TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Kate Prince on Aug 2, 2022

Two former employees of the Knox County Criminal Court Clerk’s office have filed federal lawsuits against their former boss for alleged age and disability discrimination, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports.  Kathy Diane Lewis, 63, and Christine Dumais, 64, say Knox County Criminal Court Clerk Mike Hammond used the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse to lay off older women in the office and replace them with “significantly younger females” with little or no experience. “Hammond established a pattern and practice of hiring females significantly younger than (Lewis and Dumais), and some of whom Hammond had become acquainted with at local bars and entertainment establishments,” the lawsuits state. Hammond allegedly told both women their positions were being eliminated due to lack of funds, but the lawsuits allege the jobs were not eliminated, but instead filled by younger women. Lewis and Dumais filed complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and have since received a “right to sue” letter based on that agency’s investigation.