Federal judge sides with Beshear and returns teacher sickout case to state court

FRANKFORT -- A legal battle over access to the attendance records of Kentucky public school teachers who called in sick to attend Capitol protests earlier this year was returned to state court Thursday by a federal judge.

Attorney General Andy Beshear, along with the Jefferson County Teachers Association, initially filed the lawsuit in Franklin Circuit Court last April, alleging that Kentucky Labor Secretary David Dickerson had acted unlawfully in seeking the information.

Dickerson successfully removed the action to federal court in May, claiming the case involves claims “arising under the Constitution, laws or treaties of the United States.” Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd, whom Gov. Matt Bevin has labeled an “incompetent hack,” had been scheduled to hear the suit.

In an eight-page ruling Thursday, U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves said “only state-law claims are presented” in the case and the federal court does not have jurisdiction over it. He denied Beshear’s request for attorney fees and costs.

Read more: https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article232030082.html