A circuit court judge rejected a bid to dismiss a whistleblower lawsuit by a former city of Richmond employee, who claims she was wrongfully fired after sharing concerns about transparency law violations.
Connie Clay, the city’s former Freedom of Information Act officer, filed the lawsuit in March 2024 against the city and Petula Burks, the former director of the city’s Office of Strategic Communications and Civic Engagement.
Clay’s lawsuit alleges she was told to withhold information requested through FOIA and was eventually “silenced” before Burks fired her for raising issues with the city’s potential FOIA violations.
In April, the city of Richmond filed a motion to dismiss the case, but after hearing arguments on Jan. 29, Judge Claire G. Cardwell overruled the city’s effort.
“Although Plaintiff's Complaint does not explicitly connect her good faith disclosures of suspected wrongdoing to Defendants’ retaliation and discrimination toward her, the Court may reasonably infer this alleged conduct flowed from her disclosures of suspected FOIA violations,” Cardwell wrote in her Wednesday order.
A city spokesperson declined to discuss the ongoing litigation.
Clay’s attorney told VPM News they “appreciate the Court’s ruling. It is what we anticipated based on the law. We hope this facilitates resolution.”
While employed by the city, Clay was responsible for processing public records requests under FOIA,...
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