Harrison County Commission sued for alleged whistleblower law violations - WDTV

CLARKSBURG, W.Va (WDTV) - A lawsuit was filed on Wednesday by the former Harrison County Maintenance Director against the County Commission for alleged violations of the whistleblower law.

Richard Dale alleges in the lawsuit that his termination from his county job in September 2021 was in retaliation for reporting what he thought to be waste and wrongdoing on part of the commission in reference to work performed on the rail trail near Shinnston.

Dale alleges that the issues began in Fall 2020 when Commissioner Patsy Trecost approached him in his office and asked him to do work on the rail trail “next to the subdivision where Commissioner Trescot had purchased a home.” Dale told Trescot that he could not work on private property.

Commissioner Trescot told Dale, Commissioner Davis Hinkle and then-Administrator Parker that the City of Shinnston owned the property in question and explained that the City of Shinnston purchased the gravel and Harrison County would provide personnel and equipment to work on the trail.

A private citizen that owns several acres adjoining the property in question allegedly approached county employees and directed them to what work to do on and around the rail trail, which made them “uncomfortable.” At this point, Dale says work was put on hold.

According to the lawsuit, Dale worked with the Assessor’s Office, and it was determined that the land was privately owned.

In late Fall 2020, Commissioner Trecost allegedly requested Dale to open an account at a Shinnston hardware store and buy things there “a couple of times per week.” Dale told Trecost that he could not do that because it was not in the area they were performing work and told his supervisor, then-Administrator Parker, that he was “uncomfortable being put in these situations” by Trecost.

When Dale encountered Trecost in December 2020, Dale alleges that Trecost asked him if he had spoken to Commissioner Hinkle about his requests. Dale says Trecost “seemed to be very unhappy … and quickly turned and walked away from him.”

During a Jan. 25, 2021 meeting, Trecost made a motion to terminate the maintenance director position, Dale’s position, and reassign him to a 911 dispatcher position. Dale alleged that this would have been a more than $30,000 pay decrease. The motion eventually failed to pass.

In April 2021, the lawsuit says Dale’s supervisor, Parker, was terminated from his position as county administrator.

During an Aug. 25, 2021 meeting, Dale referred to his arm size, and Trecost made a comment about him being overweight, saying that he “didn’t always look like that and used to be athletic.” Dale says he thought of the comments to be a joke and told Trecost that he would be removed from his Christmas list and later put “a dab of grease … on Commissioner Trecost’s vehicle door handle as a prank.”

Several days after this meeting, the lawsuit says Dale was called to a meeting with Administrator Psyz, Commissioner Thomas, a deputy and the County’s attorney participating over the phone. A video showing Dale next to Trecost’s vehicle placing the grease on the door handle was shown.

Psyz and the County’s attorney said Dale had broken the law, causing “destruction of county property,” and after declining a request to resign, he was suspended without pay for 10 days. A deputy collected his county-issued truck, and Dale was told to turn in his keys and county ID within the next day.

According to the lawsuit, Dale ran into Trecost while turning in his keys and county ID on Aug. 26. Trecost allegedly declined to talk with Dale and told Dale to speak with his attorney. When Dale told Trecost that it was “an extreme overreaction,” Trecost is alleged to have “gotten into (Dale’s) face,” at which point Dale laughed, turned away and called Trecost a derogatory slur.

Dale’s position was listed on an agenda for a regular meeting of the Harrison County Commission on Sept. 1, and a motion to have the line item stricken from the agenda was approved.

On Sept. 3, Dale was served a notice of termination dated Sept. 2, 2021, according to the lawsuit. The letter of termination cited the grease incident and the comment made to Trecost.

Dale allegedly sent an email to to commissioners and Pysz saying that he had filed for retirement.

On Sept. 15, Dale’s termination was listed on an agenda for a regular meeting of the commission, and the termination was approved on a 2-1 vote, with Hinkle being the only one opposing. Hinkle alleged that the county’s personnel policy was “not being consistently applied” and the punishment under the policy “would have been a verbal warning.”

According to the lawsuit, Dale believes he “was being set up for failure and retaliated against dating back to his refusal to misappropriate county funds for use on private lands at the request of Commissioner Trecost.”

For West Virginia employees working for a “public body,” the Whistleblower Law protects a whistleblower who “witnesses or has evidence of wrongdoing or waste while employees with a public body and who makes a good faith report of, or testifies to, the wrongdoing or waste, verbally or in writing, to one of the employee’s supervisors, to an agent of the employer or to an appropriate authority.”

Dale alleges that the Harrison County Commission’s attempts to misappropriate public funds for use on private lands constitute as “waste” and “wrongdoing.”

The lawsuit says that Dale’s “good faith reports” to stop work on private lands satisfy the whistleblower requirements and is entitled to whistleblower protections.

Dale also says the actions of the Harrison County Commission to eliminate his position constitutes unlawful retaliation.

Dale seeks damages for emotional distress and lost wages and benefits, costs and attorney’s fees, injunctive relief, and any other relief deemed appropriate.

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source: https://www.wdtv.com/2022/04/29/harrison-county-commission-sued-alleged-whistleblower-law-violations/

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