Cherokee County's veterans affairs officer has taken a medical leave from his job less than two weeks after local state legislators held a closed door meeting about his office.

Members of the local legislative delegation held an executive session July 14 and met with two employees of the Veterans Affairs Office to discuss what the employees said are possible violations of federal privacy laws.

One legislator, state Rep. Olin Phillips, indicated the matter might be referred to the South Carolina Attorney General's Office or the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division for further review. However, Phillips said Thursday afternoon he did not believe the local delegation had done that.

Instead, Phillips and state Rep. Dennis Moss both indicated the matter was currently being reviewed by Phil Butler, the director of the South Carolina Veterans Affairs Office in Columbia, who visited Gaffney last week. Phillips said Butler interviewed the same people who came before the local delegation July 14.

"We're waiting for his summation," Phillips said of Butler's pending report.

Butler could not be reached for immediate comment late Thursday.

Prior to the July 14 closed door meeting in Gaffney, according to a spokesman for the state Attorney General's Office, at least one of the legislators asked for advice about what authority the legislators had to remove someone appointed to such a post. "We advised them the law says that such an appointee may be removed for cause," spokesman Mark Plowden said. That led to additional discussions about what "for cause" meant.

Plowden said the Attorney General's Office also was asked about closed-door executive sessions and what the legislators had to do to comply with the Freedom of Information Act.

"We answered the question about what they could talk about," Plowden said. "That was it."

The Attorney General's Office has not been contacted since then, Plowden confirmed. "They just wanted to make sure their meeting was compliant with FOIA and we advised them as to how to conduct their meeting within the law and we have every reason to believe they did. Beyond that, we don't know what the outcome was."

A spokeswoman for SLED said Thursday afternoon she could not find any requests for SLED assistance regarding the Cherokee County Veterans Affairs Office.

The July 14 meeting occurred while Veteran's Affairs Officer Sammy Willard was in the middle of an extended vacation that was scheduled to last until Aug. 1.

Cherokee County Interim Administrator Ben Clary explained Willard had taken two weeks of paid vacation and been approved for four additional weeks of unpaid leave while he was on a cross-country trip that was to include a stop in Alaska, where Willard had once been stationed.

Clary said Wednesday that Willard has since requested and was approved for additional leave under the Family Medical Leave Act.

A message left for Willard at his residence Wednesday afternoon was not immediately returned.

Clary said Family Medical Leave can last up to 12 weeks. "I don't know how long he'll be out," Clary said.

Veterans affairs officers are appointed by local legislators based on advisory elections by veterans. Willard's current term expires in June 2009.