The lawsuit, which seeks $250K in damages, claims the city routinely fails to comply with FOIA. It also alleges a pattern of intentionally withholding and delaying record releases.
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) – A whistleblower lawsuit filed by a former Richmond city employee alleges the city regularly does not follow the state’s Freedom of Information Act and she was “silenced” and eventually fired for reporting ongoing violations of the transparency law.
As the city’s former Freedom of Information Act officer and public information manager, Connie Clay was responsible for processing public record requests under FOIA.
In a whistleblower complaint filed Friday in Richmond Circuit Court, first reported by Virginia Public Media, Clay alleges “she realized that the City routinely violated its FOIA obligations” and its process for requests “was chaotic and mismanaged” when she started in the summer of 2023.
Clay alleges she did “everything she could to right the wrongs” she faced, but was “silenced” by Petula Burks, the city’s director of the Office of Strategic Communications and Civic Engagement and her immediate supervisor, and others, preventing her from properly doing her job.
Clay, an attorney, handled FOIA requests for 27 city departments until Jan. 19, the suit claims, when she was fired by Burks, who she accused in her lawsuit of ordering her to withhold information from reporters seeking records despite having no legal basis to do so.
“At the meeting, Burks terminated Clay stating that it was not a ‘good fit.’ Burks gave no other explanation. Burks did not allow Clay an opportunity to respond to the termination,” the lawsuit alleges. “Clay was terminated in retaliation for reporting and refusing to engage in illegal and unethical activities in violation of FOIA.”
The lawsuit, which seeks up to $250,000 in damages and for Clay to be reinstated, names the city and Burks as defendants. It comes after WTVR reported that the city is not complying with state FOIA law by frequently missing deadlines and even ignoring public record requests.
Mayor Levar Stoney’s office doesn’t “comment on personnel or ongoing legal matters,” a spokesman wrote in a text message to 8News. Burks and Lincoln Saunders, the city’s chief administrative officer, did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday.
“As we allege, the City repeatedly silenced Ms. Clay, its Freedom of Information Act Officer. Clay made reports to numerous City officials, including in the Mayor’s Office, that the City was violating its FOIA obligations,” Sarah Robb, Clay’s attorney, said in a statement. “In response, the City unlawfully terminated Clay in retaliation for her whistleblowing.”
This story is developing. Stay with 8News for updates.
