Olathe ? Seven assistant district attorneys and a chief investigator fired by Johnson County District Attorney Phill Kline say they expect to get their jobs back once their grievances are heard.

The criminal justice workers held a news conference Thursday, a day after filing grievances with the county that accuse Kline of going against county policies in firing them.

The eight lost their jobs Monday, after Kline took office as the replacement for Paul Morrison, who ousted Kline as attorney general in the November election.

Attorney Joe Colantuono, who is representing the workers, said the dismissals came without warning or explanation, violated Kansas public policy and disrupted the county’s criminal justice system. He also said one of the grievances included allegations about the conduct of a political supporter of Kline, although he declined to elaborate.

“There’s been a tremendous void left,” Colantuono said. “We understand cases have been postponed.”

He said none of the employees had performance problems, yet they weren’t interviewed or given a chance to reapply for their jobs.

A grievance hearing has not been set.

Kline spokesman Bob Murray said the district attorney’s office doesn’t comment on “individual personnel matters.” He did point out that only eight of the office’s 102 employees lost their jobs and said the county can terminate employment at any time for any reason.

The workers who were fired had no written contract with Johnson County or the district attorney’s office, Murray said.

Bryan Denton, the office’s chief investigator for 15 years, was among the fired. The attorneys dismissed were Michael Allen, Jennifer Barton, Norah Clark, John Fritz, Kristiane Gray, Steve Howe and Kendra Lewison.

“All of these people have outstanding conviction rates,” said Fritz, longtime head of the juvenile division. “Their careers have been marked by integrity and fairness.”

Colantuono said the group represents numerous years of experience in several areas, including sex offender, drug, fraud and domestic violence prosecutions, and juvenile justice.

Dozens of people supporting the workers showed up at Thursday’s news conference outside the Johnson County Courthouse.

“The best result would be tomorrow they get to walk back in their offices, grab their files and get back to work,” said Sara Welch, a criminal defense attorney.

With the dismissals, Kline has 20 assistant district attorneys from Morrison’s staff. Three had resigned earlier to join Morrison in Topeka.

Kline, a Republican, was selected as Morrison’s replacement in December. Morrison, a Democrat, had switched from the GOP to challenge Kline. Because Morrison won his five terms in the county office as a Republican, the GOP had the right to fill the vacancy, and Johnson County Republican precinct committee members chose Kline.

Colantuono said the dismissed attorneys and investigator would have no problem working under Kline. They just want to get back to their work, he said. If they are denied a proper grievance process, the matter could end up going further, he said.

“Each of the claims could end up in courts,” Colantuono said. “Our clients hope that doesn’t happen.”