Ex-employee in Iowa files whistleblower lawsuit

KEOKUK, Wis. (AP) — A former Lee County employee has filed a whistle-blower lawsuit against the county, saying she was forced to resign after accusing co-workers in the county conservation department of plagiarism.

The Burlington Hawk Eye reports that Diana R. Verdught, a 16-year county employee, filed the lawsuit this week seeking actual and punitive damages from the county board.

A Keokuk attorney for Verdught, Curtis Dial, says Iowa’s whistle-blower law should have prevented the county from forcing Verdught to resign.

Steven Ort, a New London attorney who represents the Lee County Board of Supervisors, declined to comment on Verdught’s lawsuit.