BATON ROUGE - BREC Commissioners were served with a summons in a civil action lawsuit from an employee who had their termination overturned.

Tonya Gordon Smith previously said she was fired because she refused what she called improper payment orders. Smith, who worked at BREC, said she refused to process payments that violated department policies, including using "current funds to pay old invoices."

BREC's Human Resource Complaint Resolution Committee's recommended Smith be reinstated in November 2025, saying her actions were correct.

Civil summons were issued for BREC Interim Superintendent Janet Simmons, BREC Commissioner Mike Polito, Central Mayor Wade Evans, St. George Mayor Dustin Yates, Zachary Mayor David McDavid and more.

Video from Thursday's meeting shows a person handing paperwork to Polito, telling him he's receiving a summons to appear in court.

"Thank you, I appreciate it, that's awesome," Polito said.

Additionally, WBRZ received paperwork from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to Smith issued in April 2026, telling Smith she had the right to sue BREC.