Westmoreland County pays $50K to settle lawsuit, want row officers to start footing legal bills - TribLIVE

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Westmoreland County commissioners have had enough of paying out large sums of money to settle lawsuits filed against other elected officials.

“We’re sending a letter to all of our row officers and elected officials telling them we want to hold them accountable,” said Commissioner Sean Kertes.

Those comments came Thursday as commissioners agreed to pay $50,000 to settle a federal lawsuit filed in January against Recorder of Deeds Frank Schiefer, who was accused of firing an office staffer for political reasons.

In the lawsuit, Alyssa Nuss of Greensburg claimed she was initially hired as an office clerk and cashier in 2018 by then-Recorder of Deeds Tom Murphy, a Democrat.

Schiefer, a Republican, defeated Murphy in November to win back the office he held from 2012 through 2015. Nuss, in the lawsuit, conceded she supported Murphy in the 2019 election and contended that, on Jan. 6, Schiefer’s first day back in charge, she was fired after being confronted with a social media post in which she agreed with a statement from another person that praised Murphy and labeled the new officeholder a “disgrace” if he terminated staff for political reasons.

Schiefer on Thursday initially said he could not comment but later said his actions were taken in accordance with the county’s social media policy, which was set by the commissioners.

“I don’t hire or fire people based on political reasons,” Schiefer said.

Another federal lawsuit is pending in which another former employee claims she, too, was fired Jan. 6 under similar circumstances.

The county in recent years has paid out more than $500,000 in legal bills and settlements of lawsuits filed against elected officials, including a dozen against former Sheriff Jonathan Held, who was defeated in November after eight years in office.

Commissioner Gina Cerilli said elected officials should be held personally accountable for wrongdoing.

“It’s something we’re looking at,” Cerilli said.

One option is to penalize elected offices by deducting settlements and legal expenses related to lawsuits from office budgets.

“We don’t have unlimited resources, and I hope our colleagues take responsibility for that personally,” said Commissioner Doug Chew. “Maybe it will be an incentive to do that because they are footing the bill.”

Schiefer criticized the plan, saying commissioners ultimately decide whether to settle a lawsuit or litigate it.

“We live in a very litigious society,” Schiefer said. “I’ve hired people from both parties. Politics has never been a consideration, but what’s going to stop somebody from filing a lawsuit?”

Rich Cholodofsky is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Rich at 724-830-6293, rcholodofsky@triblive.com or via Twitter .

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