PHILADELPHIA - Those who were fired after Delaware County assumed control of the George W. Hill Correctional Facility have filed a federal lawsuit.
A group of plaintiffs, represented by Timothy Prol of The Derek Smith Law Group, filed a lawsuit Feb. 29 against Delaware County and the Hill Correctional Facility, plus several individuals.
The lawsuit alleges that the defendants violated the plaintiffs' rights under the First, Fifth, and 14th amendments. Specifically, it claims that the defendants unlawfully terminated some plaintiffs from their positions at the correctional facility when its day-to-day functions were re-assumed by Delaware County.
Hill was under private administration by The Geo Group from 1998-2022, with 308 corrections officers being employed during that time subject to a collective bargaining agreement.
On April 6, 2022, the county reassumed control of Hill and since has allegedly terminated employees without due process. One such officer was fired for bringing headache medicine into the jail, even though it was only his first infraction in a 14-year career, the suit says.
He should have simply received a 10-day suspension, the suit says. The plaintiffs are seeking monetary damages for alleged civil rights violations.