Hall County and its Solicitor General, Stephanie Woodard, have filed jointly to dismiss most of the complaints brought in a civil lawsuit by a former employee of the Solicitor General's Office.
Hall County Superior Court documents show the filing was made Wednesday and seeks to dismiss all Georgia Whistleblower Act (GWA) complaints against the county and all of the complaints against Woodard in her "individual capacity" as an elected official.
"As matters of black letter law, GWA claims may be asserted only against 'employers,' and elected officials are not county employees or subject to county control," the filing said. "The Court should dismiss all GWA claims to the extent that they are asserted against Ms. Woodard in her individual capacity because the law is clear that the GWA does not provide for individual liability."
The complaints were filed by Michelle Daniel, the former executive assistant to Woodard in the Solicitor General's Office. She claims that she cooperated with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation in its November 2022 investigation that ultimately led to two dozen criminal charges of theft by taking and making false statements being filed against Woodard this year.
She then claims that Woodard retaliated against her over the following year, including not allowing her to work from home, calling her "pretty privilege" and ultimately placing her on administrative leave after Daniel spoke with the human resources department at Hall County about the alleged retaliation.
Daniel said Hall County offered her another position in the Solicitor General's Office, giving her 24 hours to choose whether to accept or decline the position.
"Presumably (Daniel) did not accept the job; her employment ended November 15 (2023,)" Wednesday's court filing from the county and Woodard said.
The filing contends that Woodard did not take any action against Daniel that would cause damages and claimed that any action she did take against Daniel was not for retaliatory purposes.
"The only claim that should remain is a GWA claim against Ms. Woodard in her official capacity as Solicitor General," the filing said.
No response to the filing has been issued as of Thursday morning, according to the latest Hall County court documents.
Woodard also recently filed to quash several of the charges against her in the ongoing criminal case. A committee appointed by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp is also due to report back to Kemp Friday with a recommendation on whether or not to suspend Woodard from office based on those criminal charges.
