BATON ROUGE - Several BREC commissioners and employees were served with civil summonses at a public commission meeting on Thursday, July 23.

The summons came from the daughter of former BREC employee Tonya Gordon Smith, who filed a lawsuit alleging employment discrimination and retaliation.

Smith said she was fired in September 2025 after refusing to process payments in a purchase order that she claimed violated company policy. In a hearing, BREC's human resources department ruled in her favor and reinstated her job in November.

Smith believes she faced retaliation when she returned to work.

"I was expecting to return to my job that I won. But instead, I was moved to a different department," Smith said. "My access to other departments that I could get in was stripped from me," said Smith.

Smith went on family and medical leave. She said the day she returned in March, she was terminated again for allegedly violating BREC's social media policy by posting negatively about the company. Smith claims the posts cited were made while she was not employed by BREC.

"I was completely blindsided," Smith said.

The lawsuit alleges employment discrimination and retaliation. It does not seek a specific dollar amount; instead, it asks for court costs and any other relief the court deems appropriate.

Smith said she wants the case to lead to changes at BREC, including more training for employees on purchasing procedures and stronger financial oversight.

"At the end of the day, one of the things I want is to make sure the structure of the purchasing at BREC is revamped," Smith said.

A BREC spokesperson told WBRZ the organization does not comment on legal matters.