Richard Adams filed a lawsuit in August claiming he was fired in June for opening an investigation into the comments attributed to the acting manager
Richard Adams, the city of Deltonas Head of Human Resources, was officially released.
Acting city manager John Peters III. said Adams had until 5 p.m. Tuesday to respond to the letter of intent sent a week earlier.
Adams was first hired in 2016. His annual salary at the time of his release was $ 111,945 plus change.
Peters said Adams did not respond, but the city continues to hear from Adams’ lawyers at Morgan & Morgan law firm.
Coronavirus: Morgan & Morgan Plans Lawsuit Against Opis Coquina Center
These lawyers filed a lawsuit on Aug. 9, citing Florida’s public Whistleblower Act on Adams’ behalf and seek more than $ 30,000 in damages.
Neither Adams nor his lawyers responded to requests for comment on the dismissal.
The lawsuit said Peters fired Adams in June, two weeks after the HR director informed the acting manager that he was opening an investigation into complaints alleging Peters made discriminatory and inappropriate comments.
The lawsuit also states that Adams’ dismissal was due to his “failure to respond properly to unemployment lawsuits against the city” and “registering for and failing to attend a conference in Chicago, Illinois.”
Records show that Adams, 58, was not fired but was instead put on paid administrative leave in late June for possible human resource violations.
Peters said Adams was on the city’s payroll and use of services until Tuesday 5 p.m.
Peters said Wednesday that Adams’ resignation was related to a violation of the city’s human resources policy.
One issue related to how Adams handled unemployment lawsuits against the city, which resulted in the city paying more than $ 9,500, Peters said.
Another problem was attributed to airline ticket refunds and hotel reservations related to a conference that was recorded scheduled to take place in Chicago for a few days in June.
“Richard pointed out that he hadn’t canceled the Chicago hotel reservation because he assumed the cancellation would have been made automatically through the third-party travel agent,” said a report from the Volusia Sheriff’s Office. “Richard announced that airline ticket credits were still available to everyone, and retracted his testimony when he confirmed the credit was linked to his personal account.”
Adams also stated that on the days the conference was due to take place, he would work from home and take online courses from the Society of Human Resources Management, for which he was reportedly certified.
“When asked if he would be willing to prove the certificates, Richard advised consulting his lawyer,” the report said.
While the MP found a likely cause of charges against Adams for fraud by misdemeanor, Peters declined to file a criminal complaint on behalf of the city, according to the report on Aug. 19.
Rebecca Wilk, head of human resources, ran the department in Adams’ absence, Peters said.
The incumbent manager said he plans to fill the role internally before looking outside of Deltona.
