House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Jeff Miller on Tuesday demanded that Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald answer questions about a VA official who allegedly committed an armed robbery, and was then rehired.
“The only way that I believe [the] VA can achieve true success in reforming … is to finally move forward in a united front to give you the tools you need to properly and swiftly discipline … employees who have harmed veterans or do not represent the [Veterans Affairs] department’s values,” the Florida Republican wrote to McDonald.
VA employee Elizabeth Rivera Rivera, of Puerto Rico, was originally fired, but then rehired at the behest of her public sector union in 2015, after allegedly committing an armed robbery.
Miller’s letter said that according to press reports, she pled guilty to two misdemeanors related to the incident in February. But he said the manager who rehired her, Tito Martinez, is a convicted sex offender, and said the employees’ union argued that Martinez therefore can’t discipline others who have been convicted of a crime.
Press reports say that Rivera “has been reinstated in her original role at the VAMC as a social work secretary while wearing an electronic ankle bracelet as part of her probation,” Miller wrote. She also apparently has received back pay for the time she missed, Miller said.
Miller asked several questions about Rivera’s status, including whether she got back pay, is working with an ankle bracelet, and who decided to bring her back. He also asked, “Why wasn’t she fired for missing work while she was in jail?”
“It defies all logic that a person who allegedly pleads guilty to a serious crime would be allowed to continue to work at an agency with such an important mission,” he added. Read his full letter here:
