LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County supervisors on Tuesday approved a $1.85 million payment to settle a whistleblower lawsuit brought by a former county social worker who alleged he had uncovered a pattern of systemic misconduct that endangered thousands of children, records show.
According to an amended civil complaint filed in L.A. County Superior Court on June 23, 2020, Dennis Finn was a social worker with the county's Department of Children and Family Services for 24 years when he was fired on May 22, 2019, after repeatedly raising his concerns with the department and becoming a whistleblower for California state officials.
Finn's suspicions of misconduct arose following the death of Gabriel Fernandez, the complaint stated. The 8-year-old boy died on May 24, 2013, two days after he was beaten in his Palmdale home.
