Where there’s smoke, I guess there’s ancient fire being extinguished by the Stitt Administration.
Last week, we were the only local media outlet to report that Shelley Zumwalt – the fast-rising, media-friendly star of the Stitt Administration who currently heads the Oklahoma Tourism Department – is being accused of age discrimination dating back to when she led the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission.
Here’s the gist in case you missed it:
Claudia Conner – a long-time state employee who most recently reported to Zumwalt as General Counsel for Employment Security Commission – is suing the state, claiming Zumwalt hired her as a cover for an organized purge of "dowdy and frumpy" older employees within the agency.
Conner also claims Zumwalt then fired her – despite a recent raise and positive review – in retaliation for reporting a vendor to HR. That vendor would later be hired by the agency, only to accept a job with Zumwalt's husband's IT firm – a big state contractor – a month or two later.
Not too long after the story was published, the Ogle Mole Network lit up with dispatches letting us know this wasn’t the first time Shelley Zumwalt has been accused of purging olds from a state agency!
Thanks to the Ogle Mole Network, we’ve learned that Zumwalt is also the focal point of a different age discrimination claim that dates back to 2019, when she served as Chief Communications Officer for the Oklahoma Healthcare Authority!