Iowa let some state workers resign to avoid firing

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Iowa agreed to help conceal why at least 55 state workers had been fired by allowing them to voluntarily resign or retire, according to a newspaper report.

In some cases, the state even removed all evidence of past wrongdoing from personnel records, The Des Moines Register reported (https://dmreg.co/1voUSVH ). And at least 17 fired workers have been reinstated.

As a result, future employers might not know about an individual’s troubled past before considering hiring them.

“It’s not proper because we’re giving out what appears to be false information,” said Sen. Julian Garrett, an Indianola Republican. “We need to be more open and truthful.”

Gov. Terry Branstad has said the rules that allow for these private settlements created a loophole that should be closed, but efforts to do that failed during this year’s legislative session. The Des Moines Register has reported on 325 private settlements in the last three years.

But Matt Glasson, who teaches at the University of Iowa Labor Center, says the practice might not be that unusual. He said governments and private companies routinely make deals with disciplined employees, especially when employers aren’t confident in their case against an employee.

States such as Nebraska, Missouri and South Dakota also keep information about an employee’s misdeeds confidential. But other states, including Minnesota, Illinois and Wisconsin, will provide information about a government employee’s termination.

Lance Noe, director for the Center for Professional Studies, said it’s difficult to determine from state records why officials cut deals that allowed workers to resign.

“This is not like a sitcom where state officials can say to an employee, ’Get out of here,’” said Noe, who is an adjunct professor at Drake University. “This is part of having a union environment. You have to follow a very set procedure for discipline. Many times these decisions aren’t truly in the hands of supervisors or elected leaders.”

The Iowa Department of Administrative Services helped negotiate most of the settlements. Spokesman Caleb Hunter said decisions to reduce or remove discipline or reinstate previously terminated employees is done so with taxpayers in mind.

Hunter said arbitrating disputes with workers costs the state at least $3,000 per worker, and the process might result in the state being ordered to rehire a worker.

“Each situation is unique but it’s best from our perspective, trying to be judicious with taxpayer dollars, to come to an agreement prior to arbitration,” he said.

Attorney Mark Hedberg, who often represents union workers, said discipline is often reversed because accusations against employees are found to be untrue or the punishments were unfair. He argues there is no reason to make termination records public.

“I would contend there is no reason to treat a public employee any differently than a private employee,” Hedberg said.

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Information from: The Des Moines Register, https://www.desmoinesregister.com