NEWTON COUNTY, Ga. — Cynthia Wiemann, the former head of Newton County Animal Services/Animal Control, is suing the county for wrongful termination and requesting to be reinstated to her position.
The lawsuit was filed in September in Newton County Superior Court, records show.
According to Wiemann’s lawsuit, the now-former director of Newton County Animal Services filed a series of concerns and whistleblower complaints with the county over multiple alleged violations of, and noncompliance with, state laws, rules and regulations regarding fraud, waste and/or abuse of resources related to an intergovernmental agreement for providing animal services.
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Wiemann’s lawsuit alleges that several cities in Newton County failed to pay the county for services rendered by the Animal Services department.
When Wiemann reported this, the county placed her on administrative leave, then “conducted a sham investigation aimed at her and designed to find pretextual reasons to terminate her” that were not acted upon until after she blew the whistle.
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Then she was fired, “in retaliation for raising these complaints, in violation of the GWA (Georgia Whistleblower Act).”
Wiemann worked for the Newton County Animal Services department as the director from her hiring in February 2018. She raised concerns about the possible violation of law and alleged financial abuse and waste in 2023 with Newton County Manager Harold Cooper, specifically telling him she was worried that cities were not paying for animal services.
While there are multiple allegations and concerns expressed in the lawsuit, such as Mansfield not having a court to pursue animal control violations and Porterdale and Covington ordinances not being aligned with dangerous and vicious dog regulations at the state level, Wiemann’s lawsuit alleges that payment for fines and fees to through the Newton County Animal Shelter did not occur, even from individuals who were convicted of violations.
In October 2024, Wiemann asked Cooper about failures to pay the county for the services being rendered and was asked to a meeting with him and office staff, as well as the HR director for the county, Dr. Amanda Shoemaker.
Cooper told Wiemann, according to the court record, that Georgia is an at-will employment state, then “set out a box of tissues in case she became emotional.” Wiemann accuses Cooper of then going through a variety of “arbitrary complaints from citizens, all of which were old and generally made by individuals who did not agree with the animal services department carrying out its legal mandate,” brought up staff turnover rates in the animal services department, did not let Wiemann respond to what he was saying, then told her “I am trying hard to find one redeeming quality in you,” according to the lawsuit.
Wiemann states in the court record that she had never been written up or disciplined in any fashion while working for Newton County, nor had she received any notice of alleged performance issues before this meeting.
She was placed on leave with pay on Nov. 4, following that day’s meeting. Wiemann asked for a copy of her personnel file via an Open Records Act request. Three days later, the county requested a Dec. 19, 2024, deadline to provide them. Only some of the documents requested were provided on Dec. 19. A subsequent set of meetings with the county’s HR department, and following a separate review of the IGAs in question that Wiemann said she had filed concerns and complaints to the county about, Wiemann alleged retaliation was underway for her whistleblower activity.
Shoemaker eventually provided the personnel file to Wiemann in early January 2025.
A month afterward, Wiemann said Shoemaker asked her to meet with a County HR investigator.
A few days prior to Wiemann’s meeting with investigators from the county HR department, County Manager Cooper was arrested and placed on leave on charges of driving under the influence. In March 2025, his employment contract was bought out by the county, separate court records show, and his charges were reduced. Cooper entered a guilty plea for reckless driving and was sentenced to probation.
In the interim, the county continued their investigation, with Wiemann still on leave through March and April 2025. The county offered Wiemann a severance package in April, which she declined. Then, on April 25, despite not being told she was terminated, Wiemann said in court filings that an animal shelter employee got in contact to ask her “what items in the office belonged to her,” and said the county told the department that her last day was April 11.
Her firing notice, filed with the Georgia Department of Labor, says Wiemann failed to obey rules, orders, instructions or procedures of her employer by not signing a severance agreement.
Wiemann is now suing the county to be reinstated to her job with full pay, benefits and seniority, or to recover front pay, fringe benefits with prejudgement and post-judgment interest instead, as well as compensatory damages and attorney’s fees and litigation costs.
In a response filed by the county, the county’s counsel says Wiemann failed to state a claim that relief can be granted for, that Wiemann has not suffered any harm as defined for recovery under the GWA and that Wiemann did not disclose a violation of or noncompliance with any law, rule, or regulation or object to, or refuse to participate in, any activity, policy, or practice of the County that she had reasonable cause to believe was in violation of or noncompliance with a law, rule, or regulation.
The Newton County government also said in court that they did not retaliate against Wiemann in “any manner whatsoever,” that she is unable to establish a case of whistleblower retaliation, that they have a legitimate and nonretaliatory reason for her termination and that the county preserves its defense of failure to mitigate damages, reserves the right to raise additional defenses as appropriate, and denies the allegations made by Wiemann, citing a lack of sufficient information or knowledge to do so, therefore denying them wholly.
Further, the county denies the allegations regarding Wiemann’s disciplinary record and complaints filed against Wiemann and Animal Services by residents, as well as claims of retaliation over the whistleblowing activity in general.
The county says none of Wiemann’s requests for relief are things she is entitled to, legally, and ask that the case be dismissed in its entirety, with prejudice, and that Wiemann bears the cost burden for the lawsuit’s process.
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