Government Employees' Extra Protections Include Job Security For Criminals
Last night's 60 Minutes -- about how members of Congress use legal insider trading and puffy stock options to make money while crafting legislation -- had me so angry I wanted to march on Capitol Hill with a pitchfork.
Good thing I don't live in California. From today's Los Angeles Times:
When thousands of dollars belonging to elderly residents of a veterans home went missing, police set out to catch the thief. A video camera they hid showed nurse's aide Linda Riccitelli creeping into a 93-year-old man's room and sticking her hand in a dresser drawer stashed with bait money.
Investigators confirmed the cash was gone and the video showed that no one else had opened the drawer.
Prosecutors charged Riccitelli with burglary, and the Department of Veterans Affairs fired her. To most, it seemed like an open-and-shut case. But a little-known state agency that rules on employee discipline saw things differently. It ordered Riccitelli re-hired, with three years' back pay because, they said, the evidence was "circumstantial."
The story gets worse, somehow. You'll love the part about the doctor that beat his patients but was rehired. It's nice that California has so much money that they can pay for things like this.
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Re: Government Employees' Extra Protections Include Job Security For Criminals
My husband just sent me this link that should be required viewing for every California state employee.
May '10
Re: Government Employees' Extra Protections Include Job Security For Criminals
Hand me my tar and feathers.
Feb '11
Re: Government Employees' Extra Protections Include Job Security For Criminals
Throughout history governments have been essentially criminal organizations. Why should anyone be surprised that ours is little if any different?
Dec '10
Re: Government Employees' Extra Protections Include Job Security For Criminals
Too bad this didn't happen in Ohio a week or two ago.
Mar '11
Re: Government Employees' Extra Protections Include Job Security For Criminals
Just to be clear. This involved the California Department of Veterans Affairs, not the federal one. Had it been the federal one, the employees would have been reinstated by the Merit Systems Protection Board.
Feb '11
Re: Government Employees' Extra Protections Include Job Security For Criminals
They rehired her? She worked from her prison cell?
Dec '10
Re: Government Employees' Extra Protections Include Job Security For Criminals
Telecommuting is a big thing with government now.
Dec '10
Re: Government Employees' Extra Protections Include Job Security For Criminals
Who says California can't compete in the marketplace anymore? The quality of these stories is going to drive The Onion out of business forthwith!
Dec '10
Re: Government Employees' Extra Protections Include Job Security For Criminals
*facepalm* *headdesk* *rageface*
It never occurred to me that Congressperson might be insider trading because it never occurred to me that such a practice would be legal. That is....its just basic. How can that possibly be legal?
Aug '10
Re: Government Employees' Extra Protections Include Job Security For Criminals
We should not be surprised at whatever level of conniving fiscal depravity our rulers sink to, so long as we allow them to write one set of rules for themselves and another set of rules for us.
Where is the Constitutional amendment that would allow Congress a respectable salary, zero perks and privileges, a limited term of service, followed by a hearty "thank you" from the American public? Until we have that, we will never dig out of this mess.
Sep '10
Re: Government Employees' Extra Protections Include Job Security For Criminals
You missed the money quote at the end of the LA times (or perhaps you were blinded by the tears in your eyes).
"I don't think it's elaborate," he said. "I think it's just a fundamental right of employees who are represented" by unions." [bold emphasis is mine].
Sep '10
Re: Government Employees' Extra Protections Include Job Security For Criminals
I could not help crunching the numbers.
If there were 93 overturned cases over 3 years and that is 3% of the total, this yeilds a total of 3,100 cases heard over 3 years. With an annual budget of $27 million divided by 1,034 cases in a year yields $26K per case, or if yoiu like $871K per overturned case. Likely this does not include the back pay for these slugs.
I am sorry that the folks in CA don't have anything they can cut from their budget.