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7 current, former employees ile suit against Trumbull engineer
By Ed Runyan
YOUNGSTOWN
Seven current or former employees of Trumbull County Engineer Randy Smith have filed a lawsuit in federal court, seeking millions in damages.
They allege Smith violated each man’s constitutional free-speech rights and retaliated against each one.
The suit, filed by Atty. David Engler, says Smith posted a “list of purported union sympathizers in the workplace” and took adverse employment actions against each one.
He also gave different job treatment to the seven, which was “motivated by Smith’s open animus toward persons who were involved in supporting Smith’s political opponents, or who he believed were associated with his political opponent and/or persons who were engaged in union activities while employed by the engineer’s office,” the suit says.
Smith said of the suit: “It’s nothing more than accusations and claims with no backup.”
One of the three men who no longer works for Smith is Kendall L. Stauffer Jr. of Girard, who was chief union steward when he was fired in March after being accused of making a threatening statement and other matters.
According to an internal investigation conducted by an attorney for the engineer’s office, Stauffer remarked early March 16 at the engineer’s Cortland garage that “there’ll be a pile of people behind me, and I’ll be standing on top of the bodies when it all comes down.”
Another former employee who filed the suit is Christopher Charnas of Niles.
Disciplinary files related to Charnas indicate he was terminated in 2014 after he was charged with drunken driving a second time in three months, resulting in suspension of his commercial driver’s license, which he needed for his job as a truck driver.
Charnas was not convicted of either drunken driving charge with the second one dismissed Aug. 1, 2014.
Another former employee in the suit is Anthony Johnson of Warren, who resigned his job in a settlement agreement in February that called for him to receive $9,000 in severance pay and $4,239 for unused sick time.
Among the current employees is Robert Gatti of Hubbard, who the engineer and county commissioners sued in December, seeking the return of $10,316 that the county engineer said Gatti should repay for hospitalization benefits he received while receiving workers’ compensation several years ago.
Another current employee is Jason Loomis of Bristolville, who filed a discrimination suit against Smith, but a May 2016 letter from the Ohio Civil Rights Commission said it found no probable cause to investigate the claim, according to a document. Two other current employees who filed the suit are Timothy L. Davis of Warren and Benjamin Hall of Cortland.
The suit says Smith’s actions toward the men has denied job opportunities to Hall; harassed Stauffer, Davis, Loomis and Gatti; resulted in an unwarranted lawsuit against Gatti; threats to Gatti, Stauffer; unwarranted disciplinary action against Gatti, Johnson, Davis and Stauffer; and discriminary job assignments to Gatti, Johnson, Davis and Stauffer.