ACCOMAC, Va. - A federal jury sided with the Accomack County Department of Public Safety Friday on all three claims in a former employee’s lawsuit alleging a hostile work environment, sex discrimination, and retaliation.
The verdict, filed Oct. 9 in U.S. District Court in Norfolk, rejected Jada Marshall’s claims against the department. Jurors also indicated she should not receive damages.
The decision followed three days of trial before U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson. According to court minutes, nine jurors heard closing arguments Friday and received the judge’s instructions before deliberations began at 12:50 p.m. They returned their verdict later that afternoon.
Marshall sued DPS in 2025, alleging she was subjected to a sex-based hostile work environment while working as a Fire Medic Recruit and was ultimately fired in retaliation for reporting alleged harassment. The department denied the allegations.
As WBOC previously reported, Marshall alleged Fire Academy instructor Phillip Kelly, who she said was about 65 at the time, sent her a text in October 2023 stating he would ask her out if he were not married. Marshall was 18 at the time. She also alleged her supervisor, Capt. Shawn Malone, later made demeaning and sexually charged comments about her after she reported the message.
DPS disputed Marshall’s account of how her complaint was handled. The department said Malone reported Kelly’s message to Director Charles Pruitt, who confronted Kelly, told him the message was inappropriate, and directed him to have no further contact with Marshall, according to court records.
Marshall was fired in March 2024 after submitting clinical training documentation containing an incorrect date. She maintained she completed the required hospital shift and made a clerical error that she was not allowed to correct. DPS argued the inaccurate documentation, along with other alleged performance issues, provided legitimate reasons for her termination.
In January, Jackson denied the department’s motion to dismiss Marshall’s three claims, allowing the case to proceed.
Trial records list Marshall, Pruitt, Malone, and Accomack County Chief Human Resources Officer Kathy Carmody among the witnesses who testified. Evidence admitted included Kelly’s text message, Marshall’s termination letter, and the county’s sexual harassment policy, according to court records.
