Coming on the heels of the recent "final word" disposition paper regarding an employee harassment case that was dismissed--this new email I received, below, is concerning.
The timing of this email is problematic to me, so I will continue asking questions about this issue until I get satisfaction that county policy was followed.
Right now I am not convinced it was. I believe one of our employees has faced continuing retaliation and retribution as a result of his filing a workplace harassment complaint against a supervisor.
I don't buy the conclusions reached in the 12/12 "final word" letter. The 6-24 investigation summary is much more thorough and makes much more sense to me given the timeline and the circumstances.
So I requested documents supporting this "final word" disposition letter and I met with HR staff and the administrator yesterday after the VAB meeting to get this information.
Staff was unable to provide me any of the documentation I requested. They had copies of documents I already possess.
I left them with a list of 6 specific questions I want answers to regarding the way this process was handled in this case specifically, and I will be pressing for those answers because they should be easy to provide as the County has released their "final word" on the employee harassment case.
But so far as I can tell, and based upon what I have been given, here is what the timeline was as it relates to this matter:
On April 23rd, a QA/QI Board was held and Paramedic Matt Selover (an 8-year county employee with no disciplinary marks in his HR file, a well-regarded employee who had been promoted to a supervisory role due to his experience and work history) was asked to participate in a QA review board and have several of his calls reviewed spanning nearly a year's time worth of cases. The participants who sat on the board abruptly changed from the normal Board participants, and Selover felt uneasy because he had had previous negative interactions with two of the "newly seated" QA board panelists. He had also seen several employees be subjected to enhanced scrutiny for what he felt were arbitrary reasons after these boards--which had historically been utilized as learning experiences, collaborative and instructive for the purpose of improving patient care and service to the community--not punitive and disciplinary as these boards had recently become. Selover participated reluctantly, with a witness of his choosing, and had his cases reviewed. He disagreed with many of the conclusions. At the end of the board session, which to him felt disciplinary and punitive in nature, he continued to work his normal shifts, unrestrained and unfettered as a paramedic, for the next 21 days. He received no additional feedback for the next 21 days on the matter. But even though he received no immediate notice of any negative consequences due to his board--he felt he was unfairly targeted and bullied. He decided he would file a harassment complaint against medical director Edler which is within his right to do.
On May 1st at approximately 2:00 PM--Paramedic Selover, after having the complaint he prepared looked at for accuracy by a witness to the board whom he, Selover, had chosen to attend, submitted this workplace harassment complaint to HR employee Ed Spainhower.
On May 1st at approximately 4:00 PM--Spainhower notified the medical director that she was going to be the subject of a workplace harassment claim related to the 4-23-2019 Board. Spainhower requested general and specific documentation from the April 23rd QA/QI board and any other data that would illustrate her (Edler's) side of the situation.
On May 1st at 5:24 PM Edler sent an email (below) to an April 23rd, QA/QI Board participant -informing this participant that Selover had filed a complaint against her and informing this Board participant that she needed his notes, comments, and recommendations because she was going to send all the information to HR and to the State Department of Health. (Documents I have now related to the Selover QA/QI board were/are dated on or after April 23rd--but prior to May 1st---so why did these have to be requested again by the medical director? Shouldn't she have had these? Who had these records?)
On May 7th- Edler had staff push out a revised policy/procedure via the below email ("policy" purportedly re-written in March of 2019) for QA/QI Boards specifying potential negative employment outcomes for employees based upon these reviews if such reviews are not favorable to the employee. The new policy has multiple disclaimers stating "It is the intent of clinical review to improve patient care and clinical operations, not to discipline the employee" (Was this "policy"
approved by the BCC or the administrator? Was it bargained with the union? Did County Attorney's office review it? It appears to have major disciplinary ramifications for employees....)
On May 13th- HR Employee Spainhower again contacts Edler, requesting documentation related to April 23rd QA Board (which he had not yet received after his initial request of 5-1-2019). Spainhower gives Edler formal notification that Matt Selover filed a workplace harassment complaint against Edler on May 1st..
On May 13th-Edler sends out an email to Public Safety Staff stating Selover can no longer work as a paramedic under her license. (Although he had continued to work from 4-23-19 onward as a paramedic with no restrictions.....
On May 14th- Public Safety Director Dosh warns Edler against taking such a drastic disciplinary step adding it could appear retaliatory.
Subsequently, Edler was asked to provide due process to Selover and to write a Performance Improvement Plan. She said "No-I won't. He cannot work under my license and should be terminated"
May 15th- Paramedic Selover removed from duty, assigned to office admin work for two days. Ultimately, he is stripped of his ability to work as a paramedic, stripped of his ability to work overtime, and Edler allows him only to work at the EMT level under supervision of a paramedic and as a part of a performance improvement plan. This has resulted in an 18% decrease in earnings for this employee compared to his previous 3-years of work and salary history.
May 16- Formal complaint sent by Edler to Florida DOH regarding and against Matt Selover. Staff of County not notified of this, to include Director of Public Safety, County Attorney, EMS Supervisor, or County Administrator---none of whom were consulted or notified that this action was going to occur
May 25th ---Paramedic Selover receives notification in the mail that Edler has filed a formal complaint against him with the Florida Department of Health--this is the first time he is notified of this. He informs county staff who also were unaware that such a complaint was made.
There is a lot more to discuss about this, which I will do in multiple follow-on posts until this ugly issue is fixed.
16 comments:
Keep fighting!! It appears as if administrator, and HR head are as corrupt as Medical Director! They are creating a hostile environment.. reporting gets you destroyed! Ruining good people gets you praise and 200,000 dollars a year! As citizens we deserve our money back! These employees and servants deserve protection and praise! Look what they did at NAS!
The fix appears to be in on this, Commissioner. It is absolutely consistent with corruption in Escambia in recent years. I don’t know if this can be fixed as the corruption is so pervasive in so many extensions of the local government. How do you fix something so broken?
Wow! Again why or how is she even employed still! This is an absolute disgrace to an organization that used to be the BEST OF THE BEST! I’ve heard the horror stories about her but this is only one persons dealings with her. Imagine ALL THE OTHER EMPLOYEES she’s probably treated as badly! She is NO ROLE MODEL AS DOUG UNDERHILL CALLS HER! 🤣
Jeff Bergosh continue doing what you are doing, and let us all know what is happening, we need to clear our County of bad behaviour
The legal requirements for a hostile work environment include these.
The behavior or communication must be pervasive, lasting over time, and not limited to an off-color remark or two that a coworker found annoying. These incidents should be reported to Human Resources for needed intervention.
The problem becomes significant and pervasive if it is all around a worker, continues over time,
and is not investigated and addressed effectively enough by the organization to make the behavior stop.
The hostile behavior, actions, or communication must be severe. Not only is it pervasive over time, but the hostility must seriously disrupt the employee’s work. The second form of severity occurs if the hostile work environment interferes with an employee’s career progress. For example, the employee failed to receive a promotion or a job rotation as a result of the hostile behavior.
It is reasonable to assume that the employer knew about the actions or behavior and did not sufficiently intervene. Consequently, the employer can be liable for the creation of a hostile work environment.
Dealing With a Hostile Work Environment
The first step an employee needs to take if he or she is experiencing a hostile work environment is to ask the offending employee to stop their behavior or communication. If an employee finds this difficult to do on his or her own, they should solicit help from a manager or Human Resources.
When inappropriate behavior is coming from another employee, they are your best in-house resources. They also serve as your witness to the fact that you asked the offending employee to stop the behavior.
You want to put the offending employee on notice that their behavior is offensive, discriminatory, inappropriate, and that you won't tolerate the behavior. (In the majority of cases, the employee will stop the behavior. They may not have realized the degree to which you found the actions offensive.)
These resources will help you address a hostile work environment before the hostility escalates. You can pick between dealing with difficult people, dealing with a bully, holding a difficult conversation, and practicing conflict resolution skills.
They will all help you increase your skill in dealing with the coworker creating your hostile work environment. These skills and ideas may be all that you need since many bullies are spineless when confronted.
Especially in instances where you have reported the behavior of a manager or supervisor to the appropriate manager or HR staff member, the behavior must stop. Additionally, the reported individual may not retaliate against you as a payback for your reporting of his or her improper behavior.
An employee who experiences a hostile work environment, and has attempted to make the behavior stop without success, though, should go to his or her manager, employer, or Human Resources staff. The first step in getting help is to ask for help. Your employer must have the opportunity to investigate the complaint and eliminate the behavior.
A later hostile workplace lawsuit you institute will flounder if the employer was unaware of the situation and had not been given the opportunity to address the behavior and hostile environment. This is in your hands because, in most workplaces, hostile, offensive behavior is noticed and addressed when it is obvious or seen by many employees.
Two things to consider-
1. Selover previously filed a complaint against Edler for unprofessional conduct; she made derogatory comments on social media and in-person that were directed towards EMS operations and management. Edler is likely aware of those complaints by Selover due to her relationship with Chief Nail.
2. Other employees who had fallen out favor with Edler expressed concerns on how she managed the QA board after they were summoned to appear before that board.
Yet again the REAL whistleblowers have not been protected. They have detailed unprofessional conduct, retribution, favoritism and they have all been systematically targeted. We in EMS see all kind of crazy and unprofessional conduct but it’s well known that you stay out of her sights or she will just report you to the state for some trumped up charge and the county administration won’t do a think to help you. We have seen some really good people with actual power fall and know we don’t stand a chance if we are targeted. Help us!
investigate Underhill supporting Nail and Edler and calling Weaver in his office while you're at it if you will. What happened with Amy Lavoy and Underhill.
https://www.pnj.com/story/news/2019/06/25/escambia-county-ems-investigation-rayme-edler-hires-her-own-attorney/1548557001/
watch out she may get you too.
You may also want to look into Dr. Edler steering an employee away from reporting unprofessional conduct about supervisor and employee relationships in the department. Apparently she told the employee to be quiet about it because there was already enough drama.
Commissioner Bergosh these are things someone should check on. How about you? There are many still at the county and elsewhere in the public that know Director Weaver didn’t deserve any of that. I believe when you’re done looking thru all this your going to find a few REALLY ROTTEN APPLES!!!
That's because she is romantically involved with a Paramedic working under her. I'm sure he will never have to worry about QA/QI issues.
page 34-37 https://myescambia.com/docs/default-source/sharepoint/neo_handbookcontents_122717-2018version.pdf?sfvrsn=3f8f3c6d_6
Did he file an appeal.
And it amazing how many EMS Supervisors were demoted for the same thing. County Administration is scared of her
Strange that Maygarden told Edler to get text sent to Gilley. Then Edler herself publishes them herself in the public record on her case with Pino. Then gets on the stand Nov 13 crying about it. It looks Bizarre. Totally Bizarre. Transcript Nov 13 on the record. The new HR director has a degree in psychology. She should objectively look at that behavior in detail. It was a text sent in confidence basically to Mrs. Gilley and it ends up being placed into the record and the defendant did NOT publish it. The plaintiff, a county employee did it to herself and is blaming it otherwise in a court of law in front of God and the world. Is the county still paying her as the highest paid employee to continue on this path?
Noticed JAR posted this on ECW recently plus the paperwork that JJ Talbott was suspended. Makes one wonder if her and the crew filed that ethics complaint on another case. Especially after you uncovered the text on the Bear case. Bear is sunburning Underhill .. Chapping his Ass. JJ did plead guilty for churning the file. They fight dirty. Edler is also posting on NE about the new EMS director. Is that now allowed or is she feeling empowered like a big shot? The files on record coming to trial for employees for simply missing something on CE is ruthless. Trials in June. For someone who seems interested in saving lives doesn't seem to have a qualm for ruining others. What started this was a video of EMS most likely picking up an already deceased body. A grieving mother wanted to make a difference... Videos cause problems. Maybe the truth will set her free??
Don't drink and drive don't involve yourself with Underhill. He has the midas touch of everything he touches turns to shyte.
The smartest thing would probably be not to publish this but I still hope the BOCC doesn't vote to pay for these peoples pissing matches and enrich attorney's fat pay checks sniffing around the chum like sharks in the water.
Yeah we see all you
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