SCRANTON - A former Lackawanna County deputy sheriff with more than two decades of tenure brought a lawsuit against the county and Sheriff Mark McAndrew for alleged freedom of speech and civil rights violations, according to documents filed Feb. 26 in Scranton federal court.
In April 2018, an unfair labor practice charge was filed with the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board against the sheriff's office for choosing a less qualified officer for promotion over Capman and for allegedly retaliating against a grievance the plaintiff filed in 2017 by denying him opportunities as acting sergeant while a colleague was on medical leave. The investigators in this claim found that the sheriff definitively retaliated against the plaintiff by not promoting him due to the grievance, the suit says.
In January 2019, defendant Sheriff McAndrew allegedly moved the entire department except the plaintiff into a brand new government building, but told Capman he would remain at his current post in the Family Court building. Capman remained there in isolation for two months before being put on the graveyard shift at the courthouse, the suit claims.
The plaintiff allegedly accepted a demotion to escape a hostile work environment that defendant Sheriff McAndrew created when he discovered that Capman intended to run for sheriff.
In his demotion, the plaintiff lost paid sick and vacation time accrued, the suit says The sheriff's office told Capman that the lost time would be paid, but has failed to do so, the suit says.
Capman is suing the defendants for count of First Amendment violation, one count of violating the Pennsylvania Wage Payment and Collection Law, one Freedom of Association violation and custom/policy municipal liability.
The plaintiff is represented by Joel Wolff of Wolff Law PC of Dunmore.