Librarian’s wrongful termination lawsuit against Llano County can move forward, judge rules

A librarian who was fired amid a pressure campaign to remove books from Llano County public libraries can sue for wrongful termination and employment discrimination, a federal judge has ruled.

Suzette Baker, who was head librarian at a county library in Kingsland, filed the lawsuit in March and accused Llano County of firing her in 2022 because she refused to remove books that a group of activists deemed inappropriate for children, some of which focused on race and LGBTQ+ experiences. The county eventually removed 17 books, ranging from the children’s book “I Broke My Butt!” to the nonfiction book “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent.”

Baker also accused county officials of suppressing her First Amendment rights by barring her and other librarians from attending public Library Advisory Board meetings during their personal and vacation time.

Baker, a 57-year-old veteran and mother of five adult children, now works as a cashier at a hardware store in Kingsland.

U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman on Tuesday evening denied Llano County’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit, allowing the case to advance toward a potential trial in Austin. The litigation could prove costly for Llano County, a rural Texas community in the Hill Country about 80 miles northwest of Austin, as it simultaneously defends itself against another federal lawsuit over the book removals.

The defendants in the case – the county, the Commissioners Court, the county’s library director and several community activists who were appointed to the Library Advisory Board during the push for book removals − categorically rejected Baker’s claims for legal relief in their June 4 motion to dismiss.

As per Llano County Library Director Amber Milum’s writeups, Baker was given a verbal warning and later fired for several instances of “insubordination” and “disruptive” behavior, including calling in sick to attend a library board meeting and falsely stating Milum had sent her. Baker also erected a library marquee that read, “We put the ‘Lit’ in Literature,” a double entendre referring to book burning, according to court filings.

“You are allowing personal biases, opinions and preferences to unduly influence your actions and judgment,” Milum wrote in a March 9, 2022 memo noting she had terminated Baker’s employment.

The defendants largely declined to comment on Tuesday’s order in response to individual requests sent by the American-Statesman, saying the county could not comment on ongoing litigation.

“We respect the legal process and look forward to finalizing this litigation,” Llano County Judge Ron Cunningham wrote to the Statesman on Wednesday.

Commissioner Jerry Don Moss emphasized that the Commissioners Court did not vote for Baker’s termination or order Milum to fire her in a phone call with the Statesman Wednesday.

Baker’s case, and the situation in Llano, have drawn national attention as restrictions on books read by children in schools and public libraries generate fierce debate around the country. In June, the Author’s Guild in New York City gave Baker the “Champion of Writers” award for her “brave defense of her community’s right to read.”

For Baker, the judge’s order signals that she and her lawyer are “going in the right direction.”

“I know what I did was right,” Baker said.

Denver-based attorney Iris Halpern, who is representing Baker, told the Statesman she hopes this initial order “sends a message” to libraries and government bodies that are considering placing restrictions on content. Halpern represented another Colorado librarian in a successful wrongful termination suit.

“Libraries are playing politics with First Amendment and constitutional and civil rights, and it’s time that that stops happening,” said Halpern, a partner at Rathod Mohamedbhai, in a phone interview.

“Librarians like Suzette Baker and other librarians across the country are heroes for protecting our rights and standing up to censorship and discrimination,” she added.

The defendants’ attorneys – Joanna Lippman Salinas and David Solomon of Austin-based firm Fletcher, Farley, Shipman & Salinas – did not respond to a request for comment.

The events leading to Baker’s firing

According to the lawsuit, tension over library materials in Llano County began over the summer of 2021 when a group of community activists demanded that the libraries remove several specific titles from the children’s and teens’ sections, calling them “inappropriate” and “pornographic filth.” They referred to some of the books as “LBGTQ and CRT books” in other emails.

In November 2021, community member Bonnie Wallace sent a spreadsheet with about 60 books to Milum and requested that librarians remove “all books that depict any type of sexual activity or questionable nudity.” The list was based on one compiled the month prior by Texas Rep. Matt Krause, R-Fort Worth.

Milum directed Baker to remove the books from circulation in Kingsland, but Baker refused, believing taking them out of the library would constitute a First Amendment violation, according to the complaint. At the time, she wrote in an email to Milum that the library system should counter parents’ concerns with “information on how to effectively see what their children are doing and on how to choose those books.”

In a phone interview Tuesday with the Statesman, Baker noted that the library has a process for patrons to file formal challenges to books, but said that process was never used for the removals in 2021 and 2022.

In total, 17 books were removed. Some were children’s books, such as “Larry the Farting Leprechaun.” Some were related to puberty, like “It’s Perfectly Normal.” Others were award-winning adult nonfiction books, including “They Called Themselves the KKK: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group” and “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents.” The library serves community members of all ages and books are labeled to indicate their recommended age range.

The county noted in its court filing that public employers have authority to limit speech and speech activities, such as attending public meetings, when that speech contradicts policies or impairs performance.

“Plaintiff’s speech was intimately connected with her professional duties and thus is not protected employee speech,” Salinas argued in the motion to dismiss.

The defendants note in their motion that neither the Commissioners Court nor the Library Board voted to authorize or order Milum, who oversees all three county libraries, to terminate Baker.

“The Commissioners Court had nothing to do with the termination,” Moss, a defendant in the lawsuit, told the Statesman in a phone call Wednesday.

But Baker argues in the lawsuit that the defendants all “planned, authorized, and supported her termination,” including by repeatedly pressuring Milum to have books removed. She also contends that the county terminated her employment to discriminate against minority groups through book bans and suppressed her First Amendment rights as well as those of other residents.

Baker is seeking back pay, attorney’s fees and an injunction ordering the county to cease behavior that discriminates against minorities and suppresses residents’ First Amendment rights.

To view the article in it’s entirety, visit www.statesman.com.