SALYERSVILLE – Two former City of Salyersville employees have filed a lawsuit against Salyersville Mayor Stanley Howard the Salyersville City Council for alleged wrongful terminations.
On July 9, attorney Ned Pillersdorf, representing Brandon Allen and Dustin Allen, filed a complaint in Magoffin County Circuit Court against the mayor and the city council, accusing the mayor of terminating the brothers due to the fact they were perceived as political enemies of the mayor.
According to the complaint, the two brothers had worked in various capacities for the City of Salyersville for more than a decade and were terminated in correspondence from the mayor dated June 29, 2024. They allege they were discharged directly due to the fact they campaigned for former Mayor James “Pete” Shepherd, during the November 2022 election, in which Howard beat Shepherd by 10 votes. The complaint further states they were fired “in direct retaliation for their First Amendment actions of freedom of speech and association for actively campaigning for the most recent mayoral opponent of Mayor Stanley Howard.”
Dustin Allen reportedly had worked for the City of Salyersville for the past 14 years, and for the past year he had been working as a maintenance worker at the wastewater plant, with the duties of manual labor and general maintenance to keep the water plant operational. Brandon Allen has worked for the city for the last 11 years, operating the wastewater plant, with the duties of daily testing of the intake(s) valve and monitoring the sewage levels. He is a certified wastewater treatment plant operator and operates in an individual capacity.
According to the suit, the Allens alleged they had heard directly and indirectly from at least two city council members and the city clerk that they were likely subject to retaliation due to their supporting of Shepherd in the last mayor’s election.
They alleged an independent wrongful discharge claim in that the actions of the mayor “constitutes a wrongful discharge that is against the public policy of the Commonwealth of Kentucky to retaliate against employees for the exercise of their First Amendment rights under the state and federal constitution,” according to the lawsuit.
The Allens asked the court for a judgment against the defendants, compensation for their past and future lost earnings, as well as for their pain and suffering, punitive damages against Howard, a trial by jury, an award of attorney’s fees and court costs and any and all other relief deemed appropriate.
The lawsuit also included the letters with the letterhead from the City of Salyersville and signed by Mayor Stanley Howard, one addressed to Dustin Allen and the other to Brandon Allen, identically stating the following:
“At the will of the mayor, your services are no longer needed. We appreciate your dedication and service to the residents of Salyersville and Magoffin County. Thank you for your service, effective immediately. Please return any of the Salyersville Waterworks property in your possession.”
No court date has been filed in the case and Stanley Howard and City Attorney Jeff Lovely still have several days left to respond to the complaint.
The SI will continue to follow this case as it proceeds through the court process.
