Florida pays $40K to settle civil rights suit by former top Worrell staffer fired amid 2023 suspension
The Orange-Osceola State Attorney's Office settled a lawsuit last month brought by Keisha Mulfort, State Attorney Monique Worrell's former chief of staff who was fired amid her boss's 2023 suspension.
In exchange for Mulfort abandoning the lawsuit, the agency, represented by the Florida Office of the Attorney General, will pay her $40,000. Of that amount, she will get $15,107.40 for compensatory damages and $6,474.60 in back pay. The rest will go toward attorney fees, according to the agreement.
Details of the April 21 settlement were first reported by WKMG, which published the full document online. A lawyer for Mulfort did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
Mulfort was months into her maternity leave after the birth of her daughter when she was fired Aug. 10, 2023, by the State Attorney's Office a day after Andrew Bain was appointed top prosecutor by Gov. Ron DeSantis. DeSantis suspended Worrell Aug. 9, 2023, for what he said was neglect of duty.
The settlement ties one of the remaining loose ends of Worrell's previous administration. Her ouster and subsequent return became one of the most-watched dramas in Central Florida politics — in which a progressive prosecutor in a majority-Democratic judicial circuit was pit against DeSantis as he looked to remove anyone he deemed too soft on crime.
A spokesperson for Worrell did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mulfort was notified of her termination by Orange County deputies who came to her home demanding she return agency-issued devices, vehicles and access cards as well as relinquish access to the office's social media accounts. At the time, she was in contact with the office through her attorney, who sought to amicably resolve the matter of turning over access to the online profiles.
'I am on FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act) and y'all are coming here like I'm a criminal,' Mulfort said at the time as shown on body-worn camera video. 'Regardless of what has happened at that office … regardless of what you have with Monique Worrell, I am on FMLA and y'all should have made arrangements. That would have been a respectful thing to do.'
In June she filed a federal lawsuit against Bain — someone she once called a friend who had attended her child's baby shower — claiming he had violated her employment protections under FMLA. At the time, a spokesperson for Bain's office said they rejected the claims, adding they took 'compliance with state and federal employment laws very seriously.'
'I did so much for the community and to have everything just uprooted for political posturing,' Mulfort said when the lawsuit was filed. 'It wasn't just insulting, it was infuriating, and it was a slap in the face to everyone that voted for Monique Worrell.'
According to the settlement agreement, the State Attorney's Office denied any wrongdoing. Mulfort, who managed Worrell's successful reelection campaign last year, now works for ACLU of Florida, but the agreement does not preclude her from returning to work for her former boss.
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Imagine how terrifying that would be with him coming back — what does that do to an ordinary person who may come forward?' said Victoria Burke, a California-based privacy attorney who crafted legislation meant to limit defamation suits like the one Cuomo filed against Bennett. 'It would have a chilling effect on anyone who comes forward. He's powerful, he's back, he's not remorseful.' Glavin, the Cuomo attorney, said: 'Everyone is entitled to due process and has the right to defend themself, particularly against demonstrably false allegations.' The Bennett lawsuit, she said, 'fell apart' due to requests for text and video messages 'that disproved her claims' which investigators did not obtain. 'Bennett's claims were virtually worthless, which is why the state eventually agreed to a nuisance settlement. Commisso's lawsuit is headed in the exact same direction — like Bennett, Commisso also withheld from investigators dozens of texts that gut her allegations, which is why her lawyers are now engaged in legal maneuvering to avoid Commisso having to sit for a deposition,' Glavin said. She continued: 'Trooper 1's case — which the New York State Police are also defending against — is likewise in tatters. What you cite are nothing more than routine, pro forma discovery requests that any defendant would make. Moreover, none of these cases involve an order preventing any complainant from talking publicly. If anyone is worried about a defamation claim, it must be because they know their allegations are false. ' Cuomo initially expressed regret when Bennett first came forward in 2021 to describe how the then-governor would ask questions about her personal relationships and sex life while telling her he was lonely. Looking directly into the camera during one of his Covid briefings that shot him to national stardom, Cuomo apologized if he made anyone feel uncomfortable. Out of office, Cuomo has denied any wrongdoing. In legal filings, his attorneys are taking a forceful posture, which extends to lawyers representing the women. Less than a week after Cuomo announced his mayoral campaign, in a letter to the court, Glavin blasted Commisso lawyer Mariann Wang for calling the ex-governor 'an unrepentant sexual harasser' as 'defamatory.' Criticizing Cuomo for receiving taxpayer assistance to defend himself would hurt his chances for a fair trial, Glavin wrote. 'There is nothing improper about Governor Cuomo receiving the state funded defense to which he is entitled to under the law,' Glavin wrote. 'Yet, Ms. Wang seeks to weaponize that fact and taint public opinion by calling Governor Cuomo's appropriate and routine discovery efforts 'vindictive.'' Wang responded that Cuomo would 'surely like' to prevent accusers from speaking about him but 'unfortunately for him, the First Amendment does not allow for such prior restraints on core political speech.'
