Attorney fired from Georgia health agency seeks compensation
July 13, 2021 GMT
ATLANTA (AP) — A longtime state government attorney is seeking almost $800,000 after being fired as chief legal officer for the Georgia Department of Public Health.
Jennifer Dalton has filed a letter seeking compensation under Georgia’s whistleblower protection law, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
Dalton said she was unlawfully fired in retaliation for questioning a $14 million, eight-month contract for scheduling COVID-19 vaccinations. The contract was awarded without competitive bidding.
Dalton’s letter said she faced reprisals for releasing emails that became the basis for a Journal-Constitution article about Republican Gov. Brian Kemp’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Dalton said she was asked to redact the emails, but she believed doing so would have violated the state’s Open Records Act.