SCRANTON – A former Lackawanna County Jail internal affairs investigator fired last year after just weeks on the job filed a whistleblower lawsuit alleging he was fired after reporting on “institutional corruption ” in prison.

The plaintiff, Joseph Harris, names as defendants Lackawanna County and the Lackawanna County Board of Corrections, which oversees the North Washington Avenue jail. The lawsuit filed Oct. 16, 2024 in Lackawanna District Court alleges violations of Pennsylvania’s Whistleblower Act because Harris was terminated after submitting a report detailing “fraud, abuse and waste” at the prison.

In a formal response to the lawsuit filed in Lackawanna County District Court, the defendants say Harris was fired for lack of work and his termination was not related to any of his complaints.

The prison board voted to hire Harris on July 19, 2023, at a salary of $70,000 a year, to oversee internal affairs and investigate allegations of wrongdoing by prison guards, other staff and inmates. Harris began working for the county on August 2, 2023, but was no longer employed there by August 21, 2023. Then, at its September 2023 meeting, after meeting privately with Warden Tim Betti, the prison board voted “not to retain” Harris.

Plaintiff’s Claims

The lawsuit’s other allegations include:

• Harris reported to Captain Eugene Ruddy and Deputy Director David Pigga. In investigating jail policies and procedures, Harris learned of “an active investigation into whether a county employee was illegally bringing narcotics into the jail, possibly for sale to inmates, and if so, to what extent the employee’s superiors and jail administrators knew. such illegal conduct” and if it still occurred. Harris identified problems of “waste and/or misconduct” but felt that his investigative efforts were compromised by leaks and confidential sources’ fear of retaliation for their disclosures.

• By August 14, 2023, Harris became convinced that he could not continue the investigation and that he could not continue to do the job he was hired to do without the intervention of the prison board. On August 15, 2023, he prepared a written report in which he found that his investigation had been compromised, the nature of which had been improperly leaked and/or disrupted by one or more individuals in the prison and the chain of command that had him reporting to this. a deputy director created a conflict of interest with his ability to investigate fear and intimidation tactics. In the report, Harris requested administrative leave without pay pending an investigation by the prison board into the findings in his report. The leave was not expected to last long as the board was scheduled to meet the next day.

• Also on Aug. 15, Harris gave County Commissioner Chris Chermak, who was a member of the jail board, seven sealed envelopes containing his report to deliver to board members. “Chermak assured plaintiff that his request would be granted and that plaintiff would not be terminated for reporting wrongdoing,” the lawsuit alleges.

• In an Aug. 16 phone call with Ruddy, Harris said he requested a leave of absence from the prison board. Harris also texted Chermak asking if all members had received the report. Chermak said he thought so, except for Sheriff Mark McAndrew, who was on vacation.

• Harris received a letter in the mail dated August 22, 2023 and postmarked August 23, telling him that he was fired because he did not report to work from August 16 to August 21 and did not notify his supervisor of his absence. “Due to your unsuccessful performance during the introductory period of employment, effective as of August 21, 2023, your services will no longer be retained by the Lackawanna County Jail. This non-retention is subject to the approval of the prison board,” the termination letter said.

• On Aug. 24, Harris confronted another jail board member, Lackawanna County District Attorney Mark Powell, who said he was unaware of Harris’ report. In an Aug. 25 text message to Harris, Chermak said he gave the reports to the jail board chairman, Lackawanna County Judge James Gibbons. That same night, Harris spoke with prison board attorney David Solfanelli, who said he was called by Human Resources to ask why Harris was absent from work. Harris replied that he requested a leave of absence in the report. Solfanelli asked if Harris feared retaliation, and he said yes. Solfanelli told her she should submit the leave request to Human Resources, and Harris did so the next day. Two days later, Harris received an email reply with a termination letter.

• On Sept. 10, Harris emailed all prison board members in a group message saying he had provided a report for each member and was “trying to report what he believed to be institutional corruption” at the prison; and that he requested leave without pay until he could meet with the board and requested that the report not be terminated. On September 20, at the recommendation of Director Betti, the board formally terminated Harris.

• The county violated his right to a “Loudermill hearing” to give him an opportunity to rebut the basis for the termination, the lawsuit alleges. It alleges three counts of wrongful discharge and whistleblower and due process violations.

Harris is seeking more than $50,000 in back pay, back pay, interest and compensatory and punitive damages. He is represented by attorney Michael Salmanson of the Philadelphia law firm Salmanson Goldshaw.

Defendants’ rebuttal

In a formal objection to the lawsuit filed Nov. 18 by attorney Matthew Carmody of the Pittston law firm Joyce, Carmody and Moran, who represents the county and the board, the defendants ask that the complaint be dismissed on several grounds.

These include: Harris fails to state a claim for whistleblower law relief because it fails to state waste or misconduct; or demonstrate that he was specifically instructed not to file the report or there would be adverse consequences because the report was filed. The due process claim also fails because Harris was an at-will employee subject to summary removal. And the wrongful termination count fails because, “even when an important public policy is involved, an employer may terminate an employee at will if the employer has a separate, plausible, and legitimate reason.” The county deemed Harris’ absences unexcused because his leave was never approved and he took his leave unilaterally.

County Attorney Don Frederickson issued a statement to The Times-Tribune on Friday saying, “The complaint filed by Mr. Harris is without merit and is completely devoid of any meaningful legal claims. Mr. Harris was fired from his position after he failed to show up for work two weeks after being hired, effectively abandoning the job. As for the whistleblower’s claim, we’re not sure what substantive information he could have uncovered in less than two weeks on the job. The county fully intends to vigorously defend itself against this frivolous action.”