Staff – Published April 3, 2024
April isn’t starting off any better than March ended for Currituck County.
Judith Ayers had been employed with DSS from 2007 until the incident in 2017. Ayers was the supervisor for the Child Protective Services Unit at DSS who reported directly to the DSS Director. Ayers consistently received positive work performance reviews and had never been disciplined as a DSS employee before the incident occurred. Ayers was terminated in June 2018, for making an inappropriate comment about a client. Administrative Law Judge Melissa Owens Lassiter in the Office of Administrative Hearings, had previously decided in favor of Ayers on January 31, 2023. The county appealed.
Judge Hunter Murphy wrote in the majority opinion, “Here, we hold the ALJ’s findings of fact, to the extent necessary for the ultimate just cause determination, were supported by substantial evidence in the record. We further hold, upon de novo review, that there was no error in the ALJ’s determination that DSS lacked just cause to dismiss Ayers for her single instance of UPC in light of the facts and circumstances of this case. Accordingly, we affirm the ALJ’s final decision to retroactively reinstate Ayers with back pay and attorneys’ fees, subject to a two-week suspension without pay and subject to her taking additional cultural diversity and racial sensitivity training.”
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