Jail administrator says she may sue county officials

Jail Administrator Tori Sandoval is putting Curry County on notice she may sue her bosses, alleging she was forced to take 10 days unpaid leave because of political retaliation by County Manager Lance Pyle.

The allegations are part of a three-page tort claim filed Nov. 6 by Sandoval’s attorney, Matt Chandler.

Sandoval alleges Pyle falsely accused her of nepotism, violated county policy by punishing her with 10 days unpaid leave, then retaliated against her when she hired Chandler by falsely accusing her of embezzlement.

Pyle declined comment on the allegations Friday, citing a county policy of not responding to pending or threatened litigation.

Sandoval claims the nepotism charges center on the hiring of her sister-in-law Maria Saiz as a booking clerk in April 2012 by former jail Administrator Gerry Billy.

Sandoval alleges she and Saiz each disclosed their relationship to Pyle and other county administrators during extensive pre-employment interviews. Disclosures by both are in writing and on file with the county personnel office, according to Chandler.

County policy allows employment of relatives but dictates they cannot work in the same department. If job duties change, according to the policy, and employees wind up in the same department, the employees must notify the department chief. The department head must then notify personnel.

The policy also states one of the employees must be transferred to a different department. If there are no openings in other departments within three months of notification, one of the employees must be fired, according to the policy.

Sandoval was appointed jail administrator in December 2013. She alleges she was confronted by Pyle in August after Commissioner-elect Chet Spear raised the question of nepotism.

In an Oct. 8 letter to Pyle protesting Sandoval’s suspension, Chandler notes, “According to County policy, you then had ten (10) working days to officially notify those involved of the violation and to transfer one of the employees ... if a position was available. My review of records indicate you failed to provide either one of them with notice of transfer, which means you are in fact in violation of the aforementioned policy.”

In Sandoval’s threat to sue filed about a month later, Chandler charges that Pyle retaliated against his client, accusing her of using county money to buy a shadow box as a departing gift for an employee leaving county service. Chandler notes Sandoval produced her personal bank documents to the county to prove she paid for the gift.

“Let it be clear,” Chandler says in the claim, “no county monies were used in the purchasing of the shadow box and Mr. Pyle knows this much to be true but continues to harass her (Sandoval) over it. In short, this new investigation initiated by Mr. Pyle is purely retaliatory, hostile and discriminatory, and once again violating Ms. Sandoval’s rights — causing her undue stress, both personally and professionally.”

The claim also notes that Sandoval continued to work during her unpaid suspension in October. “Mr. Pyle saw Ms. Sandoval at work and actually gave her instructions on how to report to the Commissioners during the Curry County Commission meeting.”

Saiz didn’t respond to attempts to reach her for comment.