A Jasper County employee was fired after running for local office. Now she’s suing
A former Jasper County employee is suing her old boss and the county, saying she was wrongly fired after she ran for public office in neighboring Hampton County.
Loretta Brown Moore, who lives in Hampton County, worked as a case manager in the Jasper County Clerk of Courts Office until she was fired around March 30, according to a lawsuit filed Aug. 3.
The firing came about a week after Brown filed to run for Hampton County Clerk of Court and, according to the lawsuit, she was told “she was being terminated because she was running for public office, claiming it was a conflict of interest.”
Brown later lost the June primary election for the position.
The lawsuit alleges there was no conflict of interest because the position was in a neighboring county and that the Jasper County Clerk of Court, Margaret Bostick, “acted maliciously and with the specific intent to harm” Brown. It also says she was not given a grievance hearing, which she has a right to.
Brown wants a jury trial to award her lost wages and benefits as well as “compensation for emotional distress,” other damages, and court costs. She is also asking she be paid “accrued leave” she earned while employed but did not receive, the suit says.
Reached Monday afternoon, Brown declined to comment, deferring any questions to her lawyer. A representative with Stephenson & Murphy Law Offices said her attorney, Brian Murphy, would not be available for the next two days.
Bostick deferred to Jasper County attorney David Tedder, who did not return a message left at his office Monday afternoon.
