An employment dispute between the Marshall County Commission and the County Personnel Board has been decided in the Commission's favor after a judge ruled last Tuesday.
The dispute began in December 2024 with the County Commission's hiring of Tanya Giroir as an account clerk. Giroir had been working as a temporary employee since that November. However, after she was offered the job full-time and requested a higher step on the pay scale, the county personnel administrator, Christi Kelley, discovered alleged discrepancies in Giroir's resume, namely that she had worked at Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government for only 11 months, rather than the nearly 3 years indicated in her application.
The Board argued that the discrepancy constituted fraud and declined to sign off on Giroir's hiring or requested pay scale. In response, the Commission passed a resolution in January 2025 affirming Giroir's employment, arguing that the discrepancy didn't rise to the level of fraud and that the Board lacked the authority to revoke employment after the job had already been offered.
To resolve the issue, the Board filed a suit against the Commission, requesting a court determination of which entity has the authority to determine whether an employee has committed fraud and, if so, whether the employee should be terminated.
According to Circuit Judge Gregory Nicholas, the "Policy and Procedures of the Personnel Board of Marshall County" handbook gave the Commission primary authority in this case and the Personnel Board secondary authority.
"The handbook vests the appointing authority, here the Marshall County Commission, with primary authority to determine whether disciplinary action is appropriate for a violation of the rules duly promulgated by the Personnel Board," Circuit Judge Gregory Nicholas said in his decision. "While Section 9.1.2 grants the Personnel Board some secondary authority to act when there has been 'an obvious violation of board rules,' the personnel handbook does not define what constitutes an obvious violation."
Nicholas also said it was unclear if the handbook's policies on fraud and termination applied to "statements contained in a pre-employment application," as the Board argued.
"The provision appears aimed primarily at preventing employees from submitting false records or making false statements related to their job duties after being hired," he said.
The judge ruled that "the Personnel Board is vested with sole authority to determine the appropriate wage scale for Giroir. However, the Personnel Board does not have the authority under rules adopted by the Board to make a determination whether Giroir committed fraud and to terminate her employment. That authority is granted to the Marshall County Commission so long as it complies with the rules duly adopted by the Personnel Board."
The judge did not rule on whether the alleged discrepancies in Giroir's application constituted fraud.
Personnel Board attorney Mallory Brown said the Board respected Nicholas' decision, but still maintained its original position.
"The Personnel Board continues to stand firmly behind its opinions, actions, and intent in this matter. The Board believes it acted in good faith and in accordance with its statutory responsibilities under Act No. 82-206 and the Personnel Board's duly adopted rules and procedures. The purpose of the Board's actions was, and remains, to uphold the integrity, fairness, and consistency of the county's personnel system," she said in a statement.
"While the Court determined that the authority to make determinations in this specific circumstance rests with the County Commission, the ruling does not diminish the Board's role or responsibility to raise concerns when it believes personnel rules and policies may not have been followed or when the integrity of Marshall County's hiring process is questioned."
County administrator Ashleigh Bubbett, the appointing authority who originally approved Giroir's hire, praised the court's decision.
"The judge was very fair in his decision. He even commented during the hearing how both sides (county commission and personnel board) are public servants, but even sometimes, public servants may disagree with each other, and that is when situations, like what we were faced with, happens," she said, "I'm thankful that he was able to guide us in a direction so that we can continue to move forward and focus on the needs of the citizens of the county."
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