The plaintiff in the civil trial for retaliation against former Hall County Solicitor General Stephanie Woodard and Hall County has filed a response to the defense’s motion for partial dismissal last month.
Michelle Daniel, Woodard’s former executive assistant, filed a lawsuit alleging retaliation on June 27 after Daniel assisted the GBI’s investigation into Woodard’s misuse of county funds.
The response to the defense's Aug. 7 motion was filed on Friday.
The issue at hand is whether Hall County can be held liable for Woodard’s actions in her capacity of Solicitor General, an elected position.
"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 (Georgia Whistleblower Act) does not provide for individual liability."
The response from Daniel and her counsel said that the GWA applies to all public officials and protects all public employees.
They also said in the filing that the “Defendants’ challenge should be rejected, and the motion denied. Hall County accelerated retaliation Woodard initiated by failing to investigate Plaintiff’s disclosure to Dr. Jones (Hall County Human Resources Director), disclosing Plaintiff’s identity to Defendant Woodard without Plaintiff’s written consent, and terminating Plaintiff’s employment.”
The filing went on to say that Hall County is a “public employer” and “maintains jurisdiction” of the Solicitor Office’s operations that are budget items Hall County must approve.
Daniel and her attorney also claim that the HR Director, Dr. LisaRae Jones, violated the GWA by “failing to investigate Plaintiff’s disclosures and reporting to Defendant Woodard…”
The filing closed its rebut by saying “Hall County constitutes a public employer to whom Plaintiff, a public employee, could disclose. Hall County joined the retaliation Woodard began.”
