Fired Official Sues Retirement Agency

The former Orange County employee retirement system administrator, who was fired 10 months ago amid allegations she abused her authority, sued the retirement agency Thursday, contending she had been treated unfairly.

Mary-Jean Hackwood, who had been accused of forcing some of her employees to run personal errands--including wrapping her Christmas presents, washing her car and dropping off her laundry--contends that board members of the Orange County Employees Retirement System deprived her of her civil rights and violated her employment contract.

Cameron Smith, Hackwood’s attorney, said his client decided to file the lawsuit after the retirement board rejected a claim she filed in September.

Smith said Hackwood has been unable to find work since the firing, even though she has gone on several interviews.

“The publicity over this has damaged her ability to get a job in the marketplace,” Smith said. “She was accused of things and never had an opportunity to respond to the accusations.”

The retirement board fired Hackwood after an independent investigation found more than two dozen instances in which she had employees perform personal chores--from mailing greeting cards to taking in the trash cans at her home when she was on vacation.

Hackwood has denied any wrongdoing.

The board originally voted only to demote Hackwood and move her to an office where she would not be in regular contact with the other employees. But after employees and others criticized the arrangement, the board decided to fire her.

Hackwood alleges in her lawsuit that the board improperly denied her an opportunity to “confront her accusers, to be heard, or to allow her the opportunity to produce evidence to clear her name.”

Officials from the retirement agency could not be reached for comment late Thursday.

In addition to suing the retirement agency, Hackwood’s lawsuits names as a defendant Mary K. Abbott, an employee and board member of retirement agency, alleging that she acted with “malicious motives” and “personal animosity” to initiate an investigation into Hackwood’s conduct as a supervisor.

Furthermore, the suit claims that the accusations against Hackwood “were based in whole or in substantial part upon false, unverified and unreliable assertions allegedly made by unidentified individuals.”