Court hears appeal in lawsuit over former Lorain County employee's firing

The 9th District Court of Appeals in Akron last week heard an appeal in the case of a former Lorain County employee who sued her former employers, claiming she was fired in 2021 for "blowing the whistle" on alleged fraud in county government. Alexis Swiniarski of LaGrange Township appealed after her case against the county was dismissed in Lorain County Common Pleas Court in 2024. Swiniarski first sued the county in 2022, a year after she was fired for alleged poor job performance. She instead alleged she was fired for being a whistleblower, later adding allegations of intimidation, retaliation, wrongful termination and sex discrimination. Arguing Sept. 16 before a panel of 9th District judges, her attorney Michael Conway said Swiniarski had conducted "a bit of a research project" into alleged fraud involving "about a quarter of a million dollars" in Medicaid and health care billing for inmates at the Lorain County Jail. Swiniarski determined only about $60,000 of that billing was legitimate, Conway said. Some treated "prisoners" didn't exist and some medical care reimbursements weren't being made. Only days after she reported the alleged fraud, the county took steps to fire Swiniarski, Conway said. And despite what a county Common Pleas judge later ruled, "we say her conduct was whistleblowing protected by the First Amendment," he argued. The case previously went before the State Employee Relations Board, or SERB, where Conway said the county argued his client wasn't a "classified employee" then turned around and argued she was. Classified employees have civil service protections, and can be represented by a union. Unclassified employees serve "at the pleasure" of their boss and aren't union-protected. The county's argument, "that's quite frankly making up evidence," Conway argued. The county considered Swiniarski to be "among a group of 'gossipy women,'" unfairly stereotyping her and giving her a claim of improper sex discrimination. Chief Assistant Lorain County Prosecutor Leigh Prugh argued that Common Pleas Judge James Miraldi got it right when he dismissed Swiniarski's lawsuit in late 2024, a decision that led to the current appeal. A "whistleblower" claim should have been heard by SERB, not a court, Prugh argued. Swiniarski didn't provide facts to back up her claims and wasn't able to counteract allegations of poor job performance, Prugh said. Testimony was that Swiniarski "did not perform well when she was at her job," and Miraldi properly determined she was a classfied employee, Prugh told the appeals court. There may have been mistakes in medical billing at the Lorain County Jail, but there is "no evidence anywhere" of billing fraud. Swiniarski's arguments fail "because there is not enough evidence," she said. "The evidence is not there." In a brief rebuttal, Conway said the 9th District Court ruled in another case he brought that you can't fire an employee for reporting a crime. Swiniarski also rebutted "every single" one of the allegations that she didn't do her job, he said. First hired in 2017 as a secretary at the Lorain County Visitors Bureau, Swiniarski transferred a year later to benefits coordinator in the county Human Resources department. There, she was assigned to computerize and maintain county employee health care information. Commissioners alleged Swiniarski failed to deposit more than $840,000 worth of health care premium checks; failed to update county health care information; didn't file IRS forms; forged former county Administrator Jim Cordes' signature on a benefits form; improperly shared confidential county employee records; and told lies about Jen Sinatra, former county human resources director, according to county officials. In response, Swiniarski alleged she was only fired after she complained about the alleged fraud to former county Administrator Tom Williams, his deputy administrator Rob Weber and Sinatra. She further alleged the county created false documents to justify her firing. Swiniarski dismissed her original lawsuit in September 2023 then refiled it the following month. Miraldi dismissed that lawsuit in October 2024, and Swiniarski appealed.Few of the county officials involved in Swiniarski's firing still work for Lorain County. Williams was fired in August 2021, and replaced by Weber. Hung, Lundy and Moore fired Weber in October 2021. Sinatra resigned in August 2022. She alleged the County Administration Building was a hostile work environment. Lundy lost his 2022 reelection bid to current Commissioner Jeff Riddell, a Republican. Commissoner Marty Gallagher defeated Hung in the 2024 Republican primary. Appeals judges did not give a timeline for rendering a decision. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.