Ex-Canyon County human-resources boss says officials defamed her. She seeks $1 million
A former Canyon County human resources director says two county commissioners and 10 county employees defamed her and breached an agreement the director signed upon leaving the job.
Sue Baumgart is seeking $1 million in damages from the commissioners and other staff members for telling people she was fired from her HR director position and “saying denigrating things,” her tort claim said.
Commissioners Keri Smith and Leslie Van Beek; Paul Navarro, county facilities manager; and Diana Sinner, county fair director, are named in the claim, which was filed Nov. 23.
Baumgart’s lawyer, Scott Rose, said by phone Thursday that the claim is in its early stages and that he could not elaborate on what comments were made.
The commissioners declined to comment through Joe Decker, county spokesperson. “It’s the county’s typical practice to not comment on pending litigation,” he said in an email.
The tort claim also said the Facilities Department, Development Services Department and Human Resources Department “took negative action earlier against Baumgart by among other actions announcing her position was open, posting her position on the internet, as opened, including on the county website, job boards and Indeed.”
The tort claim does not name Commissioner Pam White. Rose said that is because White did not say denigrating things or breach the county’s resignation and release agreement.
White and Smith met with the county legal team and Jennifer Allen, HR generalist for the county, on July 1 at a regular commissioners’ meeting. Meeting minutes and audio obtained by the Idaho Statesman show that they discussed posting the HR director job but did not comment on Baumgart.
Van Beek was absent from the July 1 meeting, records show.
A tort claim is a civil claim made against a state or local government for a wrongful or negligent act. A tort claim is a precursor to a lawsuit, but not all plaintiffs follow up unanswered claims by suing.
According to the tort claim, Canyon County and Baumgart agreed to a “resignation, severance and release agreement” that stated, “The county and the county commissioners individually and jointly agree not disparage or denigrate Baumgart, orally or in writing.”
The agreement also said the commissioners and county would not reveal any terms of the agreement.
Rose said in the tort claim that the county violated these two and other terms of the agreement with comments made on or about and after June 10.
Lawyers for Canyon County are deciding how to proceed with the claim, Rose said.
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