Fallin’s office settles lawsuit

Gov. Fallin’s office agrees to $125,000 settlement

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Governor Mary Fallin’s office has agreed to pay $125,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by the former director of Fallin’s Tulsa office.

The Tulsa World reported the dismissal of the wrongful termination lawsuit on Sunday. Wendy Gregory filed the suit claiming she was fired because the governor’s office feared bad publicity after the Internal Revenue Service sought to garnish her salary due to a child support dispute involving her husband and his previous wife. Gregory has said the IRS soon withdrew the action.

She said in the lawsuit that Fallin’s chief of staff, Denise Northrup, told her the governor’s office "can’t have this," in reference to the IRS action.

Spokesmen for Fallin deny that Gregory’s dismissal was related to the garnishment issue.

Spokesman Alex Weintz has said an internal review found the Tulsa office director position wasn’t worth the costs and that Gregory wasn’t performing satisfactorily.