Former employee sues Chatham County District Attorney’s Office

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - New developments in the controversy surrounding the Chatham County District Attorney’s Office.

District Attorney Shalena Cook Jones is being sued by a former Assistant District Attorney over claims of sex discrimination, retaliation, violation of the Georgia Whistleblower Act, and multiple civil rights violations.

Former ADA Anthony Burton filed that lawsuit Tuesday.

Burton has already announced he is running against Cook-Jones in 2024.

He claims a culture of sex discrimination blocked his chances of being promoted and ultimately led to his termination.

He also claims that, after Jones was elected - DA’s Office employees called him derogatory names... and quote, “made cruel remarks about him based on sex stereotypes and/or because of his sexual orientation.”

He also says that he was retaliated against after alerting the Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia that he was concerned about mismanagement of the budget.

According to the lawsuit, Burton was fired after learning that a coworker was leaving the Chatham County DA’s Office to work in the Metro Atlanta area.

He says after texting current and former prosecutors about it, the DA terminated him the next day for sharing, quote, “confidential personnel information.”

Burton claims he was *really fired in-retaliation for blowing the whistle.

But it didn’t end there.

The lawsuit says after he was fired, that retaliation continued when Chief ADA Michael Edwards filed a complaint with the Georgia Bar, quote, “in an attempt to intimidate Mr. Burton into silence.”

Burton is demanding full back-pay and punitive damages for what he says is a reckless disregard for his rights.

We reached-out to the District Attorney’s office for a comment. We have not heard back.

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