FORMER CANNABIS CONTROL COMMISSION Chairwoman Shannon O’Brien is suing both the commission and Treasurer Deb Goldberg seeking compensation for alleged retaliation she faced during her time leading the agency and for damages she incurred throughout the legal battle to get her job back. Meanwhile, Goldberg’s office said O’Brien is dredging up old issues that have already been litigated to generate attention.
O’Brien’s lawsuit, filed Thursday in Suffolk County Superior Court, rehashes a two-year-long legal battle between her and Goldberg that highlighted internal strife within the CCC. It also comes months after Gov. Maura Healey appointed an entirely new commission under a recent law that reformed the marijuana industry and its oversight body while removing Goldberg’s authority to appoint commissioners to the agency. That law terminated O’Brien’s tenure and she was not reappointed.
O’Brien’s complaint, filed by Needham attorney Timothy Burke, includes three separate claims against Goldberg: retaliation in violation of the Massachusetts Whistleblower Act, a charge also brought against the CCC; violation of the Massachusetts Civil Rights Act; and that Goldberg invaded her privacy.
The lawsuit alleges that CCC personnel and Goldberg retaliated against O’Brien because she reported and opposed actions she believed violated the law or regulations and that posed risks to the public.
Burke said O’Brien disclosed or “threatened to disclose” information to public bodies about “...
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