This week’s dead-tree issue includes an interesting story on a long-time employee of the Pima County Attorney’s Office who filed a whistle-blower retaliation complaint against her employer. Lee Walter claims that she was disciplined after formally complaining and requesting an investigation that alleged unethical behaviors took place during an attorney interview process last year. Walter was involved and part of the attorney interviews.
To prepare for the retaliation case that went to the Arizona State Personnel Board — the first hearing was May 14 and the second hearing is tomorrow, Thursday, June 7 — Walter filed several public records requests. After five months and filing a complaint in Pima County Superior Court, Judge Ted Borak ruled in early May that Walter could receive documents she requested and that some were considered confidential — she could see those, but only after signing a confidentiality agreement with her employer and not making those public.
While Pima County Attorney staff said they were unable to comment, as well as Walter, we hadn’t heard back from the county’s private attorney by press time. Eventually we did hear back from Richard Rollman of Gabroy Rollman and Bossé, and talked with him today about the case.
At first Rollman said he was unsure what he could discuss since the issue is a personnel matter, but he did correct the assertion that Walter’s record is unblemished, saying that while her personnel file may not have any written forms of discipline, that there may be other forms of discipline that were verbal rather then written.
Rollman said part of the issue with the case is that the interviews Walter participated in were for attorneys who were being hired as unclassified staff and not merit staff attorneys. Rollman said that Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall decided the attorney’s interviewed were going to be hired as unclassified, and not merit employees, but she also decided they should be interviewed in the same manner as attorney’s hired through the merit system.
The arguments to show retaliation took place that go before a hearings officer from the personnel board has to meet elements of the state statute. According to Rollman, those elements are pretty specific. Some according to the statute ask that concern in the complaint relate to matters that are of public concern. Next, did what take place violate law, show mismanagement, or show a gross waste of monies or abuse of authority.
On Walter’s public records request, Rollman said all along the county offered her records, but she didn’t want to sign a confidentiality agreement until May 9. Typically, he said, the personnel board hearings officer makes that determination if the records presented are confidential or not, rather then overload the Superior Court judge to review public records to determine what is confidential and what is not confidential.
When asked why the Pima County Attorney’s office is interested in hiring unclassified attorney’s rather than merit, he said that, without making a political argument, the reasons he’s heard argued is that it allows a government entity to make sure that employee has the skills needed to do the job. Once a merit employee is hired it is difficult to dismiss them based on performance and other issues.
One source recently told the Weekly that many staff in the Pima County Attorney’s Office hope some action takes place soon after tomorrow’s hearing – made public at Walter’s request as the plaintiff in the action. Morale, they shared, is at an all-time low.
This article appears in Jun 7-13, 2012.
No it is not difficult to fire merit system covered employees. It just requires that supervisors know what they are doing and can provide evidence to back up their actions. 90% of the time the county does exactly that.
Thanks for your reports on this, Ms. Herreras. One wonders if a story like this will ever merit space in the local daily. Oh, wait, they don’t like criticizing the PCAO, do they? They only like fluffy stories about that office.
What’s with the GOP now attacking Obama through LaWall, anyway? Heard a radio ad today along that line. The party won’t back a candidate to run against her, but it uses her to put Obama down? Strange especially since the only reason LaWall became a Democrat was to run against David White way back when.
Hm.
“Unblemished” record?!? Perhaps “UNTRACEABLE” record is better suited for her employment history. Here’s an addendum to your addendum….Lee Walter is an Operations Manager for the Civil Division of the Pima County Attorney’s Office. She has been in that position since the Stephen Neely era. Lee Walter is a tyrant and anyone that has been managed by this woman will know she is the “queen of retaliation and torment”. Her “Whistleblower” and “Special Action” claim makes her sound like a woman with great integrity and ethics. Her claim asserts that she refused to “fix” an employment interview process – let it be known SHE IS NORTIOUS FOR FIXING EMPLOYMENT INTERVIEWS like the hiring of her child’s caregiver as a paralegal in that division and the countless others she has hired and/or promoted as long as they follow her rule. Her notion that Barbara LaWall is hiding something in her public records request comes only from a person that is the architect at hiding detectable materials.
This just isn’t about Chief Civil Deputy Chris Straub; she has unequivocally not adjusted to anyone in the Chief Deputy position that holds her accountable. She undermines their authority and the authority of Barbara LaWall, she delegates her managerial duties to other staff members, retaliates against attorney staff with support staff assignments, causes unproductive and damaging havoc among staff members, she has established untraceable acts of retaliation to many employees. Her mastermind techniques of untraceable due diligent acts allows her to cover her paper trail, her disappearing acts and lack of visibility in the office she manages, she untruthfully downgrades employee evaluations, her breach of confidentiality and dishonesty have plagued that division for the least 2 decades under her helm. Lee Walter touts that the office has a difficult time with recruitment because of competitive salary – this is the farthest from the truth! The office lacks quality, experienced and professional staff members because of the low morale she has created in that division. She boasts about her stellar and untarnished managerial/employment record, however we can see that a vast majority of employment cases are usually bogus…..High-quality employees just move on to bigger and better opportunities instead of tolerating the albatross around those burdened by her bullying acts. Lee Walter brings such counterfeit claims because she has no recourse. As history has shown us oppressor’s time is usually cut short when the oppressed have been exhausted. A public records request of the various employees that have left this division the last two decades with an “honest” exit interview would warrant and would find a more tarnished record to this public sector tormenter; including the most recent, Terry D. who drank himself to death at the hand of her evil and retaliatory acts of miss-management and vindictive plots.
Sounds like Dan Benavidez just earned his next paycheck!