A claim that started in the Kentucky Department of Transportation has developed into allegations of unfair hiring practices against the state’s governor.

Investigators are looking into the hiring practices of more than 350 state merit-based jobs by Gov. Ernie Fletcher, according to United Press International. The allegations, which are being handled by state Attorney General Greg Stumbo, accuse Fletcher – a first-term Republican – of allowing party politics to influence his decisions on who was and was not hired by the state, the Herald-Leader said.

The investigation began after a whistleblower in the personnel department of the Transportation Cabinet claimed the governor and his staff was using unfair criteria for hiring purposes, UPI reported. The alleged policies contradict a hiring merit system created in 1960 to rate state workers without political influence.

Fletcher’s office was searched on May 17 in relation to the investigation. Handwritten documents and other evidence were taken for further investigation, UPI reported.

Supporters of the governor said the investigation by Stumbo – who is a Democrat – is politically motivated itself, the Herald-Leader reported. Twenty-one of the state’s 38 investigators in the Kentucky Bureau of Investigation involved with the case.