A former employee of the Hall County Solicitor’s Office has filed a lawsuit against Solicitor Stephanie Woodard on Thursday alleging retaliation.
Woodard was indicted on June 18 on 11 counts of theft by taking and 13 counts of false statements. The charges allege that Woodard stole over $4,000 from the county over a four-year span from August of 2018 through September of 2022.
Michelle Daniel, the former employee, had worked for Hall County government for 33 years before being “separated from employment” in November of 2023 after retaliation according to the lawsuit. Daniel worked as Woodard’s executive assistant.
Daniel is being represented by Joseph A. Homans in the case, an attorney from Dawson County.
Daniel was interviewed by Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) agents in November of 2022 regarding Woodard’s conduct. The lawsuit claims that retaliation began “soon after” Daniel provided information to GBI agents.
The alleged retaliation that occurred included Woodard relocating Daniel’s work area “from a private office to a small desk placed at an open space within the Solicitor office suite…”
Woodard also questioned Daniel’s friendships with county employees to “isolate Plaintiff (Daniel) from long term friendships.”
Daniel was also allegedly not allowed to work from home like other employees. Woodard also referred to Daniel as “pretty privilege” and made derogatory comments about Daniel to other Solicitor’s Office employees including Mark Vaden according to the lawsuit.
The suit claims that Woodard suggested that Daniel seek employment with other Hall County offices and would chastise her for “petty matters such as the temperature within Plaintiff’s (Daniel’s) office.”
This all culminated in Daniel disclosing her concerns to Hall County HR Director Dr. Lisa Rae Jones in September of 2023. The lawsuit says that Daniel provided Jones with names and contact information of people who would vouch for the retaliation occurring.
Jones instead allegedly contacted Woodard on Oct. 10, 2023 about Daniel’s report. This led to an Oct. 19 meeting between Woodard and Daniel.
The document goes on to explain that Woodard “eliminated” Daniel’s work email and credentials and placed Daniel on paid administrative leave on Oct. 20. Daniel reportedly received no written notice of the leave.
Jones and Chief Assistant Solicitor Stephanie Thompson allegedly met with Daniel on Nov. 14, 2023 and offered Daniel another position within the Solicitor’s Office, but required acceptance within 24-hours.
After this, Daniel declined the offer and was “separated from employment” on Nov. 15.
According to the lawsuit, the reasoning for this was because Daniel “understands and reasonably believes that Woodard intended to not provide Plaintiff (Daniel) training for the position offered so that Plaintiff would be unable to properly perform those duties.”
An ante litem notice was sent from Homans to Woodard, Hall County Attorney Bill Linkous, and Hall County Commission Chair Richard Higgins in February saying that Daniel would settle her claim for $750,000 if it had been paid within 30 days.
An ante litem notice is a formal notification that must be provided to a government entity before a lawsuit can be filed for certain claims in Georgia.
The lawsuit is seeking to recover damages for lost wages, lost benefits, loss of retirement income, diminished future earning capacity, and emotional distress. Daniel is also seeking attorney fees and court costs to be covered.
