CALIFORNIA: How hard is it to fire a state worker?

SacBee: The State Worker ^ | 2/2/12 | Jon Ortiz

[SmithL]

Caltrans' recent decision to "unfire" an employee who admitted falsifying structural tests and let him retire may leave you wondering, How hard is it to fire a state worker?

So let's take the aforementioned Duane Wiles.

The state Transportation Department fired him in November after The Bee's Charles Piller started asking questions about Wiles' job performance in testing the new Bay Bridge span and other projects. As was his right, Wiles appealed his termination to the State Personnel Board.

Caltrans and Wiles settled on an agreement that scrubbed the termination from his file and let him retire. In return, Wiles can't sue the state or take another state job.

But what if Caltrans had decided to push the case? Here's a simplified explanation of how the state's disciplinary system works:

. . .

Caltrans said it didn't want to spend $100,000 to make Wiles' firing stick – fired or retired, he's gone either way. Clearly, the department also wanted to avoid public hearings that put Caltrans and its management under the intense scrutiny of a public hearing or court case. Wiles' case doesn't mean the civil-service system is broken. It does prove that Caltrans lacked the will to use it.

[SmithL]

And Wiles gets a pension forever.

[martin_fierro]

The CA State Personnel Board's 2000 decision affirming revarsal of Wiles' termination for for abusing a state credit card and using a state cellphone to make personal calls.

[martin_fierro]

revarsal = reversal

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

” questions about Wiles’ job performance in testing the new Bay Bridge span “

If he walks across the span, and it doesn’t fail,,,, it’s obviously safe for heavy traffic!

[sanjuanbob]

Friend who works for the State says an employee could snort cocaine at their desk and wouldn’t be fired. Says it’s virtually impossible to be fired.

[blueunicorn6]

Man, you start firing government workers and there goes a big chunk of campaign donation money to the Democrats. Government jobs are part of THE DEMOCRAT MONEY-MAKING MACHINE.

[fruser1]

I bet his pension costs a lot more than 100k.

[edcoil]

We know the teacher that was molesting the 23 students at LA unified, they put the paperwork in to fire and allowed him to retire and keep benefits.

I read a study years back that to fire a teacher took an average of 12 years and $675,000 dollars in cost. They just don’t do it.

[Publius6961]

The most humorous thing about this story is that the Sacramento Bee, in the last 40 years, has not seen a proposed tax increase it did not support.

Specially proposals improving the power of thuggish public employee unions!

Hello!!??!!

It does not take a rocket scientist...

[StayoutdaBushesWay]

Sister-in-law missed at least 2 days of work per week for 2 years, they spoke with her once! She retired with a full pension last year.

[stop_fascism]

When will he be hired back as a retire annuitant?

[wbill]

Says it’s virtually impossible to be fired.

Buddy of mine works for the city. One of the guys on his team is a real zero...works when he feels like it, shows up when he feels like it. Buddy tried everything to get this idiot going, to no avail.

So, he talked to his supervisor about initiating the firing process. His supervisor's response? "It will be faster for you to walk down to that zero's cube, shoot him, do the time, then come back to work for me."

So, my friend did the same thing that happened when he came on board ..... the first new manager that got hired, he dumped this loser on.

My tax $$$$$$ at work.

[Seaplaner]

True stories of calif govt workers (from a few decades back).

1. This worker was constantly late, never completed tasks, and was checking out govt cars from the state garage and renting them out as a side business (and was a huge druggie). Punishment? Attend classes (which he did not.) This person eventually quit, not from being fired, but from heroine addiction consequences.

2. This worker never did one single thing. At all. A strong case was built, and after months and months of personnel board hearings, the person was fired. But not really. The employee simply returned to previously held state job.

There are (literally) millions of stories of employee abuses in civilian government in absolutely every government office, at all levels of civilian government (and this of course includes education, the largest clandestine feather-bedding institution on our fine planet). Most everyone in Sacramento has heard of dozens, at least.

.