Fired Library Worker Wins Right
to Sue Director and Board
A staffer fired by the Tangipahoa Parish Library in Amite, Louisiana, after complaining about safety concerns won the right to take the trustees and director to court for violating her First Amendment rights when the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a lower court’s dismissal of the case August 15.
Donna Kennedy was demoted and later fired after she wrote a letter to board members asking for improved library security following the October 15, 1997, rape and beating of a coworker at the library’s Independence branch, the Hammond Daily Star reported August 18. Library officials acknowledged that the demotion was in response to the letter, according to court records. Kennedy was fired November 10, 1997, a move the board upheld at an appeal hearing. She filed suit against the library in 1998.
The appeals court wrote that “Kennedy spoke on a matter of public concern” and added that she “has alleged a violation of a clearly established constitutional right.” No trial date has been set.
Posted August 28, 2000.
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