Worker relief in D.C.
By: Jonetta Rose Barras
Examiner Columnist
June 7, 2009
Relief may be on the way for “at will” District government senior and midlevel managers, who claimed they were victims of a mercurial, capricious executive. They lobbied D.C. Council members for several months, urging them to amend the city’s Management Supervisory System. Councilmen Harry Thomas, Michael Brown and Marion Barry responded to their pleas.
The trio co-introduced last week the “MSS Employment Amendment Act of 2009,” which would provide that such employees only are “at will” during a one-year probationary period. Then, they “shall only be terminated for cause.”
“You have to have an appearance of fairness,” Thomas told me in an interview. “We don’t have that now. There seems to be a total abuse of power that has created an environment of fear. That’s not good for the government, the workers or District residents.”
Former and current MSS workers, led by Debra Daniels, have accused Mayor Adrian Fenty of violating the MSS law. They said that though MSS classification was supposed to be voluntary, some managers were forced to accept the designation — although they didn’t supervise the requisite number of employees.
Moreover, some people were fired, despite superior performance evaluations and without regard for the critical needs they satisfied at their agencies. Still others were victims of retaliation. Daniels, a former communications director at the Department of Human Services, and other MSS managers wanted to eliminate dismissals “without cause.”
They also wanted an investigation of all terminations effected during Fenty’s tenure. Dozens of employees have been fired without cause and without warning. In April, the mayor fired Clark E. Ray, the director of the Department of Parks and Recreation, on a Sunday night. Two dozen other DPR workers also were terminated. That pattern can be found at other agencies. Several workers have filed lawsuits.
On May 13, I asked Fenty’s office for the precise number of lawsuits that have been filed against the city by former employees since 2007. I also asked how many of those lawsuits have been settled with the city making cash payments. As of Friday, I hadn’t received that information.
Mafara Hobson, the mayor’s spokeswoman, said D.C. Attorney General “Peter [Nickles’] team is looking into this.”
Nickles could not be reached for comment.
Daniels is one of the people suing the city. She and her group called the council legislation a “great beginning.” But it falls short.
“[It] needs more meat to prevent abusive terminations of employees for political, whistleblower or any other inappropriate reasons,” she said. The bill also should stipulate the evaluation process for MSS employees during their “one-year probationary period.” Additionally, “cause” should be defined and workers’ rights should be clearly stated.
Thomas said the legislation was sparse deliberately to help “expedite” a public hearing. But he hasn’t ruled out introducing a broader emergency bill. “For that to happen, I will need nine votes.”
No doubt he can depend on Daniels and her crew to generate the additional support.
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