Posted on 08/19/2004 1:12:36 PM PDT by Cagey
By LORRI HELFAND, Times Staff WriterFor missing work to evacuate his mother, city employee James Gesicki lost his job.
LARGO - When James Gesicki heard that Hurricane Charley was heading for Tampa Bay last week, he had one thing in mind: getting his 81-year-old mother who lived in a mandatory evacuation zone to safety.
So last Thursday the 30-year Largo public works employee told two of his supervisors he planned to bring his mother, Catherine, to his Spring Hill home. Fine, they said. But show up for work Friday - the day the hurricane was expected to hit - or lose your job.
Gesicki, 61, and a year from retiring, chose to stay with his mother.
Monday, he was fired.
"I had to make a decision. There was only one decision to make and because of it, I lost my job," Gesicki said.
Largo, which also fired a wastewater treatment plant operator for the same reason this week, is the only major Tampa Bay area city so far to terminate anyone for refusing to work. St. Petersburg and Tampa are investigating cases of employee absenteeism that Friday, officials said.
Gesicki earned $35,000 a year as a Largo spray technician, clearing weeds and plants from city waterways. Allen Janosky, a wastewater treatment plant operator for the city for two years, earned $33,425.
Assistant City Manager Henry Schubert said public works employees like Gesicki must be on site to prepare and fuel equipment before disasters hit. And employees who were not at work during a storm might not be able to get there shortly after.
Both employees were considered primary responders, he said, who would have roles in an emergency. "When we call you in to work, if you refuse to come to work, we will terminate you," Schubert said.
Gesicki's termination will not affect his retirement benefits, but he said he will have to pay for his own health insurance.
All of Gesicki's performance reviews on file list him as meeting or exceeding expectations. He was disciplined in September 2001 for leaving chemicals on a boat.
Gesicki said that over the years, he showed up for work during several emergencies. But in this case, he felt he was pushed up against a wall.
"We are people too," he said. "We have family and we have homes."
Schubert said Gesicki could have taken his mother to a special needs shelter or a shelter reserved for the family of Largo employees at the Largo Cultural Center.
But Gesicki said he didn't feel comfortable leaving his mother by herself in a shelter, surrounded by strangers.
Janosky, the treatment plant operator, left a message with a clerical staffer last Thursday saying he was in a mandatory evacuation zone and was not coming to work, said his boss, Joe Carlini, director of environmental services. The city didn't hear from him Friday and he called in sick Saturday, Carlini said.
Stephen C. Sarnoff, president of the Communication Workers of America union's Local 3179, said the two employees should not be held to the same standard as police officers or firefighters.
"I don't think the citizens are demanding that these two be fired," Sarnoff said.
Officials from other Tampa Bay municipalities say they haven't taken the the strict line Largo has.
In Belleair Bluffs, one city public works employee had the identical request: He asked to stay home to care for his mother. The city accepted that excuse, Mayor Chris Arbutine said. "You have to take everything into consideration," Arbutine said.
In Clearwater, city officials said staffing levels are minimized before a storm, and they encountered no problems.
County Administrator Steve Spratt said he was unaware of any employees fired for not reporting. "We had a fairly flexible directive to our department directors," he said. "We wanted to be sensitive to those employees who had personal obligations at home, securing their families and homes."
In Dunedin, employees who didn't show up without clearing it with their supervisor were charged a vacation day, City Manager John Lawrence said.
St. Petersburg is looking into a few cases of absent employees. Human Relations director Gary Cornwell said he doesn't yet have an exact count, but described it as a handful of cases.
"We've asked them to document their excuses," he said. "Any action we take will depend on the circumstances."
Ken Perry, labor relations manager in Tampa's human resources department, said city officials are investigating two employees who didn't report to work Friday. If it turns out they didn't have legitimate reasons for not reporting for work, they will face consequences based in part on their work history, he said. Possibilities range from verbal reprimand to suspension and dismissal.
Gesicki said he doesn't plan to fight his termination. He said he doubts he can persuade officials to change their minds.
But his conscience is clear, he said. "Under the circumstances," he said, "I would do it again."
Times staff writers Aaron Sharockman, Megan Scott, Carrie Johnson, Michael Sandler and Janet Zink and Times researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report. Lorri Helfand can be reached at 727 445-4155 or at lorri@sptimes.com
There are certainly a lot of people who feel strongly about this. Just what on earth does a 61 yr old man do that is so indispensable in an emergency? Interesting comment to say the least.
He wasn't a paramedic, he cleared weeds........
We frequently are. My mother is 82 and was in Bonnie's path just days ago. We cope, we don't desert our jobs, particularly if we have agreed to be a 'first responder' for emergencies.
His experise was clearing waterways for which he was a first responder. Perhaps you are not aware that flooding is often a larger problem than wind during hurricanes.
Private employers are subject to looser restrictions than public employers, however. And aside from whatever law may apply in this case, I expect that a public outcry will get this guy his job back.
The reason they have you report to work is not always so you'll be of assistance during the storm, but so that you'll be able to be dispatched immediately after the storm.
In Florida, clear drainage could be a very important issue after a storm. Clearing away debris that has collected at drainage sites or in creeks/waterways that would accelerate drainage of a flooded zone would be a very important job, once the storm had passed.
I didn't think it was possible to fire a government employee. Apparently there are isolated instances. You can always depend on government to do the wrong thing at the wrong time.
"Public sector employees often do not get their usual coddling in emergency services sectors. They hire them to do their job, if they refuse, or can't no matter what the reason, they are subject to getting fired.
It's not a compassion thing. It's a practical need of society that MUST be met in time of emergency. What do you think will happen next time there is an emergency? I'll bet all the folks at this guys shop show up. As it should be. He is being treated like an adult, and doesn't like it. C'est la vie."
I love your hard hearted Hannah routine. No compassionate conservative you. Forget the fact that the man had an EXEMPLARY work record, had worked for them many, many years, and was 61 years of age, one year from retirement. You say he "had" to be there, as a public servant, or else get canned. Yeah, his job was so critical:
"Gesicki earned $35,000 a year as a Largo spray technician, clearing weeds and plants from city waterways."
He clears weed and plants from waterways!! And you would say that this is such a critical job that he couldn't be away from it for a day to take care of his 81 year old mother? Geez. Wouldn't want you for a boss, ever.
First, I hope your Mom is OK.
Second, fine. I can concede a need for a reprimand or suspension of some length of time. However, a just society doesn't take 30 years of admittedly good service to the community and crap all over it because of one infraction of this level.
Loyalty goes both ways. What does this tell his co-workers about how management views them?
Would you be in a hurry to put your family or home on the line knowing what little regard was being paid to your legitimate concerns and that you could and would be dumped so cavalierly?
This guy was a first responder. He knew his responibilities in an emergency. Probably even practiced. He had a special duty to his community and should make arrangements ahead of time for his mother's care KNOWING he has to perform in an emergency.
Can you imagine if all the emergency workers felt the same way and left?
Apparently you didn't read the part where he was an emergency 'first responder'.
I would hope that if it is 98 degrees and their is a major power outage, you will not complain if all the power company employess decide to take the day off ...
I think the punishment was a little harsh, something like 30 days supension without pay seems appropriate to me.
Look at Kerry, he ran from being a first responder and got a bronze star...
Desertion of duty in an emergency and you want just a reprimand? He was told specifically to show up for work that day because of the expected emergency. He disobeyed a direct instruction from his supervisor at a time of an expected emergency.
And here's the ironic part.
My husband is a first responder and we are in a nearby vicinity. His "call" was activated on Thursday, but he was allowed to come home, make preparations for our home, get his stuff and report back to work (which he did in the wee hours of Friday AM).
Since the storm turned before it got to us, they deconstructed the "team" at 9 pm Friday night and he got to come home. Normally, he would have been required to be on call through the weekend (72 hours) if the storm had hit.
This guy would have been released from emergency status so much earlier than he had ever imagined if he had reported to work.
IMHO, you can't "Play" with the system. It sounds like the instructions from his supervisor were the exact same instructions that are given to other first responders in our area.
If you don't show up for emergency duty, don't bother showing up at all after the emergency is over.
Its Bush's fault and I question the timing of this report.
"But show up for work Friday - the day the hurricane was expected to hit - or lose your job."
How could he work IF he showed up?
Wasn't everything closed down?
City departments aren't shut down.
There were first responders in almost every department on hand during the emergency. Even the mayors of the cities are on hand for the emergencies.
Here are a few examples of departments that have first responders:
Police and fire, or course.
IT/Network guys to keep the communication network open and trouble shoot any problems in the system.
Leisure Services, some of which have their rec centers turned into shelters.
Wastewater/Sewer, especially hard hit if there is flooding, could cause sewage to be released into the Bay if there was a problem and facility wasn't manned properly
Sanitation employees
Road crews
Anything that can go wrong in a city must be planned for in advance and have first responders on hand. If the first responders aren't on hand during the emergency, they may be so cut off from their department by the storm that they wouldn't be able to report in to access the heavy equipment or facilities for days.
City departments aren't shut down.
There were first responders in almost every department on hand during the emergency. Even the mayors of the cities are on hand for the emergencies.
Here are a few examples of departments that have first responders:
Police and fire, or course.
IT/Network guys to keep the communication network open and trouble shoot any problems in the system.
Leisure Services, some of which have their rec centers turned into shelters.
Wastewater/Sewer, especially hard hit if there is flooding, could cause sewage to be released into the Bay if there was a problem and facility wasn't manned properly
Sanitation employees
Road crews
Anything that can go wrong in a city must be planned for in advance and have first responders on hand. If the first responders aren't on hand during the emergency, they may be so cut off from their department by the storm that they wouldn't be able to report in to access the heavy equipment or facilities for days.
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