Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
The former Interim Director for Eddy, Wells and Foster County Social Services has filed a civil lawsuit against Eddy County and the Eddy County Social Service Board.
In court documents made public on May 14, Kimberly Larson of Moorhead, Minn., alleges that during her year of employment as a social worker and then interim director she was retaliated against by the Eddy County Social Service Board and Eddy County Commission for raising concerns and was forced to work in a hostile environment.
She has demanded a jury trial and seeks monetary compensation of at least $50,000 for “reasonable damages,” to include lost wages and benefits. She also seeks an award of pre-judgment interest, post-judgment interest, attorney fees and other costs as allowed by law. Larson is represented by Lee Grossman of Grand Forks.
Larson began employment on November 1, 2016. In January 2017 she filed a complaint against former Director Carrie Thompson Widmer. As a result, Thompson Widmer was placed on administrative leave by the Wells County Social Services Board and resigned shortly thereafter. Larson was appointed interim director by Wells County Social Services upon Widmer’s leave.
Six months later, on July 5, 2017, Larson filed an employee grievance against Eddy County Social Service Board members Alyson Myhre, Neal Rud, Glenda Collier and Jeff Pfau, alleging that “there ha[d] been numerous instances since that time when the board members ha[d] interfered with social service business and the application of policy by the interim director.”
The grievance went on to say that, despite her attempts to resolve this on several occasions, this led to employee insubordination, violation of policy and harassment by board members. The Tri-County board heard from all parties at a hearing on September 18, 2017, after which they made specific findings regarding Larson’s grievance and recommended action to be taken by the Eddy County Social Service board members. The day after the hearing, Larson tendered her resignation from the agency, which was effective November 1, 2017, exactly one year after she was hired.
The defendants are represented by Daniel Gaustad of Pearson Christiansen, PLLP, of Grand Forks. In their answer to the allegations as filed with the court, they assert, “At all pertinent times, the County Defendants acted in good faith in reliance upon local, state, and federal laws with respect to their dealings and actions.” they seek to have Larson’s They asked that complaint be dismissed and that their court costs be reimbursed as permitted by law. They also requested a jury trial should the complaint not be dismissed.
The case has been referred to Judge James Hovey and as of press time no hearing date had been set.
