked as the  Director of the college’s Community Intensive Training for Youth (CITY) program .  While conducting an audit, Lane discovered that a state representative, Susan Schmitz, was on the program’s payroll despite the fact she had not done any work for the program.

As detailed in this npr article, at the same time the  FBI was investigating Schmitz,  CITY was experiencing budget concerns.    After Lane testified against Schmitz,  Central Alabama Community College  president Steve Franks terminated Lane’s employment with the college.    Under the guise of budget cuts, Franks terminated an additional 28 employees and two days later rehired all but two, of which Lane was one of the two.

In a suit claiming that Franks had violated his First Amendment protections,  Lane named Franks  in his individual and official capacity as president of the school.  Two lower courts found in favor of Franks, stating that Lane acted in his official capacity in terminating Schmitz and could not claim protection under the First Amendment.

In its opinion issued today, the Supreme Court found in favor of Lane, stating that he testified “as a citizen on a matter of public concern.”   In reference to Lane’s trial testimony, the court called it “a quintessential example of citizen speech for the simple reason that anyone who testifies in court bears an obligation, to the court and society at large, to the tell the truth.”

If you or someone you know believes they have been retaliated against and/or wrongfully terminated, the team at Radford & Keebaugh can help.   Contact us by phone at (678) 369-3609 or use our contact form.

Supreme Court: Georgia’s Whistleblower Protection Act Protects City, County Employees Along with State Employees

In the consolidated cases of Warren v. Fulton County and Colon v. Fulton County, the Georgia Supreme Court issued an order that strengthens our state’s whistleblower statute, by clarifying whether employees of local and county governments have the same protections afforded to state employees.

The Georgia Court of Appeals had previously held that the whistleblower law–O.C.G.A. 45-1-4, only applied to employees of “local governments,” if suspected fraud, waste, or abuse related to “state programs and operations.” The Supreme Court has reversed, finding that the statute protects all public employees who complain of fraud, waste, abuse, or violations of law, by a local government, and not only those who complain of abuse with respect to state funds. The court held, in a footnote:

Indeed, the straightforward construction of the statute outlined above makes perfect sense, as a public employee might not even know whether state money is involved at the time that he or she discovers and reports a violation of the rules to his or her supervisor. Under OCGA § 45-1-4, regardless of whether a public employee has knowledge of the extent to which state funds may or may not be involved in a reported violation of rules or regulations, the public employee would still be protected from retaliation after making the disclosure. This makes sense, as OCGA § 45-1-4 would then operate such that a public employee would always be protected from retaliation when disclosing improper conduct, rather than offering protection for some public employees who disclose improper conduct (i.e. those reporting rule violations relating to state funded operations) and leaving others who disclose improper conduct without such protection (i.e. those reporting rule violations that do not relate to state funded operations).

The Warren and Colon matters related to two former Fulton County employees who had been tasked to investigate internal complaints of fraud, waste, and abuse within Fulton County government. Shortly after they uncovered that a group of finance employees had been stealing county money to fund a private business, they were terminated without explanation.

James Radford and Lee Parks led the initial litigation of the case.

Don’t Get Railroaded

Dont-Get-RailroadedMany public employees have due process rights in their employment. Unlike private employees, who are strictly “at will,” employees of a government entity usually possess the right to contest or appeal adverse employment actions. There is generally a right to due process either pre-termination (i.e., an opportunity to be heard before a final decision is made), or a a right to appeal a termination decision once it has been made. Public employees throughout Georgia–including public school teachers, police officers, firefighters, sheriff’s deputies, and other city and county employees–have these rights, but often don’t use them. You may fear that you will be railroaded. You may fear that you don’t have anyone to help present your case and ensure your rights are respected. That is where we come in.

Our attorneys have the training and experience to help you in your personnel appeal. Contact us today.

SONY DSCIf you have a right to appeal disciplinary actions, up through and including termination, exercise those rights. These rights may be found in a City Charter, in a County’s Ordinances and Regulations, in your employee’s Personnel Policies, or a number of other sources. Whatever you do, don’t allow yourself to be railroaded. If you believe you have been unjustly terminated or disciplined, find out what appeal rights you have, and then contact an attorney to help you with your appeal.

The attorneys of Radford & Keebaugh have represented hundreds of public employees in personnel matters. We have gotten disciplinary actions reduced or eliminated, we have helped people to get their jobs back. We have fought against unlawful discrimination on the basis of political beliefs, race, sex, religion, and other factors in federal court. We have helped terminated employees to obtain unemployment benefits. While we can never guarantee a certain result, we can promise to work hard for you to ensure your best chance at success.

Teacher-teachingIf you are facing disciplinary action or termination by a public employer, call us or fill out our contact form. We can help. (678) 369-3609.

Below, you can watch a video of attorney James Radford, arguing before the Georgia Supreme Court on behalf of two employees who were wrongfully terminated from the City of Greenville, Georgia. We took their fight all the way to the Supreme Court. Following this argument, we won a unanimous decision by the Georgia Supreme Court, finding that they had been wrongfully terminated.