Controversial KY juvenile justice chief voluntarily resigns after settlement reached
LaShana M. Harris, the embattled Kentucky juvenile justice commissioner, voluntarily resigned Thursday but will remain on “earned leave” until July 31.
“We settled the case,” said Frankfort attorney Paul Fauri, who is representing Harris. He filed her one-page resignation letter Friday in which Harris said she “was committed to transforming the culture and juvenile justice system into one of the best in the country.”
The nine-page settlement between the state and Harris, obtained by the Lexington Herald-Leader through an Open Records request, said Harris has agreed to voluntarily resign in lieu of dismissal and neither the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, which oversees Harris’ department nor the Personnel Cabinet will take any further action against Harris.
It said the Personnel Cabinet will remove from Harris’ official personnel file notices of termination letters and will pay her $115,000-a-year salary and benefits until July 31. Harris will agree that she is resigning without duress and will fully waive any future employment or re-employment with the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet.
She also agreed to fully release the state from any and all claims, liabilities, suits, costs, expenses and attorney’s fees.
Harris is to be paid by Aug. 30 for all earned and accrued annual leave and compensatory time.
Morgan Hall, a spokeswoman for the state Personnel Cabinet, affirmed the resignation Thursday afternoon in an email.
The Lexington Herald-Leader reported Thursday that Harris was still employed by the state as juvenile justice commissioner more than six weeks after the Beshear Administration acknowledged that she had been fired.
Personnel Cabinet Secretary Gerina Whethers informed Harris on March 23 that Harris was being dismissed immediately for allegedly bullying and harassing employees. The dismissal came after a lengthy investigation by the cabinet.
Whethers amended the dismissal six days later, saying it would take effect April 7. She also gave Harris a chance to state she should not be fired.
In an April 5 letter to Whethers, Harris said the dismissal action against her should not be imposed or should be modified. She claimed the Personnel Cabinet investigation of her job performance was incomplete, biased and compromised, and that some staffers resented her because she is a strong leader who is a Black woman.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Whitney Westerfield, R-Hopkinsville, said Thursday he was puzzled about the situation and expressed concerns about the operations of the department, which provides services to sentenced, committed, probated and detained youth and their families.
Harris, who makes $115,000 a year, was placed on leave Dec. 23 while the Personnel Cabinet investigated several complaints against her. During her absence, the Justice Cabinet said deputy secretary Ronnie Bastin was overseeing the department. She was appointed to the job in December 2019 by Gov. Andy Beshear.
The Personnel Cabinet’s investigation said there were no disciplinary actions in Harris’ official personnel file but her file contains a letter that says she was fired without cause as a division director of the regulated child care division in the Cabinet for Health and Family Services on Aug. 20, 2010.
This story was originally published May 6, 2021 at 4:23 PM.
