Burnette Shutt & McDaniel fights for former government employee in ADA, civil rights case
COLUMBIA, SC – Burnette Shutt & McDaniel attorneys Sarah J.M. Cox and Lydia Robins Hendrix are representing a former Goose Creek employee in a lawsuit against the town, the South Carolina Department of Mental Health, and several town and state employees.
The plaintiff, the town’s former arts and entertainment coordinator, says town officials had her involuntarily committed to a mental-health facility and then fired her when she complained. The lawsuit was first filed in Berkeley County Circuit Court but has been removed to U.S. District Court.
The lawsuit’s allegations include violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, false imprisonment, defamation, gross negligence, violation of due process rights, violations of 4th Amendment and 14th Amendment Constitutional rights, retaliation, and conspiracy.
The chain of events began during an April 2024 planning meeting for a town amphitheater project. After the meeting, the plaintiff texted the city administrator that an outside vendor had acted inappropriately during the meeting. The administrator dismissed the concerns and instead referred the plaintiff to the town’s employee assistance program to learn how to deal with her frustrations with the vendor.
The plaintiff next requested a meeting with her supervisor. The supervisor then texted the town administrator claiming that the plaintiff, who was upset over the recent death of her dog, was suicidal. Though the plaintiff had a history of depression, which she had disclosed to the town, she had not threatened self-harm.
The administrator, supervisor, and town human resources director conferred and decided to contact the South Carolina Department of Mental Health and report that the plaintiff was suicidal.
Even though the plaintiff had at no point threatened to harm herself, police and representatives of the mental health department arrived at town offices. An unlicensed mental health department therapist then signed a detainment order, and the police took the plaintiff to a hospital without her consent. She was later committed involuntarily to a mental-health facility.
A little more than a week later, the plaintiff was put on paid administrative leave. A few days after that, she was fired for “conduct on the job.”
In the lawsuit, the plaintiff contends that the town discriminated against her by disclosing a condition covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act, having her involuntarily committed, and firing her because of a covered disability.
The plaintiff is asking for back pay, front pay, compensation for lost benefits and medical bills, and punitive damages.