Gov. Pete Ricketts' former administrative assistant has sued the state, saying Ricketts laid her off citing budget cuts, then replaced her soon after with a younger employee.
In a lawsuit filed Friday in Lancaster County District Court, Kathleen Graham's attorney, Vince Powers, accused the state of age discrimination.
Taylor Gage, a spokesman for Ricketts' office, said the executive assistant position never was replaced. The duties were absorbed by others in the office.
“In December 2016, the Governor’s Office eliminated its executive assistant position as a part of statewide budget cuts due to a downturn in tax receipts," he said.
Graham was 65 on Dec. 1, 2016, when Ricketts told her that, due to budget cuts, he was eliminating her position as administrative assistant/executive assistant to the governor. But, Powers said in the lawsuit, within days, the state replaced her with an employee in her 20s, who was given a substantial pay raise.
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He said she sat in Graham's former desk, parked in her former parking spot and performed the same duties Graham had performed.
That woman since has left the job, Powers said.
In the lawsuit, he said the sole factor in replacing Graham was her age and alleged it was a violation of both the Nebraska Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Age Discrimination Employment Act.
The conduct was "willful and/or done in reckless disregard of the plaintiff's statutory rights," Powers said.
He said as a result, Graham lost wages and benefits and continues to incur damages.
Powers said Graham likely was the longest-serving administrative assistant for the governor in the history of Nebraska.
She had worked for the state since Jan. 1, 2000, starting at the Nebraska Attorney General’s office before working for Dave Heineman when he was lieutenant governor and then governor. For one month short of two years, she worked for Ricketts, even campaigning for him and helping his transition team, until he called her in and let her go without warning, or even a thank you.
"I felt privileged and honored to work in the Nebraska governor's office. It was my passion to serve the citizens of Nebraska," Graham said in a phone call Monday. "I was clearly discriminated against due to my age by being replaced by a much younger person."
At the time, she was less than a year from retirement. Graham now works in state Sen. Steve Erdman's office.