A lawsuit has been filed against Jefferson County Assessor Gloria Tillman and the Assessor’s Office alleging that she illegally employed her daughter in violation of the Jefferson County Nepotism Ordinance.
The lawsuit also alleged that Tillman paid former Assessor Yvonne Humphrey, who retired at the end of 2023 for hours she did not work and did not require her to use Family Medical Leave or Paid Time Off.
The lawsuit was filed Monday in Jefferson County Circuit Court by Little Rock attorney J. Paul Coleman who is representing three Jefferson County residents, Garland Trice, Mark Cannon and Clayron Rasberry.
According to the lawsuit, Tillman hired her daughter, Morgan to work in the Assessor’s Office and was in direct supervision of her daughter.
She was allegedly told by County Attorney Terry Wynne on March 28, 2024 that employing her daughter was a violation of the county ordinance and on April 2 by County Judge Gerald Robinson who also told Tillman that if she continued to employ her daughter, he would seek a court remedy.
In the case of Humphrey, the lawsuit alleged that she took off for several weeks using sick time “that she did not have” and Tillman did not inform the County Clerk that Humphrey was not at work or how much time off Humphrey had to use.
When Robinson asked about Humphrey on March 21, 2024, Tillman said Humphrey was using sick time she accrued before she retired but Tillman was reminded that Humphrey’s sick time was to start over from zero when she was rehired to work in the Assessor’s Office.
The lawsuit is seeking to have Gloria Tillman removed from office, as well as her daughter, and Humphrey repay Jefferson County for the hours she was paid but did not save while on leave from work.
It also asked for actual and punitive damages and attorney fees.
