A unanimous N.C. Court of Appeals panel has ruled against a Central Prison staffer who claimed her whistleblowing blocked her from a promotion. The decision affirms an earlier ruling against the staffer.
Judith Knechtges had asked the state’s second-highest court to reverse a February 2021 decision from the state Office of Administrative Hearings. Knechtges sought a new hearing on her claims of whistleblower retaliation.
“Upon careful review of the record and the parties’ briefs, we discern no abuse of discretion,” wrote Judge Fred Gore in an unpublished opinion. Unpublished opinions have limited value as precedents in future cases.
“Petitioner was the director of the Central Pharmacy at the Central Prison Healthcare Complex Facility in Raleigh … from 2010 to 2016. In 2015, petitioner reported ‘numerous anomalies’ with ‘the management of controlled substances,’” Gore wrote. “As a result of this report, a yearlong investigation occurred internally by the United States Drug Enforcement Agency, the North Carolina Board of Pharmacy, and the United States Attorney General’s Office.”
The Department of Public Safety, the respondent in the case, “was found at fault and required to pay substantial fines,” Gore...
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