- November 22, 2024
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For the second time in a year, a former Flagler County employee has filed a lawsuit against the county.
Former Flagler County Human Resources manager Samantha Whitfield left her job at the county in July, after five years of employment. On Oct. 8, she filed a civil court case against the Flagler County Board of County Commissioners regarding a hostile work environment.
Whitfield is seeking “all legally available, general and compensatory damages,” as well as attorney fees and costs. Whitfield is the second person in 2024 to file a lawsuit against the county because of alleged problems in the workplace.
In May, former Flagler County engineer Faith Alkhatib — once the face of the county’s work with emergency beach renourishment and the U.S. Army Corps beach renourishment project — filed a lawsuit against the county, alleging the county unjustly terminated her employment. Her complaint cites discrimination because of her Palestinian ethnicity and retaliation for multiple discrimination complaints.
Both Alkhatib and Whitfield are represented by the same attorney, Tallahassee attorney Marie Mattox with Mattox Law.
Whitfield’s complaint alleges that a campaign of bullying and harassment by a fellow human resources employee began in March 2024, after she received a promotion, according to court documents. The lawsuit only lists the Flagler County Board of County Commissioners as the defendant, but does name several individuals in the complaint itself, including County Administrator Heidi Petito, Benefits and Wellness Manager Anita Stoker, County Commissioner Andy Dance and Deputy Administrator Jorge Salinas.
Whitfield states in the lawsuit that Stoker, jealous of Whitfield’s promotion, began to harass and bully her, even sabotaging other offers of employment Whitfield received. The complaint states that Stoker even used information about Whitfield’s personal life — a tense divorce and court cases involving her ex-husband — to harass her.
In July, Whitfield submitted her resignation “due to the unbearable hostility created by Stoker.” She was encouraged to stay by County Attorney Al Hadeed, who repeatedly assured her that an internal investigation would be conducted — only for no such investigation to take place, according to the lawsuit.
Despite the assurances and weeks after submitting her resignation, Petito accepted it — after “the County Commissioners informed Petitio that [Whitfield's] situation was purportedly drawing too much attention and that action was needed,” the lawsuit states. The Flagler County Commissioners are only responsible for the hiring or firing of the county administrator and not general personnel.
Whereas Alkhatib’s lawsuit details allegations spanning two decades, Whitfield’s claims of harassment began in the spring of 2024 and quickly escalated in the months that follow. Both former employees filed their complaints as whistleblowers.
Both Alkhatib and Whitfield cite in their lawsuits that they filed multiple complaints with either human resources or with their superiors about the inappropriate behavior they experienced from fellow employees. But, according to the court documents, no action was taken by the county to curb the behavior, or even investigate the allegations.
Whitfield declined to comment on her lawsuit, and Flagler County Attorney Sean Moylan said in an email that outside attorney Pausha Taghdiri was handling the lawsuit on behalf of the county. As Whitfield’s suit was just filed on Oct. 8, the county’s attorney has yet to submit a response.
Alkhatib’s case is still in motion. On Aug. 16, Flagler County, represented by attorney Susan Erdelyi of Marks Gray Law Firm in Jacksonville, filed a motion to dismiss the complaint for “failure to state a cause of action,” claiming her allegations of retaliation are vague and fail to meet minimum protection requirements.
At the same time, the county also filed a motion to strike several sections of Alkhatib’s complaint, should the court decide not to dismiss them. The motion to strike claims the allegations are “immaterial, impertinent and scandalous” and “have no bearing on the claim asserted” by Alkhatib.
