TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Azya Thornton on Jun 22, 2026

An employee at Knox County's juvenile detention center has filed a lawsuit in federal court, according to Knox News. Molly Mack alleges she faced discrimination from the center's new leadership because she was a longtime employee of former Superintendent Richard Bean. She also claims the center's current leadership is attempting to force longtime employees into retirement. Mack, who has worked at the detention center for 17 years, alleges she was reassigned from the front desk, where she has worked for the past six years, to a unit housing detained female teens. According to the lawsuit, Mack has a medical condition that limits her ability to perform physically demanding tasks. She alleges the center reassigned her despite being aware of those limitations and without providing proper training. According to the suit, Mack was physically injured in February 2026 after working a single shift in the unit.