Fired director of McAlester area CASA files lawsuit

Local News

August 28, 2010

Ex-chief alleges racial discrimination, violation of Whistleblower Act

BY Mandy Carter Staff Writer The McAlester News-Capital Sat Aug 28, 2010, 09:51 PM CDT

McALESTER — The local chapter of the Court Appointed Special Advocate program is under fire, as former executive director Eddie M. Kelly filed suit last week against the organization for wrongful termination.

According to Pittsburg County court records, Kelly filed a temporary injunction in February naming CASA of Southeast Oklahoma, Inc. Board of Directors Kristi Janes, Kent Kelley, and Margaret Kramer, and board candidates John Browne, Vicki Duncan and Michko Briggs as defendants. Court documents state Kelly requested the injunction to deter defendants “temporarily and permanently from harassing and retaliatory behavior by discussing and voting on the terms and conditions of Plaintiff’s employment, after Plaintiff complained to OSBI, in violation of the Oklahoma Whistleblower act ...”

More recently, on Aug. 24, Kelly filed a wrongful termination suit against the organization as a whole, stating that her removal as executive director was racially motivated. Kelly is African-American.

The February injunction states that Kelly informed named defendants between April of 2009 and February of 2010 of multiple violations they were committing of “the provisions of CASA By-Laws and Open Meeting Act,” including establishing a quorum over the telephone, improper and illegal executive sessions, voting in secret, failure to submit the 2010 meeting schedule to Secretary of State by the required deadline, multiple failures to post agendas, allowing board candidates to discuss and vote on staff employment status in executive session, abuse of authority resulting in damage to CASA data collection and grant compliance, board members secretly directing staff to report to them and not to other board members, extended failure to provide a treasurer’s report, inappropriately discussing and voting on staff job descriptions and falsifying federal grant documents.

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