The former longtime administrator of the Nevada Equal Rights Commission (NERC) is suing top state officials over claims that she was retaliated against and “unlawfully terminated” late last year for refusing to hand over certain classified information related to cases of alleged discrimination.

In a lawsuit filed last week in Clark County District Court, attorneys for Kara Jenkins argued that state officials targeted her after she refused to give confidential case information — such as case numbers — to a state auditor. She alleged that she was prohibited from hiring new staff and that any request for support services was “intentionally and maliciously thwarted” because of her decision, which eventually led to her termination last year. 

NERC is the state entity responsible for investigating complaints of discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodation. It is housed within the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR) and partners with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to investigate complaints of employment discrimination. 

Although Nevada is an “at-will” state and Jenkins was in a politically appointed position, she is arguing that she was wrongfully terminated under Title VII — federal workplace discrimination statutes — that prohibit retaliation for ensuring that certain rights are protected, such as the confidentiality of EEOC investigations.

Officials named in the lawsuit include Chris Sewell, the director of DETR, and Ryan Cherry, the chief of staff to Gov. Joe Lombardo. Jenkins is seeking a jury trial and compensation related to the harms she suffered, including emotional distress and loss of professional reputation.

Representatives for DETR and the governor’s office declined to comment on ongoing litigation. Jenkins’ lawyers also declined to comment.

Jenkins became NERC’s administrator in 2013 — appointed by Gov. Brian Sandoval — and was fired in late December. She also unsuccessfully ran for Las Vegas mayor last year, a bid that prompted an ethics complaint from an unidentified member of the public. 

Her lawsuit references the ethics complaint — which is not available online, but that the lawsuit alleged was filed by DETR employees and included complaints of her not providing the confidential information — and notes that the Nevada Commission on Ethics absolved her of accusations of improper government action. 

The lawsuit does not mention that the commission determined last year that she used numerous sick leave days while appearing to conduct campaign activities — which is not an authorized use of sick leave — and required that she complete ethics training.

The dispute over the confidential information began in 2022 when, according to the lawsuit, DETR’s Chief Auditor Duane Anderson requested to view confidential information that Jenkins had redacted from reports she provided on case statuses. 

In response, Jenkins emailed him a reference to the state law that prohibits NERC employees from providing confidential information to other DETR employees unless it is necessary to carry out the duties related to the complaint or to carry out a department’s official responsibilities.

The lawsuit also said the agreement between NERC and EEOC prohibits these kinds of disclosures, and that the EEOC’s acting district director at the time wrote a letter affirming Jenkins’ understanding of the confidentiality provisions — which Anderson, the auditor, allegedly disagreed with.

In the ensuing months, the lawsuit alleges that Sewell (then DETR’s deputy director) prohibited Jenkins from hiring more than one new investigator and asked her to not recruit for any more roles. Around the same time, Sewell allegedly continued to mistreat Jenkins “so much so that cabinet secretaries to then-Governor Sisolak granted Jenkins the ability to report above Sewell with regard to supportive services.”

After Sewell became department director after the 2022 election, the lawsuit alleges that he made “knowingly inaccurate and false representations about Jenkins’ performance,” intentionally curtailed her requests for support services and continued a hiring freeze at NERC.

In 2024, DETR officials continued to seek access to the confidential information, and by October, the lawsuit alleged that state higher-ups “acted in concert to have a false claim of ‘improper governmental action and creating a hostile work environment’ filed against Jenkins.” 

Soon after, as Jenkins was preparing certain reports requested by Cherry, she was placed on administrative leave and was fired later that year. She declined a severance agreement that was predicated on her dropping any legal claims against the state.

“The chronology of events and direct references to Plaintiff’s refusal to breach statutory and contractual confidentiality requirements show her protected conduct was the direct and proximate motivating cause of the discharge,” the lawsuit says.

Updated on 5/13/25 at 10:35 a.m. to clarify that ethics complaints are not available online.