A former Lee County Conservation employee feels she is out of work because she is a woman and because she was a "whistle-blower" during her 16 years on the job. Now, Diana Verdught is fighting to get back her job and the money she lost since early January 2014.
Verdught filed a lawsuit against Lee County on Friday, Sept. 11 in South Lee County District Court. In it, she claimed she was forced to resign after coming forward in early 2013 after learning that Lee County employees published plagiarized materials.
"After making the disclosures of information as set forth above to her supervisor and members of the Lee County Board of Supervisors, (Verdught's) employer, Lee County, deliberately made (Verdught's) working conditions so intolerable that (Verdught) was forced into an involuntary resignation," according to court records.
Verdught resigned January 13, 2014.
"(Verdught) should be compensated for all direct and incidental damages, including past, present and future lost wages, attorney's fees and interest as provided by law."
Verdught said in the seven-page lawsuit that she had made multiple "disclosures of information" to elected leaders, law enforcement, and other supervisor-level individuals during her time on the job. The complaints included mismanagement, gross abuse of funds, and abuse of authority, and substantial and specific danger to public health and safety."
Verdught said she was also treated differently while working in the Conservation office.
"During the course of her employment, (Verdught) was subject to harassment and retaliation that male employees were not subjected to," wrote Verdught in the lawsuit, adding that, "During the course of her employment with (Lee County), (Verdught) received disciplinary action more severe than that of male employees."
Verdught wrote in the lawsuit that she had initiated a complaint with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission and had been issued a "right to sue," which is a release allowing the ICRC to close its investigation to allow a lawsuit go proceed.
Verdught is seeking a jury trial. She filed a similar lawsuit against the county in April 2014, but withdrew it in May 2015 using a technique that allowed her to re-file it at a later date, which she did, with a few changes, this month.
