Former Jackson County deputy fights for justice

JACKSON COUNTY, Fla. ( WMBB ) – Mellie Cremers took FMLA leave in November of 2023 for her pregnancy. She returned to work in February 2024. But two months later, her husband suffered severe burns in a fire on their property.

Cremers wanted to take additional FMLA leave time under the military caregiver act, because her husband who is in the military, needed a full-time caregiver.

Sheriff’s officials initially denied the request.

“I can’t control my life. I can’t control how my life went over that year. I can’t control how my pregnancy was. I can’t control that my husband got burned. Those are unforeseen circumstances and not something you can predict and I just think that there needs to be some weight in that. I want justice for anybody that this has ever happened to, including myself,” Former Jackson County Deputy Mellie Cremers said.

Cremers pushed the issue and was granted two months to care for her husband. At the end of the 2 months, Jackson County under-sheriff Wesley Burch notified Cremers on June 5th that she had 5-days to return to work.

When Cremers didn’t show up on June 10th, sheriff Donnie Edenfield terminated her.

“Miss Cremers was asked to return to work, at which time she refused and didn’t. And so here we are,” Sheriff Edenfield said.

Edenfield goes on to say Cremers was not entitled to any more leave time because she didn’t have the 1250 hours in the 12 months leading up to the second request.

“Miss Cremers had requested FMLA, and there are federal laws that stipulate and guidelines that say what qualifications you have to meet for FMLA. And Miss Cremers did not meet those stipulations,” Edenfield said.

Cremers claims the FMLA law gives eligible employees a combined 26-work week of military caregiver leave and any other FMLA qualifying reason in a 12-month period.

When deputies arrived at her house on June 10th with her termination papers, Cremers said she had to take her husband to the doctor and couldn’t come back to work.

She also says they trespassed onto her property to give her the papers. Since her termination, Cyrus claims deputies have been stalking her, driving by, and parking outside of her home.

“Some of them were marked, but predominantly unmarked vehicles. I only recognized them because, of course, I was a deputy at the sheriff’s office. So I know those marked vehicles. One of them is the undersheriff himself,” Edenfield said.

Sheriff Edenfield denies the stalking claims. Cremers has hired attorney Marie Maddox, who reportedly filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Sheriff Edenfield, under-sheriff Wesley Burch, and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office.

She’s suing for wrongful termination and pregnancy discrimination.

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