PRINCETON, W.Va. (AP) - A West Virginia sheriff is accused of nepotism and age and gender discrimination by two former workers.
The Bluefield Daily Telegraph reports two lawsuits filed Wednesday say Mercer County Sheriff Tommy Bailey took office in January 2017 and eliminated the office’s oldest employee’s position the next month. It says he told former administrative assistant Winnie Haynes she could stay on as a dispatcher with a roughly 33 percent pay cut.
It says Haynes was then discharged because of Bailey’s “decision to hire younger employees and family members” to perform her job. It says Bailey promised a promotion to former dispatcher Deanna Saddler, who then took some medical leave. It says she returned to a hostile environment and resigned.
The newspaper says the sheriff’s office was unaware of the lawsuit.
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Information from: Bluefield Daily Telegraph, http://www.bdtonline.com
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