Pros. Lee counters lawsuit

SPOKANE — An attorney for Grant County’s insurance company responded to a former Grant County employee’s accusations against her boss.

Mick McFarland filed a 21-page response to claims made by Cathleen Neils, a former administrative assistant in the Grant County Prosecutor’s Office. Neils filed a civil suit in U.S. District Court in May, claiming she was wrongfully terminated in February.

Neils claims Prosecutor Angus Lee violated her civil rights, the Family Medical Leave Act, public policy and practiced age discrimination when he fired her.

Lee’s response and counterclaim denies these allegations, according to court records.

“Neils refused to perform the duties of administrative assistant with thoroughness, thoughtfulness and integrity and refused to comply with the requirements set out in (the) county management handbook and code of ethics and the county employment handbook and code of ethics,” McFarland wrote.

Neils accused Lee of violating her First Amendment rights by allegedly punishing her after she sent a letter to the county commissioners questioning Lee’s ability to serve as the prosecutor. This happened before he was unanimously selected by the commissioners in January. 

The letter stated Lee was too inexperienced to serve, and accused him of misappropriating money. While he was a deputy prosecutor, he allegedly cashed pay checks written for $769 more then his allotted $6,012 per month in August, September and October of 2008.

Neils accused Lee of knowing the amount was incorrect when he accepted the checks and refusing to return the additional money.

Lee agreed to pay back $2,307 starting last January, according to the Grant County Auditor’s Office.

In his response, Lee claims he never received a copy of the letter, and didn’t receive a copy of an earlier letter showing Neils support for former Chief Deputy Steve Hallstrom.

According to the counterclaim, Lee didn’t know about the mistake in his pay until October when Neils approached him about the error she reportedly made filling out the paperwork on his pay raise.

“Lee volunteered to pay the county the amount of the purported overpayment. Lee thereafter voluntarily signed a repay agreement,” according to the counterclaim.

Neils also claims Lee started pressuring her after she refused to discipline an employee for “behavior of that female employee which Lee observed while the employee was taking an afternoon break,” according to the complaint.

The employee was allegedly playing solitaire on her computer, a violation of the county’s computer use policy, according to the counterclaim. When he asked Neils to “correct the behavior” of the employee she “became openly insubordinate and refused to follow her direct supervisor’s instruction and further claimed that there was no policy against playing games on county computers.”

Neils’ complaint accuses Lee of trying to make her violate state law by, “disciplining an employee for taking a legal break during the work day.”

Lee answered he wanted Neils to correct the behavior of an employee using the computer in violation with county policy, denying the action was illegal or improper, according to the response.

Neils went on to accuse Lee of  “a pattern of adverse behavior toward (her) including, but not limited to, activities which showed a lack of support for her authority, exclusion of (her) from participation in matters previously included in her duties and responsibilities as administrative assistant, denying (her) continuing training opportunities, and initiating unfounded disciplinary processes against (her,)” according to Neils’ complaint.

Lee denied there was any “retaliatory treatment” toward Neils, further denying “all allegations that (the) plaintiff was exposed to a ‘hostile work environment.’”

Neils claims she went to a medical provider and was diagnosed with depression and an adjustment disorder with anxiety, according to her legal complaint. The provider requested a short term medical leave. She presented the request on Feb. 5 to then Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Steve Hallstrom, who granted the request.

According to the complaint, Lee called Neils, asking her about the process she used to receive medical leave and how long she anticipated being gone from work.

“On Friday, February 6, 2009, Lee and (a human resources) representative made a phone call to Neils. The (human resources) representative informed Neils that Lee was making some changes in the Office of Prosecuting Attorney and gave Neils the option of resigning,” according to her legal complaint.

While Lee admits to calling and eventually firing her, he also claims she did not follow county policy when she approached Hallstrom for approval, adding she should have went to Lee, her immediate superior, according to the response.

The counterclaims adds an “employee may be terminated for a single occurrence of behavior or violation of policy without having been previously warned or reprimanded.” Lee accuses Neils of taking leave on multiple occasions in 2008 without reporting it to the county’s accounting office.

“When Neils did report use of leave she misrepresented the duration of her absence from work so that less days of leave were reported to accounting than were actually used,” according to the counterclaim. “The county was entitled to rely and did rely upon Neils’ representation and has financially suffered damages as a result of Neils’ representation.”

Lee continues by claiming Neils “Neils maintained a pattern of combative behavior with other county employees,” according to the counterclaim.

Neils also claimed Lee practiced age discrimination.

Lee responded by stating the person he chose to replace Neils was 57 years old.

Steven Lacy, Neils’ attorney, was not available for comment.

Lee is asking for the attorney fees, court costs and “judgment awarding defendants any further relief which the court finds appropriate, equitable and just,” according to the counterclaim.