Ex-Oklahoma Attorney General Lawyer Files Wrongful Termination Claim

A former Oklahoma assistant attorney general has filed a wrongful termination claim against the state.

Ted Rossier filed the $175,000 claim Thursday with the State Office of Risk Management, The Oklahoman reported. He is seeking a statement “absolving me of any wrongdoing” from the attorney general and a state commission, revocation of his firing, a change in his file to show he left by mutual agreement, and a neutral job reference.

Rossier claimed he was fired for giving wrong advice to the Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Commission about the state’s open meeting act. He said his advice complied with state law when he advised commission officials to release an informal memo he gave to a commissioner about the board’s hiring practices to the public.

“I was therefore terminated for complying with the Oklahoma Open Records Act,” he said. “A failure of compliance on my part could have resulted in criminal charges being brought against me.”

The attorney general’s office declined to comment.

“We just received the claim and are reviewing it,” Spokesman Aaron Cooper said. “We have no comment at this time.”

Rossier also claimed that he is a victim of gender discrimination. He said a female employee was not fired after giving wrong advice in 2012 to the Department of Veterans Affairs about a nurse’s termination.

He said another female attorney was not disciplined after she “committed violations of federal court discovery rules during litigation of an employment matter.”

“The extreme and outrageous manner of my termination, coupled with the negative press publicity, has caused me extreme mental anguish and emotional distress, for which I should be compensated,” Rossier said.