The American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska is preparing to file a lawsuit against Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s administration, it announced Wednesday.
The ACLU is alleging that the administration violated the constitutional rights of state employees by firing them. Details of the lawsuits will be released at a 10 a.m. Thursday press conference, according to a press release from the ACLU of Alaska. The press conference will take place at the ACLU office in Anchorage.
[Walker: Dunleavy resignation requests creating anxiety]
Casey Reynolds, a spokesperson for the ACLU of Alaska, declined to comment about the lawsuits Wednesday and said more information would be available at the press conference.
It’s not publicly known how many employees have been terminated since Dunleavy took office. A records request from the Empire to the governor’s office asking for the number of employees terminated have not yet been returned.
After his election in November, Dunleavy requested hundreds of state employees submit resignations and indicate if they wanted to work for the upcoming administration. The Associated Press reported about 800 employees, including commissioners, scientists, prosecutors and others, received the request.
This isn’t an uncommon request for an incoming governor, but Dunleavy’s team told the Associated Press at the time that this request had a bit wider scope than normal.
• This is a Juneau Empire report.
