By DAMIEN FISHER, InDepthNH.org
The former Corrections Officer fired after she alerted superiors about dangerously low staffing levels inside the Concord prison is a step closer to possibly getting her job back.
The New Hampshire Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned the 2024 Personnel Appeals Board decision in Claudia Cass’s termination appeal, ruling that the Board erred by not considering whistleblower laws in its decision.
Cass has been fighting her termination for years, saying she was punished for sticking up for the safety of inmates and her fellow officers. In December of 2022, Cass sent an email to her superiors, including Warden Michelle Edmark, about the low staffing levels she strongly felt put people in danger.
For her efforts, Cass was suspended, investigated, forced to undergo a psychological examination, and then fired.
The PAB twice denied her termination appeal partly on the grounds that it legally did not have the authority to deal with whistleblower law violations. But the Court ruled Wednesday the law is clear, and the PAB is wrong. Under the laws governing the Board, it must overturn any termination decision if it finds that the employing agency violated a law, including New Hampshire’s whistleblower protection laws.
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