Fired state ethics commission employee files whistleblower suit
September 8, 2008 by Fred HosierPosted in: Dubious decisions, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views
Last week we ran a story about an attorney for a state ethics commission who forged a letter to the group she worked for, admitted it, and wasn’t fired. This week we feature the story of an office assistant who blew the whistle on a similar group and claims she was fired for it.
Amanda Thaxton raised concerns about possible preferential treatment to North Carolina Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue and about a hostile work environment at the State Ethics Commission.
Thaxton was dismissed from her $30,400 per year job as an office assistant with the commission. She says the firing came without an explanation and that she hadn’t been disciplined or questioned about her work performance in her 15 months on the job, according to The News & Observer.
The State Personnel Commission reviewed her hostile work environment claim and found the Ethics Commission was a dysfunctional and distrustful workplace.
Now Thaxton has filed a lawsuit claiming her dismissal was in retaliation for reporting her concerns.
In the wake of all this, the state auditor is investigating the claims that a Perdue aide received special treatment when he was allowed to review the Lt. Governor’s disclosure statements alone in a closed office.
In contrast, the story we ran last week ended (so far) much differently. The attorney chose not to follow established whistleblower procedures, forged a letter, admitted it and still wasn’t dismissed from her job.
In comments we received about that story, some said the attorney should have known better than to try to launch an investigation by filing a forged letter. Others said the lawyer’s fear of losing her job was a valid reason to go about reporting her allegations through the forged letter.
And that’s just what happened to Thaxton in the North Carolina case. At 24-years-old, her position with the State Ethics Commission had been her first job out of college. Thaxton said the firing has hit her hard financially. She’s asking the court to reinstate her and award her triple damages that the state’s whistleblower law allows, plus legal fees. Most likely, she has a long fight ahead of her.
Tags: ethics, fired, whistleblower
September 8th, 2008 at 8:06 am
This is exactly what I meant when I commented about the earlier story and said, while two wrongs don’t make a right, I can certainly understand why a person would choose to file a complaint through an anonymous channel! Whistleblower protection is basically non-existent. You still lose your job. Maybe you will be vindicated somewhere down the line, but it will take YEARS for that to happen. In the meantime, you are on the street trying to find another job and can’t really talk about what has just happened to you. Your previous employer is probably going to give you a bad reference, which makes it even harder to obtain a new position. And if you’re in a profession such as HR or legal, where you are supposed to be on the “other side” (protecting and keeping the employer legal and above-board), you are going to be removed from the applicant pool if anyone discovers you yourself have actually filed a complaint with a legal entity. If you don’t have any other means of support, chances are, you won’t pursue a complaint through legal channels because of the time involved, the emotional pain and the black mark you incur.
I was placed in a position where I had to choose between doing something that was unlawful at the direction of my employer or losing my job. I agonized over the decision because I am alone with no other income or support. I realized I couldn’t lose my integrity and do what my employer demanded. But they also made it clear that not doing so would be considered an act of insubordination and that I would be terminated. While the SEC and Department of Labor said they would become involved should I be terminated and while both stated this would be a retaliatory termination, neither offered any protection against termination. So I lost my job and almost lost my home. My retirement income (cashed in with penalty) and savings were used to get me through over a year of unemployment, and I am still trying to pick up the pieces financially. I was so devastated and wiped out, I didn’t have the emotional strength or stamina to pursue the case through legal channels. I have the satisfaction of knowing I did what was right in spite of unbelievable pressure to compromise my integrity and values, but that’s all I have. Frankly, it still hurts deeply. And I know I’m not the only person who has had to go through something like this.
Until whistleblower law prevents termination, I firmly believe everyone should have an anonymous channel through which they can complain about the illegal, unethical, unlawful actions / transactions of their employer. No one should ever lose their job for doing the right thing. But it happens all the time and this case is a perfect example, as was mine.
September 8th, 2008 at 11:32 am
I have a collegue who is in mid-level managment at my current employer, a county Government, who is going through this exact situation that R.B. describes above. He has gone through the official internal ethics channels, who have basically swept his concerns under the carpet when brining up concerns of financial mismanagement and misrepresentation to the tune of tens of millions (upwards of 100 million) dollars. He is now on the finance director’s hit-list and I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets terminated soon. He described the exact situation above and what the probable outcome would be before he launched his official complaint.
September 12th, 2008 at 10:51 am
What a Catch-22. Government agencies seem to be the only entities that have ethics divisions, yet, are the only entities who seem to have ethics problems. Get rid of big government seems like the only solution.
September 12th, 2008 at 11:37 am
Good for Ms. Thaxton for reporting unethical behavior. Shame on the government for setting yet another example of questionable ethics. I believe instances as this and the one with the attorney who forged the letter and still wasn’t fired just encourage others not to believe in ethics at all.
Not to mention that they will never believe in Whistleblower protection which as R.B. mentioned seems non-existent in these two particular cases. I hope that Ms. Thaxton wins her case and is amply reimbursed for being punished while doing the right thing.