Federal lawsuit filed against Lee

SPOKANE — A former Grant County employee filed a civil suit in U.S. District Court against the county and her former boss for damages.

Cathleen Neils, a former administrative assistant in the Grant County Prosecutor’s office, is claiming Prosecutor Angus Lee violated her civil rights, discriminated against her, and violated the Family Medical Leave Act and public policy when he fired her in February, according to the complaint.

Neils claims Lee violated her First Amendment rights by punishing her after she sent a letter to the county commissioners questioning Lee’s ability to serve as the prosecutor 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 in January, according to the Grant County Auditor’s Office.

She 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.

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.

As a result of her treatment by Lee, Neils claims she went to a medical provider and was diagnosed with depression and an adjustment disorder with anxiety, according to the 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 Office of Prosecuting Attorney and gave Neils the option of resigning,” according to her legal complaint.

When she declined, Lee ended her employment on the same day as Hallstrom’s.

Her attorney stated this was a violation of the Family Medical Leave Act.

Neils claims her age was another reason why Lee decided to fire her, and claimed all of his actions violated public policy, including laws protecting whistle blowers, employee breaks and the Family Medical Leave Act.

Mick McFarland, the attorney for the county’s insurance agency, stated after reviewing the case he’s confident he can successfully defend against Neil’s accusations.

“It is not, and has never been my practice to litigate a case in and through the press, so I am not going to detail herein the untrue and misleading allegations contained in Ms. Neils’ lawsuit. Based upon my investigation, I am very confident that when the true facts do come out, it will be clear that Angus Lee acted appropriately, legally, and in the best interests of Grant County and its citizens,” he stated in an e-mail to the Columbia Basin Herald.

McFarland also asked Lee not to “litigate this matter in the press,” he stated.

“This has been very frustrating to him, as he has not been able to set the proverbial record straight and defend himself against Ms. Neils’ allegations,” he stated. “The true facts will come out, and it will be made clear that Mr. Lee acted Legally and in the best interests (of) the citizens of Grant County.”

Commissioner Richard Stevens also declined to comment on the lawsuit right now.

In Neils’ claim filed with the county, she was seeking $750,000 in damages. In her federal lawsuit, her attorney noted damages are to be determined during a trial.