GRAND FORKS, ND – The former administrator of the Grand Forks County Correctional Center is suing the county, two commissioners and the sheriff after being terminated earlier this year.
Bret Burkholder’s suit, in northeast central judicial court in Grand Forks, includes three allegations – wrongful termination, age discrimination and violation of Century Code regarding county commissioners.
The Grand Forks County Commission approved consolidation of the Grand Forks County Correctional Center under the sheriff in March 2025, and two weeks later, the Commission removed Burkholder as the administrator of the Correctional Center by a 3-2 vote – followed a week later by termination by Sheriff Andy Schneider, a move Burkholder says was done ‘unjustly and wrongfully’ in court documents.
Burkholder says the county hired a ‘substantially younger female’ to replace him. The female, he said, has significantly less experience and seniority and was chosen by a commissioner to serve on the sub-committee for the consideration of consolidation of the departments.
With regard to the age discrimination claim, Burkholder asserts that the reasons for his termination ‘are pretextual in nature and are merely designed to mask the discriminatory nature of their actions.’
He further claimed the termination was done ‘without proper authority and without providing Plaintiff with adequate due process procedural protections.’ He also alleges that he was not given adequate notice, an explanation of the evidence against him or an opportunity to respond to the allegations.
Lastly, Burkholder said Schneider ‘exceeded his authority’ by ‘wrongfully terminating’ Burkholder, who was not hired or employed by the Sheriff’s department.
He petitions the court to reinstate him to his position ‘with all seniority benefits, NDPERS contributions and all other privileges restored; back and front pay for all lost wages and benefits plus interest; compensatory damages for emotional distress, mental anguish, humiliation and loss of enjoyment of life; punitive damages in an amount to be determined at trial; reasonable attorney’s fees and costs of the lawsuit and other relief the court grants.
