ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, October 18, 1996 TAG: 9610180070
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: JAN VERTEFEUILLE STAFF WRITER
The former superintendent of Radford's Department of Social Services filed suit against the department and the city Thursday over her abrupt termination in February.
Suzanne Glass is seeking $250,000 and reinstatement to her job, which she had held for 24 years.
Glass said she was told in February that she must resign immediately or be dismissed the next day. She refused to resign and was ordered to leave the building that day.
Glass' lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Roanoke, says the only reason given for her dismissal was that the Board of Social Services "no longer had confidence in her ability to manage the agency."
Two weeks later, nearly 130 people showed up at a Radford City Council meeting to protest the dismissal, and Glass read aloud the termination letter sent to her by Dennis Cropper, chairman of the Social Services Board.
The letter cited concerns from former and current staff members, complaints from regional and state offices regarding adherence to policies and procedures, and the agency's poor image in the human services community.
Glass called the reasons "untrue and ludicrous" and was given a standing ovation by the audience after she finished her remarks.
Her suit says neither the board nor any of its members gave Glass a chance to respond to the charges and she was denied due process of law. She also says the city denied her the right to file a grievance because she was the head of the department.
The city, the Department of Social Services and the five board members are named in her suit. City Attorney John Spiers Jr. said Thursday he could not comment on the suit because he had not seen it yet.
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