FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For particulars, contact Bob Krause at 515-657-0069
KRAUSE: EMPLOYEES AT IOWA VETERANS HOME ILLEGALLY FIRED
Veteran Activist Bob Krause, president of the Veterans National Recovery Center of Des Moines, today charged that there are newly discovered illegalities at the Iowa Veterans Home (IVH), and that this has hurt veterans.
“Illegal firings have occurred under the new management of Commandant Jodi Tymeson,” said Krause.
Krause stated that the problem was staged when a former commandant, David Worley, initiated a massive transition of Iowa Merit System employees from Professional Status to “at-will.”
“However,” Krause added, “actions by new management at IVH have taken advantage of the at-will situation and have illegally purged veteran employees.”
“Today, as a result of the at-will transitions, there are 22 at-will employees at IVH. This is 20% of all at-will employees in the state. If the number were proportional to other state agencies, there would be 2 or less.
“There is circumstantial evidence that the 2012-2013 transitions to at-will employment were retaliatory acts,” added Krause. ”Nearly all of those transitioned into at-will employment at the Iowa Veterans Home received their transition notice within a month of testifying before a now quashed internal investigation by the Iowa Department of Administrative Services. It appears on the surface that the list of those testifying, as well as possibly detail of their testimony, was leaked to the management of IVH.”
According to Krause, the only actions to reverse the at-will status of employees to professional staff appear for a very few positions, without a view of the essential purpose of whether or not the position should be at-will or professional staff.
Krause went on to say that the illegal taint the personnel process was reinforced because an openly coercive letter was used to force employees into an at-will” status. Simply put, employees were told to sign the letter, or be subject to layoff. This change in legal status for many employees was done without informing the employees of their legal right of appeal as specified in current law.
“Because they weren’t informed of their legal rights, few protested. Those that did protested by refusing to sign the letter. This resulted in punitive action, including pay reduction and shunning,” said Krause.
Krause added that the letter was so harsh that it was criticized by both Republicans and Democrats as “threatening” at the Iowa Administrative Rules Committee on April 12, 2013, and that the attorneys general office had replaced the letter with a revised one.
“Both the tone of the letter and the lack of disclosure of due process made the reclassification from professional staff to at-will illegal, and constituted a taking of a legal right without due process. The Branstad administration was informed of the wrong in April of last year and still failed to correct the action. Now these illegal at-will classifications obtained under false pretenses are being used for willy-nilly dismissals. As an example, at least one 32 year employee with a spotless record was terminated with a two sentence letter this summer, without explanation. The state could be liable for millions in punitive damages from this,” said Krause.
“It is clear to me that Governor Branstad has not cleaned up the mess that was revealed last year and in fact has made it worse. I call on the Iowa Senate Committee on Investigations to file an injunction to protect any and all records pertaining to the at-will transitions and the firings at the Iowa Veterans Home and proceed with a new investigation.” concluded Krause.
—
Gordon Duff posted articles on VT from 2008 to 2022. He is a Marine combat veteran of the Vietnam War. A disabled veteran, he worked on veterans and POW issues for decades.
Gordon is an accredited diplomat and is generally accepted as one of the top global intelligence specialists. He manages the world’s largest private intelligence organization and regularly consults with governments challenged by security issues.
Duff has traveled extensively, is published around the world, and is a regular guest on TV and radio in more than “several” countries. He is also a trained chef, wine enthusiast, avid motorcyclist, and gunsmith specializing in historical weapons and restoration. Business experience and interests are in energy and defense technology.
ATTENTION READERS
We See The World From All Sides and Want YOU To Be Fully InformedIn fact, intentional disinformation is a disgraceful scourge in media today. So to assuage any possible errant incorrect information posted herein, we strongly encourage you to seek corroboration from other non-VT sources before forming an educated opinion.
About VT - Policies & Disclosures - Comment Policy
