HOOKSETT, N.H. (AP) – The petition supporting four town employees fired for gossiping about their boss has been presented with 419 signatures, 5 percent of registered voters.

The Town Council has a month to schedule a hearing on the petition, which asks the town to rehire the four.

Code Enforcement Officer Michelle Bonsteel, Tax Assessor Sandra Piper and their administrative assistants, Jessica Skorupski and Joanne Drewniak, were fired last month.

The council has denied appeals by Drewniak and Skorupski; an appeal hearing hasn’t been held yet for their bosses.

According to a fact-finding report, the women were fired for discussing a rumor that Town Administrator David Jodoin was having an affair with another town employee and, in Drewniak’s case, because she used a derogatory term in referring to Jodoin.

Bonsteel has rejected a conditional reinstatement offer, lawyer B.J. Branch said. He said the offer would not have protected her from being summarily fired upon her return and included significant discipline against her.