Linda Bolante had been employed with the sheriff’s office for approximately 13 years. Her position according to documents and institutional knowledge was the chief financial officer. Her title can be argued that she holds the position of director within the organization. This is important, as Florida State Statute 2000-482/House Bill 1799 gives protection from termination from the sheriff to the status of a director if the person is a sworn law enforcement officer. Bolante was not a sworn law enforcement officer. The above statute is further applicable during a transition from one sheriff to the newly elected sheriff. Bolante’s departure was approximately 17 months after the sheriff took office. Bolante was also not terminated, but in her complaint, forced to retire in lieu of termination. …show more content…
The Florida Whistleblower statute (F.S.S. 112.3187 94)) states that an employer cannot dismiss, discipline, or take any other adverse reaction against an employee for disclosing the above described violations. Her complaint (Bolante v. Manfre, 2014) creatively uses the term “constructively terminated” (pg.4). I would question her status as a whistleblower and wonder if she truly was not terminated for other reasons. According to the current Chief of Staff, Jeff Hoffman (personal communication, October 27, 2015), the former chief of staff was becoming frustrated with Bolante’s work performance and was keeping notes on Bolante. He believed that the former chief was in fact wanting to terminate Bolante for performance