St. Cloud law firm targeted pro-Trump employees for firing, lawsuit alleges
Employees were allegedly let go for backing Trump; firm's partners were next.
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According to the complaint, Scott was disturbed by the Capitol riot and sent an e-mail in April to all the firm's lawyers, saying that the "traitors on Jan. 6" should have been shot.
He then told the firm's operations manager to fire two employees he labeled "racist" because they had pro-Trump and pro-police posts on their social media accounts.
When she refused to fire the employees, Scott fired her, according to the complaint. Scott then fired an additional employee and threatened to fire another.
The three partners confronted Scott, according to court documents, and told him that firing an employee for political beliefs is against state law. Scott then fired them and called St. Cloud police to remove the pregnant Quarberg, claiming she was trespassing and physically threatening him.
Scott cut off the partners' phones and e-mail accounts, and changed the locks on the offices, the complaint says.
He told other law firm employees that the partners had been fired for insubordination, according to the complaint, and disparaged them in an online meeting with the firm's staff.
"We have three employees … who are way over the top violating everything that is dear to us and I won't let it happen," the complaint quotes Scott as saying.
Since firing the three partners, the suit alleges, Scott has tried to prevent them from collecting unemployment and health care benefits.
What's more, the firm's ownership is in limbo. The three fired partners together own 50% of the firm, with Scott owning the other half.
According to the suit, the fired partners negotiated a buyout under the firm's partnership agreement, but Scott reneged after first agreeing to it.
"Scott engaged in conduct at the firm that was inappropriate for an employee, let alone the president of the firm," the complaint says.
The three fired partners are seeking a number of remedies including back pay and benefits, as well as a judicial order to dissolve the firm and pay them for their shares under the buyout that had been negotiated.
