Lawsuit: Petition Refusal Led to Illegal Recordings

Aug. 23--A federal lawsuit filed by a former Luzerne County 911 supervisor claims co-workers illegally recorded her phone conversations at work in retaliation for her refusal to sign a petition supporting a longtime employee's bid to be named executive director.

The person eventually named to the executive director post is also suing the county, claiming he was terminated after seven months on the job for "resisting the targeted discrimination" of the supervisor.

Rebecca Adams, a former supervisor who resigned in October 2010 due to an alleged "hostile" work environment, and James McFarland, who was fired from the executive director post in November 2010, have filed a multi-count federal lawsuit against Luzerne County 911, the county and its former commissioners.

Luzerne County Solicitor Dave Pedri declined to comment about the suit, citing county policy. He said the county's insurer is currently reviewing the suit, which was filed in late April.

According to the lawsuit:

When the executive director post opened in May 2010, workers at the Hanover Township facility circulated a petition advocating that Deputy Director Edward Casaldi be appointed permanent executive director. Adams and a co-worker, Thomas Farrell, declined to sign the petition.

The two supervisors were immediately subjected to retaliation, according to the suit. Shortly after, a two-hour recording emerged of conversations Adams and Farrell had on the "supervisor's line," a non-emergency line not used for 911 calls and not normally recorded. The recording purports to be a two-hour continuous conversation of personal and business topics held during county work time, but really was a series of phone calls over multiple days and mostly was about work, the suit claims.

Superiors demanded Adams and Farrell be suspended for the content of the recorded calls, but they never were because McFarland resisted, the suit says.

McFarland, who was hired in May 2010, realized the two "were punished improperly for a recording done without their permission and which portrayed both in a false light," the suit says.

The suit claims Adams was criticized and reprimanded more than Farrell, as she was issued multiple "write ups" and threatened with suspensions. She eventually was suspended for five days.

Adams claims she repeatedly complained that she was discriminated against due to her gender, and management failed to address her concerns. She eventually resigned in October 2010.

The suit claims she was targeted for "unnecessary disciplinary action" and illegally recorded for refusing to sign the petition to keep Casaldi as executive director.

McFarland claims he was targeted for his refusal to discipline Adams and Farrell over what was said in the recordings and "for questioning the illegal recording by others within Luzerne County 911."

bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com

570-821-2055, @cvbobkal

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