controversy surrounding the legal protection provided to an elected official
The city council of Toulouse, which took place on July 1, voted for a deliberation on the legal protection of an elected official in criminal proceedings initiated due to a complaint filed by an employee of the town hall. The elected representatives of the opposition stepped up to denounce this decision.
A deliberation was particularly debated during the Toulouse city council on July 1st. This concerns the functional protection of municipal councilor Henri de Lagoutine, in charge of human resources, in criminal proceedings brought on account of a complaint filed by Monique Loriente for illegal access to and disclosure of medical data.
In 2014, this former municipal employee put an end to her life in the premises of the town hall of Toulouse, following “bullying” suffered at work, as reported Mediacities. She had worked for the community for more than 15 years. Monique Loriente is now fighting to have the professional origin of her gesture recognized.
The city councilor would have disclosed this data to the reform commission
“Ms. Loriente accuses Mr. de Lagoutine of having illegally accessed medical data concerning her and of having disclosed them to the reform commission “, indicates Odile Maurin, member of the group Alternative Municipaliste Citoyenne (AMC). This body is responsible for deciding on the occupational origin of the illnesses of territorial civil servants.
Indeed, “in a letter, Mr. de Lagoutine allows himself to say, and I quote: “It was initially indicated that Mrs. Loriente presents an excessive personality, a pre-existing psychological fragility and totally independent of the services”. This is a remark that only a doctor can allow himself to make, ”said Odile Maurin.
Medical data communicated in the context of litigation
“What guarantee can we have that medical data will not be disclosed again to the detriment of agents? asks the AMC group member. But according to Sacha Briand, this was not done to the detriment of Monique Loriente. “This employee has initiated litigation against the City and has produced, within the framework of these litigations, medical data concerning her. The community then communicated them to the reform commission, ”assures the deputy mayor.
This justification does not pass with the opposition. “There is a difference between receiving medical information in a reform commission and spreading it and/or disclosing it”, specifies Maxime Le Texier, member of the AMC group.
Why doesn’t the former employee have this protection?
Odile Maurin also accused the municipality of not to grant the same functional protection to Monique Loriente. “How to explain that it is granted to Mr. de Lagoutine, but that it is refused to Mrs. Loriente even though justice has recognized that it is the exercise of her profession which had activated the act? asks the member of the AMC group. Sacha Briand answered him.
“Functional protection was granted to her, but she changed lawyers five times. After 10,000 euros in litigation costs and the rejection of 25 of its requests, the community considered that the elements were not such as to justify that the functional protection continues”, indicates the deputy mayor.
Sacha Briand accuses the opposition of “instrumentalising” this employee
According to Sacha Briand, Monique Loriente indeed engaged 33 litigation proceedings against the community, of which 25 were rejected. “We must stand with our officers when it is shown that the working conditions in our community are the cause of their ills, as is the case here. We don’t have to judge their legal choices,” says Maxime Le Texier.
The member of the Alternative Municipaliste Citoyenne group adds: “We are also not here to judge the number of procedures that people who feel aggrieved should or should not carry out”. But for Sacha Briand, the elected representatives of the opposition “instrumentalise this employee who seems to present mental disorders”. Henri de Lagoutine benefited from legal protection. The city council adopted the deliberation.