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Amador County - The Board of Supervisors last week denied a claim for more than $10,000 filed by former Assessor candidate Jay Elias, who says county officials erred by keeping her on involuntary leave after medical evaluations found her medically and psychiatrically fit to perform her duties. The denial was made during closed session discussion on “potential litigation” facing Amador County. Elias was placed on unpaid leave on December 21st, 2009 and wasn’t allowed to return to work until March of this year. In a copy of the claim obtained by TSPN, Elias says the county placed her “medical fitness-for-duty at issue” and “relied upon and apparently adopted in its entirety the fitness-for-duty report” of a psychiatrist who considered her “totally disabled from work for medical reasons.” She says county officials refused subsequent evaluations from two other doctors who determined her medically and physically fit to perform her job, including an opinion from her family doctor. She calls the original psychiatric examination “critically flawed” for a number of reasons, and says those findings “are not supportable by clinical testing and evaluation.” She names county officials who were the alleged decision makers in determining her inability to return to work, including County Assessor Jim Rooney, former County Administrative Officer Terri Daly and Undersheriff James Wegner. The amount claimed exceeds $10,000 and would be an unlimited civil case. Her claim says the amount is based on past lost wages, various benefits, attorney’s fees and “emotional distress damages. The county’s decision to deny the claim may lead to future litigation. Elias declined to comment when contacted by phone. County officials also declined to comment because of the claim’s status as “potential litigation.” Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
