Kris Zane

P.O. Box 21130

Riverside, CA 92516
951.212.9096
kris.zane@yahoo.com
Analysis of Problems and Mismanagement of the
California Operation Welcome Home (COWH) Program,
Riverside Office
By Kris Zane,
COWH Riverside Staff Member
December 20, 2010
1
Introduction
Within the California Operation Welcome Home (COWH) program,
Riverside Office, I have witnessed a host of problems and mismanagement: from
minor to major, to ethical, to clearly a misuse of California Operation Welcome
Home staff for purposes of a non-COWH nature--that is, mismanagement of
COWH/ Employment Development Department (EDD) funds.
Upon witnessing the various problems and mismanagement, I initially did
not "make any waves," so to speak; then, several months into the program,
making some comments about several of the matters, was reprimanded,
basically told to keep my mouth shut, and, towards the end, was reprimanded
before all my coworkers and several managers.
I don't relish in being a "whistle blower," and the majority of these
problems, either when I made comments or not, have caused me much anxiety
and, in the case when I made my complaints known, extreme excoriation by
superiors; but I think the ethical and professional thing to do compels me to
make this information known to the California Department of Veterans Affairs
and the Employment Development Department.
I was informed on 12/13/2010 by Thomas Flournoy, Program Manager
for the EDD Riverside Office, with Judy Jones, Riverside COWH Manager also
present, that I was being "laid off due to budget cutbacks," my last day being
given as 12/30/2010, while my coworkers retained their positions. The reason
given was that I did not satisfy the "evaluation matrix." Exactly how or why my
evaluation matrix was considered deficient was not elaborated on
(see Section 9).
2
I would request that this Analysis, consisting of sixty-one (61) pages,
including the exhibits, not be brought to the attention of those named therein
(outside of a formal investigation), so that there be no retributive action taken
against me, especially of a personal nature, as it may seem fit to relieve the
named individuals of their positions.
Sincerely,
Kris Zane
December 20, 2010
3
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................Page 2
Section 1
Forbidding of speaking/making contact with State of California/County of
Riverside/etc. entities or individuals by Judy Jones, COWH manager, Riverside
Beginning approximately March 1, 2010...............................................................Page 8
Section 2
Conference call from Governor's Office by David Knudsen, the Deputy Cabinet
Secretary, to all Southern California COWH staff and managers
May 18, 2010, 3 p.m.......................................................................................................Page 9
Section 3
CVCS 30-day follow-up training (Webinar), by Michael Bunch, COWH Project
Coordinator to all Southern California COWH staff and managers
May 25, 2010 8:30 a.m...............................................................................................Page 11
Section 4
Southern Workforce Services Division "Connecting the Pieces" Training and
Conference
June 1-3, 2010..............................................................................................................Page 13
4
Section 5
COWH employees in the Riverside office doing receptionist work for the County
of Riverside
Beginning approximately March 1, 2010............................................................Page 16
Section 6
My contact and visits to the March Air Reserve Base U.S. VETS Homeless
Housing, and subsequent reprimand for
Beginning June 21, 2010...........................................................................................Page 20
Section 7
Use of empty County of Riverside cubicle behind fourth floor reception area and
subsequent reprimand by Judy Jones; subsequent reprimand/meeting between
Cheri Hales, Judy Jones, and myself
Beginning June 19, 2010...........................................................................................Page 25
Section 8
COWH meeting in Murrieta; reprimand by managers, including Judy Jones;
derogatory comments by COWH coworkers
August 5, 2010..............................................................................................................Page 33
Section 8A
Conference call from Governor's Office by David Knudsen, the Deputy Cabinet
Secretary, to all Southern California COWH staff and managers
August 19, 2010 ..........................................................................................................Page 36
5
Section 8B
Email sent to Judy Jones complaining of several issues, subsequent meeting
with Thomas Flournoy, Judy Jones, and myself
September 27, 2010.....................................................................................................Page 37
Section 9
Informed that I was being laid of because of budget cuts
December 13, 2010......................................................................................................Page 44
Section 10
Miscellaneous problems and mismanagement
Various dates.................................................................................................................Page 51
6
Exhibits
Located at the End of This Text/as a Separate File
Table of Exhibits
Exhibit 1....................................................... County of Riverside Receptionist Schedule
Exhibit 2....................................................... County of Riverside Phone Extension List
Exhibit 3......................................................... County of Riverside Visitor Sign-in Sheet
Exhibit 4.......................................................................... COWH Self-Made Business Cards
Exhibit 5................................................... COWH Self-Made Information/Contact Sheet
Exhibit 6...................................................................................... COWH Position Statement
Exhibit 7.........................................................................................................Cubicle Schedule
7
SECTION 1
FORBIDDING OF SPEAKING/MAKING CONTACT WITH STATE OF
CALIFORNIA/COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE/ETC. ENTITIES OR INDIVIDUALS
BY JUDY JONES, COWH MANAGER, RIVERSIDE
Beginning approximately March 1, 2010
As I witnessed it, this subject was prefaced by Judy Jones reprimanding a
COWH Riverside staff member (this occurred approximately March 1, 2010) for
making contact with the Veterans Service Officer (VSO) in the Riverside County
(Spruce St., Riverside) office. The employee simply wanted to introduce himself
to the VSO, to introduce the COWH program, state that we would be referring
veterans to him, and asking what services he would be providing so that we
could make this information known to the veterans. This reprimand occurred in
front of all COWH staff, and set up a fearful climate, in which it was forbidden to
speak to basically anyone that had any relation to anything even remotely
related to the State of California or County of Riverside (including community-
based programs, Vet Centers, and a host of other organizations/entities). All
things were to be spoken through Judy Jones, or that she would have to give
approval for this contact to be made. What, in the end, this amounted to, was
that all contact with any entity was always denied. Her reasoning behind this
was: "Everything's so political." This denial of contact with any entity/individual
extended to asking questions or making comments during training, conference
calls, and conferences/training, as I will hereafter explain.
8
SECTION 2
CONFERENCE CALL FROM GOVERNOR'S OFFICE BY DAVID KNUDSEN,
THE DEPUTY CABINET SECRETARY, TO ALL SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
COWH STAFF AND MANAGERS
MAY 18, 2010, 3 p.m.
For this conference call from the Governor's Office by David Knudsen,
COWH staff--including the manager Judy Jones--gathered in a conference room
on the fifth floor of the Riverside office ("Riverside" and "Riverside office" here
and hereafter in reference to the State of California Employment Development
Department and County of Riverside Workforce Development Center, 1325
Spruce Street, Riverside, CA 92507). Going into the conference call, Judy Jones
instructed all staff to not say a word, even if comments and questions were
asked for.
Once the conference call began, and after Mr. Knudsen discussed the
history behind COWH, how the COWH program was currently doing, some
aspects of the CVCS interview system, and, after delineating some of the
statistics regarding veterans and unemployment, Mr. Knudsen asked for any
comments, questions, or problems perceived in the program, specifically
regarding the CVCS interview system and/or process. Judy Jones made gestures
and hard looks at all of the Riverside COWH staff to remind them to absolutely
not say a word.
Contrary to our office, many COWH staff from San Diego, Rancho
Cucamonga, etc., asked questions, made comments, and specifically pointed out
some problems with the CVCS interview, process, and database, to which Mr.
9
Knudsen thanked the staff for the information provided, stating that he would
look into and address the comments/problems, and make known the problems to
the Governor's office.
Afterwards Judy Jones expressed relief to her staff that no one from her
office had made any comments, and she reiterated: "Don't say nothing to no one!
I won't have it!"
10
SECTION 3
CVCS 30-DAY FOLLOW-UP TRAINING (WEBINAR), BY MICHAEL BUNCH,
COWH PROJECT COORDINATOR, TO ALL SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA COWH
STAFF AND MANAGERS
May 25, 2010, 8:30 a.m.
For the 30-Day Follow-up Webinar, COWH Riverside staff gathered around
two computer monitors, set up the telephone properly, and watched and listened
as Mr. Bunch (from a remote location) went over the CVCS 30-Day Follow-up
tabs, explaining changes that had been made to the CVCS system, and how to fill
out the various questions on the tabs.
As I had taken notes during the Governor's office conference call by Mr.
Knudsen (see Section 2), and, after presenting these notes as requested to Judy
Jones in PDF format (I subsequently became the official recorder of minutes for
all subsequent meetings, training, conference calls, etc. up until this day, because
of my skill in taking detailed and organized notes), Judy Jones again asked me
to take notes, organize them, and email them to her. As I was taking notes, Judy
Jones sat next to me, speaking to another COWH staff member of non-work
related matters, so that I found it difficult to hear Mr. Bunch speaking on the
conference phone.
The CVCS training being concluded, Mr. Bunch asked for any comments,
questions or problems relating to any CVCS matter. Perceiving a major problem
with the CVCS system, a problem both experienced by myself and others, not
only in the Riverside office, but also the Hemet/Murrieta office, I wanted to
address this matter to Mr. Bunch. (I will address this specific CVCS problem in
11
Section 4). I turned to Judy Jones and asked her if I could ask Mr. Bunch a
question, to which she wanted to know the subject of the question, to which I
told her. I also indicated that I had emailed the CVCS help desk regarding this
problem without getting an answer. Judy Jones refused my request to ask the
question. I subsequently, the next day, again addressed the question to the CVCS
help desk, discussing in more detail the problem, without getting a response.
12
SECTION 4
SOUTHERN WORKFORCE SERVICES DIVISION "CONNECTING THE PIECES"
TRAINING/CONFERENCE, GARDEN GROVE, CALIFORNIA
June 1-3, 2010
During the "Connecting the Pieces" training/conference, Judy Jones, as
before, had reiterated that we were not to talk to anyone; to not make any
comments; to not ask any questions.
This conference consisted of a combination of awards, training, speakers,
etc., including, on June 2, 2010, a talk given by Ted Puntillo, the Deputy
Secretary of Veterans Services. The talk occurred in a large room, with staff
from all aspects of various veterans services sitting at tables, Mr. Puntillo being
at the front with a microphone. During the talk, in which he discussed the CVCS
system among other things, Mr. Puntillo at certain times made comments to
Michael Bunch sitting at a nearby table for clarification of a matter, etc. At the
end of his talk, as was to be expected, he asked for any comments, questions, or
perceived problems on any matter. For probably twenty minutes, various
individuals within the room made comments, asked questions, and pointed out
problems. I, of course, wanted to address the CVCS issue (see Section 3), but,
knowing that I would be reprimanded for addressing the problem, held my
peace. At one point, however, believing Judy Jones' command being
unwarranted and clearly against other office's policy, determined to do what
was right, and raised my hand.
Upon being called upon by Mr. Puntillo, I discussed a problem with the
CVCS system which I felt was a major issue, that of inputting information either
13
in the question section or comment section, the veteran's record being saved and
exited; and then, upon opening up the veteran's CVCS file subsequently, the
inputted information being completely erased. I had been told of this happening
by at least two other COWH staff members, one in the Hemet/Murreta office, the
other in the Riverside office, and it had occurred to me twice. My question to Mr.
Puntillo initially regarded how long it took for the CVCS help desk to answer a
question, and, sitting down, at one point asking a subsequent question, led into
my description of the erasure problem, to which someone from the back stated
they couldn't hear me. I then was handed the microphone by Mr. Puntillo, and
spent several minutes going over the problem, how I had tried to back up
possible lost information by printing out the various tabs, being unsuccessful
with this, etc.
At the end of my questions/comments, Mr. Puntillo handed me his
business card, and, a few minutes later, while his talk continued, Michael Bunch
gestured for me to go over to his table to get my phone number and email to
address the erasure problem further at a later time.
As I began to give Mr. Bunch my phone number, Judy Jones came racing
up from the back of the room, interrupting, stating an outright lie that the
problem was not with the CVCS system, but was a problem with my computer. (I
had been having problems with my laptop, but this was not the issue, as the
same problem, as I have said, had occurred with the two other employees on
regular desktops). Mr. Bunch ceased in the writing down of my phone number
and email address, and, rather than argue with Judy Jones, I simply went back
to my table, knowing that after the days' events were completed, I would be
severely reprimanded.
14
Subsequently, upon leaving the room, Judy Jones accosted me, stating: "I
told you not to say anything! Don't ever do that again. I won't have it!" At one
point Dianne Hughes from Workforce Development was brought into the
conversation with myself and Judy Jones, to where I disputed Judy Jones' claim,
stating that what she had said to Michael Bunch was untrue--i.e., a lie--pointing
out that two other COWH staff members had had the same problem. Dianne
Hughes stated that I should carbon copy (CC) to her all emails sent to the CVCS
help desk, so that she might investigate the matter.
Subsequently, several weeks later, using Dianne Hughes' comment about
emailing her regarding anything related to CVCS, after submitting a success
story to Judy Jones twice for approval without an acknowledgment that they
were sent (we were instructed by Michael Bunch during the training to send all
success stories to the CVCS help desk with "Success Story" in the subject line), I
decided to send the success story a third time to Judy Jones, with this time also
sending a CC to Dianne Hughes. (I was later reprimanded by Judy Jones and
Cheri Hales (EDD Manager in the Riverside office) for submitting the success
story to Dianne Hughes; see Section 7).
15
SECTION 5
COWH EMPLOYEES IN THE RIVERSIDE OFFICE DOING RECEPTIONIST
WORK FOR THE COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE
Beginning approximately March 1, 2010
The COWH Riverside staff not having any fixed location where they could
do their work, previously sitting in empty County of Riverside cubicles, in
approximately the beginning of March of 2010, were "graciously" (per the
verbiage of Cheri Hales and Judy Jones) given space at the receptionist desks on
the fourth and fifth floors. There were at this time approximately eleven COWH
staff, and the reception areas were "staffed" by about half of the COWH employees
per floor. I was part of the fourth floor staff.
By "staffed" and "receptionist desk," I mean to say that it became
immediately apparent that this was not simply unused space that we were given
access to, but that certain receptionist duties were expected of us (primarily on
the fourth floor, as the fifth floor was not equipped with telephones). It also
became immediately clear that we were taking the place of County of Riverside
employees that had been previously rotating receptionist duties apart from
their regular duties. Additionally, I saw a schedule posted on the fourth floor
that the County of Riverside employees had been using to determine who was to
have receptionist duties and when (See Exhibit 1).
Upon being situated on the fourth floor--the fifth floor had basically no (or
rather few) receptionists functions, as there were no phones installed, myself
and several other COWH staff members were responsible for the following duties,
most of which were not explained to us:
16
A. When packages from UPS, Fedex, or County of Riverside Supply Services came
in, we were to call the individuals for whom the packages were for, using a
supplied phone list (See Exhibit 2), listing literally dozens of individuals
throughout the building, even those individuals that worked at other Riverside
locations. We were instructed to never sign for the packages ourselves, but
always to call the individual for whom the package was for. This resulted in
everything from having to make a quick phone call, taking a matter of a few
moments, to (more often) of ten minutes or more, because the individual was
not at their desk, and we had to attempt to track the person down, or, in most
cases, trying to get a coworker of the recipient of the package to sign for it. A
fairly large volume of packages came to the fourth floor, a predominant amount
being for the IT department, as we were in close proximity to that department.
We were also given packages and documents for pickup by the various
delivery services (and occasionally pick up by outside agencies), often with
phone numbers of the County of Riverside employee in case the the pickup
person/entity had any questions.
Additionally, often when the individual to whom a package was for, to
which was not in and signed for by a County of Riverside coworker, we held the
package behind the desk, and would repeatedly have to call the County of
Riverside employee to come pick up their package.
B. As previously stated, the fourth floor reception area was situated adjacent to
the County of Riverside IT department, which handled the distribution, repair,
and turning in of County of Riverside employee cell phones; so that a fairly large
volume of individuals came in asking for the IT department (they were behind a
17
locked, keypad-accessed door), to which we would need to call the IT department
(they often did not answer their phones) to let them know that an individual
needed assistance in obtaining a phone, having a phone repaired, or turning in a
phone.
C. For all visitors attending meetings/training, IT-related matters, and a host of
other individuals, we were to ask the visitors to sign a sign-in sheet (See Exhibit
3), the purpose of the sign-in sheet (we were told by the County of Riverside
"trainer") was, in the case of an evacuation of the building (fire, earthquake,
bomb threat, etc.), a roll could be conducted to determine whether everyone was
out of the building and accounted for.
D. The fourth floor reception area was situated adjacent to one large conference
room, and one smaller conference room being situated down the hall; therefore,
there was a fairly large volume of individuals attending meetings and training,
sometimes employees from the building, but more often than not, individuals
coming from remote locations, e.g., Department of Labor, vendors giving
presentations, etc.; the point being that we had to (after signing in the
individuals), direct them to the appropriate conference rooms, bathrooms,
vending machines, etc. During large (twenty or thirty individuals)
meetings/training, this resulted in a significant amount of time being taken in
directing the individuals to sign in, directing them to the conference room,
bathrooms, etc.
E. Often, as visitors were constantly streaming in, occasionally the County of
18
Riverside employee who was expecting a visitor, would inform us of the visit,
inform us of the time, inform us of the specifics, etc. of the individual so that
there would be no problems; so that often we would post a note in the reception
area for all COWH employees to know about it, as often (we subsequently had a
significant amount of COWH staff members quit for various reasons) there was
only a single COWH employee at the desk when this information was given. One
such common note was when a particular County of Riverside department was
having individuals come in for job interviews. We were often given a multiple
name list stating the job interviewee's name, time they were to come in, and
individual to call when they did come in.
F. Occasionally, because all offices and departments were behind keypad-
accessed doors, an individual who was not authorized to be in the area
attempted to breach the door by asking COWH "receptionist" staff for the
combination, or attempted to get past the key pad-accessed door by following
someone in; therefore one of the functions of the COWH "receptionist" staff was
to act as a security desk.
As could be expected, if, on the fourth floor, as a COWH employee was
engaged in speaking on the phone to a veteran, or attempting to gather a
referral for a veteran, or a host of innumerable other things, and he was
interrupted by individuals, UPS (etc.) drivers, phone calls, security issues, etc.,
this made it rather difficult to conduct one's COWH duties. This led to an incident
that I will describe in Section 7.
19
SECTION 6
MY CONTACT AND VISIT TO THE MARCH AIR RESERVE BASE U.S. VETS
HOMELESS HOUSING, AND SUBSEQUENT REPRIMAND
Beginning June 21, 2010
For whatever reason, the number of veterans assigned to COWH Riverside
staff were scant--I had approximately six veterans assigned to me over a three-
month period, half of which were unable to be contacted, thus literally having
an average of one vet assigned to me per month.
After spending a large amount of time helping two vets that had
significant problems; after spending a large amount of time gathering various
PDF files regarding veteran's benefits; compiling contact sheets for various
veterans-related entities; after compiling a master website list, etc., finally
running out of things to do, I determined I would be proactive in increasing the
number of veterans in my caseload.
Working in the Career Resource Area (CRA) at the Riverside EDD One
Stop over several days, I met two veterans living at the U.S. VETS March Air
Reserve Homeless Housing facility; and, learning that one of the COWH staff
from the Hemet/Murrieta branch visited the facility on a regular basis, I
concluded that I would try to contact the facility and gain permission to present
my services to the veterans (on my own time). This was encouraged by the two
homeless veterans, telling me they could use all the help available (I had spent a
significant amount of time helping these veterans with rsums and job
searches in the CRA).
I found the website for the U.S. VETS facility, emailed the listed director,
20
and, after several days, received no response. Upon seeing one of the homeless
veterans the next time he came into the CRA, I informed him of this lack of
response, telling him who I contacted. He informed me that that person would
never call me back; that I needed to contact Herb Edmonds, the Program
Manager for the facility, the veteran giving me this individual's card.
I subsequently phoned Mr. Edmonds Tuesday June 21, 2010, to which he
informed me that I would be welcome to come, the best time being on Tuesdays,
around 7 p.m., after the "Reality Check" (which I subsequently learned is a time
where the homeless veterans receive information, talk about any problems,
success stories, introduce new individuals to the facility, etc.). I therefore
planned on going after work that day.
Prior to going, I thought it wise to have some type of information to hand
out as far as contacting me, a document to describe things I could do for the
veterans, etc., and subsequently later that day created and printed up business
cards (getting the blanks from the local office supply store, placing my contact
information and placing the COWH logo thereon (See Exhibit 4), and also
created an information sheet describing things I could help the veterans with,
such as job leads, benefit information, ordering their DD-214, etc., also with the
COWH logo thereon (See Exhibit 5). Armed with the business cards and
information sheets, CDVA Reintegration forms, and an array of veteran's
benefit information, I arrived at the facility at 7 p.m. After sitting through
approximately forty-five minutes of the Reality Check, Mr. Edmonds gestured for
me to come up to the podium, introducing who I was.
I talked about the COWH program, various benefits available to veterans,
and informed them particularly of the Dependent College Fee Waiver program,
21
thinking that many of the older veterans would have college-age kids, and went
on for about fifteen minutes describing everything from discounts for fishing
licenses to help with rsums, to job leads. The response was enthusiastic, and I
gave my business cards and information sheets out, and had ten veterans fill out
the Reintegration form. (Regarding the Reintegration form, I prefaced filling
this out, in that if any of the veterans were working with anyone from the
Hemet location (they subsequently moved to the Murrieta office), to not fill out
the Reintegration form, because I didn't want to "step on anyone's shoes," so to
speak; additionally, I did not want to duplicate records in the CVCS system. This
will be expanded on later).
I subsequently went the following Tuesday, doing the same thing for any
new veterans arriving at the facility, and informed Herb Edmonds, that if it was
okay with him, I would come each Tuesday evening. He informed me that he
thought this a great idea.
Sometime after the second visit to the U.S. VETS facility, Judy Jones
phoned me, asking whether I had gone there, to which I responded, Yes. She
asked me if I had passed out business cards and a flier sheet with the COWH logo
on it. I again responded, Yes. She said, "Don't do that anymore!" and stated that
she would talk to me about it later. She later informed me that I was forbidden to
go there; that that was the Murrieta office's territory (even though they were
twenty-two miles from the facility, and we were nine miles from the facility);
that I was to destroy the information sheets and business cards.
Later that day there was a meeting called of all Riverside COWH staff, to
which, arriving several minutes early, I learned that all COWH staff members
already knew about the reprimand and the subject of the reprimand, and
22
thought it a laughing matter.
After Judy Jones arrived and the meeting started, Judy Jones spoke in
general terms, not naming me, stating that we were not to contact any outside
facility without her permission, that we were not to print up business cards;
that she had "heard" that certain COWH staff members were in possession of
these business cards (many of the COWH staff were impressed with how nice the
business cards I had printed out looked, and asked for me to print them up some,
to which I did, as, after several months, none of us had been given business
cards); and that these business cards were to be destroyed.
Regarding the business cards, during this meeting, and the subsequent
mandate that these business cards were to be destroyed, the question of
obtaining business cards from EDD was broached by several of the COWH staff
members. Judy Jones informed the staff that she would order business cards for
everyone. Approximately two months later, a box of business cards arrived for
each staff member, the exception being myself. Judy Jones repeatedly informed
me, over a several month period, that "they" (i.e., the EDD printers) had made an
error, and had lost the order, and she supposedly reordered them several times
with my continued and often requests for business cards. As of the writing of
this report, December 20, 2010, I have as yet to receive any business cards.
Returning to the subject of the meeting, I requested permission to make a
comment. Given permission, I stated that everyone knew who was being
discussed here (in regard to making contact with outside facilities and using
non-authorized business cards). That everyone already knew about it, that-- and
here Judy Jones cut me off, flying into a fury, stating that it was against EDD
policy for her to discuss employee issues with other employees. That she had
23
absolutely said nothing to anyone. (This was obviously a lie, as all COWH staff
members were talking and joking about it as I walked into the meeting, prior to
Judy Jones arriving). After she calmed down, I asked her what I was to do with
the homeless facility veterans I was already working with, as I had put them in
the CVCS system. She informed me that she would get back to me, to which she
never did, so that I continued for several months thereafter to assist the
veterans that I initially had signed up in the CVCS system. I subsequently
shortly thereafter found out that two COWH Murrieta staff had duplicate
records of several veterans that I had signed up, to which I deleted them out of
the system, per the manager of the Murrieta office (Brenda Alipour's) request. I
believe the complaint of my spending time at U.S. VETS came from the a COWH
staff member at the Murrieta office who had been going out to the U.S. VETS
facility. I also later determined that this individual was doing very little in
regard to making known benefit information, as two veterans I was working
with, having college age, or near-college age kids, having a disability rating,
knew nothing about the Dependent College Fee Waiver, an extremely important
benefit for 0% disability rating or above veterans, as this program pays in full
college expenses for any California Community College, CSU, or UC campus,
amounting to savings of thousands of dollars for the veterans and/or their kids.
24
SECTION 7
USE OF EMPTY COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE CUBICLE BEHIND FOURTH FLOOR
RECEPTION AREA AND SUBSEQUENT REPRIMAND BY JUDY JONES;
SUBSEQUENT REPRIMAND/MEETING BETWEEN CHERI HALES, JUDY
JONES, AND MYSELF; THEN LATER MEETING WITH THOMAS
FLOURNOY, JUDY JONES AND MYSELF
Initial reprimand June 19, 2010
As I stated in Section 5, COWH staff were stationed in the receptionist
areas beginning on approximately March 1, 2010, the fourth floor COWH staff
(including myself) having to do receptionist-related duties. Upon the first day of
being given our new receptionist duties on the fourth floor, the County of
Riverside employee who "trained" us on what to do, Kathleen Terry, seeing that I
had my equipment issued to me--notebook computer, printer, cables, etc., along
with the wheeled carrying case--offered to give me a key to a series of cabinets
and drawers belonging to one of the empty cubicles behind the receptionist area,
so that when I went to lunch, or left for the day, I might lock up my equipment. I
accepted this gesture, and subsequently used these series of cabinets until June
19, 2010.
After approximately two months of sitting in the receptionist area,
setting up my laptop and printer, I determined that it would be wiser to set up
my equipment in the empty cubicle behind the receptionist area where I had
been locking up my equipment. I further determined, because I had an extensive
amount of folders in which I kept a wide assortment of veteran-related books,
brochures, fact sheets, contact information for Vet Centers, etc.--which became
25
cumbersome and an eyesore being spread across the reception counter area--I
determined to utilize the desk and additional file cabinets and drawers in the
same empty cubicle area that I had been storing my equipment. Additionally,
this decision was prompted by Judy Jones on several occasions complaining
about the amount of folders I had had in the reception area. Further, being
frustrated with the constant barrage of interruptions, I decided that because the
cubicle behind the receptionist area was empty, that I would set up my computer
and printer in the empty cubicle on a permanent basis, organizing my files,
booklets, etc. in the file drawers also. When there was sufficient COWH staff at
the receptionist area, I would sit in the cubicle. When there was a limited
amount of staff there (that is, no other person there) I would sit in the
receptionist area.
The primary reason, however, for moving my equipment, etc. to the empty
cubicle was because, if, on the phone with a veteran, whether it was a CVCS
interview, or getting general information, or tracking down a referral, I would
1. Have trouble hearing the individual/veteran when an interruption occurred
(a UPS shipment, etc.) ; 2. Could not concentrate with the amount of noise and
interruptions; and 3. As I touch upon in Section 9, certain coworkers were
constantly making personal phone calls, surfing the internet, checking emails,
watching videos, etc. (and thus having conversations about this), therefore
making it hard to concentrate and/or hear individuals/veterans that I was
speaking to on the phone. So that as long as there was at least one other COWH
staff member present, I would retreat to this empty cubicle. (This problem of
COWH members constantly being on the internet/making personal phone calls,
etc. subsided as the individuals who were engaged in this quit, and we were left
26
with a core of four hardworking COWH staff members, two individuals on the
fourth floor receptionist area, and two individuals on the fifth floor receptionist
area. After an incident that I later refer to as my "cubicle duty" (see Section 9
and Exhibit 7), I moved up to the fifth floor reception area, where I developed a
camaraderie with Charles Smith, and we subsequently went on to work together
on various things, such as veteran benefit information sharing, veteran job
leads, and a host of other things, including a very successful PowerPoint
presentation at the VET-NET meeting (see Section 9). Steven Main and Sergio De
La Garza remained on the fourth floor, both individuals working hard assisting
veterans, especially Steven Main who took over the Workforce Development
orientation for veterans each morning, along with many other duties).
Returning to the empty cubicle issue, on June 19, 2010, after having my
folders in the file cabinet, and setting up my computer and printer in the empty
cubicle for approximately one month, I was informed by Judy Jones that I would
have to vacate the cubicle; that I would have to remove my computer case out of
the standup cabinets, take my file folders out of the file cabinet, etc. Further,
seeing we had been using the drawers in the receptionist area, she ordered all
materials to be taken out of the drawers (we used these drawers for veteran's
information brochures, personal effects, our lunch, etc.).
I stated to Judy Jones that the County of Riverside employees had no
problem with me using the empty cubicle behind the receptionist area or myself
and the other staff using drawers in the receptionist area. I further stated that if
we were doing receptionist work for the County of Riverside, why could we not
use the empty cubicle and/or drawers in the receptionist area? I stated that I
needed a desk, cabinet space, and file drawers to do my work. She stated that
27
there was nothing she could do about giving me a desk. That I should be
thankful for the County of Riverside being "gracious enough" (this "gracious"
verbiage seemed to be always on someone's lips when complaints of doing
receptionist work occurred) to give us the receptionist area for our work. She
also stated that we were not doing receptionist work for the County of Riverside,
that we were simply leasing the area. I contended with her, stating that if we
were leasing the area, why did we have to do receptionist work? I also showed
her the schedule of County of Riverside employees that we replaced (See Exhibit
1). She again reiterated that we were not doing receptionist work.
The next day, June 20, 2010, Judy Jones and Cheri Hales came to the
fourth floor receptionist area, Judy Jones stating that we were going to have a
"meeting." I was taken into an adjacent conference room and the door was
closed. This "meeting" lasted approximately one hour, in which I was excoriated
by Cheri Hales, with Judy Jones interjecting at certain points for my
complaining about doing receptionist work, among other matters.
Cheri Hales initially asked me what the problem was in me having to
vacate the cubicle. I summarized the series of events that led me to begin using
the cubicle, beginning with being given a key to the cabinet by the County of
Riverside "trainer"; discussing the amount of folders, fact sheets, brochures, etc.
needed to do my work; stating that I really needed a desk area to do my work.
Cheri Hales stated that it was "complicated." That we had had to lease the
receptionist area to give the COWH staff a place to work; that we had not leased
the cubicle, and therefore could not use it. I stated that if we were leasing the
receptionist area, why were we doing receptionist work for the County of
Riverside? Why could we not use the drawers? Her response was vague and
28
convoluted, and never really addressed my questions, reiterating that we were
not really doing receptionist work, to which I disagreed with.
In regard to my call for a desk area because of the large amount of
material that I needed to have on hand to explain any benefits to veterans; that
I stated there were literally hundreds of pages of information regarding
veteran's benefits that I needed to keep on hand to assist veterans, she stated
that I "did not need to know about veteran's benefits"; that I simply needed to
refer the veteran to individuals that would explain benefits to them. I was
flabbergasted by this comment. I stated that this was not what the Position
Statement stated (See Exhibit 6). (The Position Statement is a detailed list of
job duties expected of COWH staff, which was given to all COWH staff at the
initial training in Oceanside). Cheri Hales stated that "the Position Statement is
not what you should be doing, but was written for the unions as to what you
might be doing."
Additionally, Cheri Hales reprimanded me for the following:
1. Sending my success story to Dianne Hughes. That I should have sent it to
Judy Jones for approval first. I stated that I did this at least twice, in which it
was ignored. Cheri Hales did not respond to this. (This success story was a
rather long document that I wrote regarding a CVCS-assigned veteran, in which
I had spent much time in assisting the veteran in getting into the exam process
for the County of Riverside Deputy Sheriff position. After the veteran had waited
several months to be assigned an exam date, the recruiter basically giving the
veteran the run around, at the request of the veteran, I emailed the recruiter of
the position, describing the COWH program, expressing the fact that the exam
candidate had served in the Iraq/Afghanistan War, etc. Additionally, I also
29
located a high-level County of Riverside Human Resources official on the
LinkedIn social networking site and asked for assistance. (We learned about the
importance of networking during the Social Networking presentation given at
the June 1-3, 2010 "Connecting the Pieces" conference, and I described this in
the success story). The third time I sent the success story to Judy Jones (the
first two times it being ignored), I CC'd it to Dianne Hughes, to which she
subsequently emailed me stating that it was a great success story; that she
would be sending me a template to put it in, for me to re-send it; to which I did
later, the success story therefore actually being sent out to Judy Jones four
times).
2. I was reprimanded for going to the U.S. VETS homeless facility. I stated that
the Position Statement (See Exhibit 6) clearly stated we were to do work with
"community-based organizations"; again her response was that the Position
Statement was not a valid indicator of what we should be doing.
3. I was reprimanded for making contact with other outside organizations
without approval. I stated that the Position Statement (See Exhibit 6) clearly
stated we were to work with outside organizations; again her response was that
the Position Statement was not a valid indicator of what we should be doing.
4. I was reprimanded for going outside of the job description in helping veterans,
such as contacting various individuals when a veteran that I was assigned was
having major problems with the VA healthcare system. I had called the VSO; I
had called the Disability Navigator that he had been referred to; I had contacted
30
various other entities attempting to resolve the veteran's issue.
The climate at the end of the meeting was that I was to keep my mouth
shut and do what I was told or I could get out.
Approximately one day later, Judy Jones knowing that I kept detailed
notes of any meetings, asked me if I had later written any notes regarding this
meeting. I lied and told her I did not, but in fact had made detailed notes of
everything that was said.
A few days later a series of strange phone calls from Judy Jones occurred,
she calling from her cubicle on the fifth floor, me being in the fourth floor
receptionist area. She called asking for the name of the person I had talked to
"during training." I asked her who she meant, not sure what training she was
referring to. "The man during the training in Orange County." I learned that she
was referring to Ted Puntillo, Deputy Director of California Department of
Veterans Affairs, and told her his name. She then called me back about thirty
seconds later, asking me to spell his name. She then called back a third time,
asking what the "A" stood for in CDVA, as I had said CDVA versus saying
California Department of Veteran Affairs. She then called me back again asking
who I had talked to at the table (when Michael Bunch had gestured for me to go
over to the table to get my phone number and email address). I lied and said I
didn't know his name. These series of phone calls occurred in a period of about
two minutes. (See Section 4 for more information regarding the incident at the
"Connecting the Pieces" conference). What this strange series of phone calls
meant I never learned. I assume someone had contacted her regarding my
dealings with Mr. Puntillo and Mr. Bunch, and had been upset about it.
Some time later, I was brought into Thomas Flournoy's office with Judy
31
Jones to discuss my complaint of doing receptionist work, the problem
regarding my use of the empty cubicle behind the receptionist area, etc.; in
which it was stated by Mr. Flournoy that the County of Riverside had been
"gracious" enough to supply us with space, and and what we were doing was by
no means receptionist work. After I listed the innumerable receptionist duties,
the posted County of Riverside sheet entitled "4th Floor Receptionist Schedule"
used by County of Riverside staff to rotate duties, he again reiterated that what
we were doing was not receptionist work.
Sometime shortly thereafter, Judy Jones, per her prompted by Mr.
Flournoy, emailed all Riverside COWH staff a "cubicle schedule," regarding two
cubicles located on the 5th floor, adjacent to Judy Jones' desk, of which I will
discuss in Section 9.
32
SECTION 8
COWH MEETING IN MURRIETA; REPRIMANDED BY JUDY JONES;
DEROGATORY COMMENTS BY COWH COWORKERS
August 5, 2010
On August 5, 2010, all Riverside and Murrieta COWH staff members,
including the managers Judy Jones, Brenda Alipour, and Russell Best (an EDD
Manager) were in attendance in a conference room at the Murrieta EDD. The
subject matter of the meeting was the fact that the Riverside and Murrieta
location's "numbers" were dismal in relation to San Diego; that we needed to
figure out how to change that. There was also a call to begin keeping track of all
phone calls made, emails sent, work done, etc. regarding CVCS-assigned and/or
walk-in veterans, on a supplied Excel spreadsheet document.
I noted that Judy Jones made a point of sitting next to me and often
directed her eyes as to what I was writing in my notes, being fearful, I assume, of
making note of something that was against COWH policy (see Section 7). I
subsequently refrained from making any notes until later.
In passing, as the meeting continued regarding the subject of this tracking
Excel spreadsheet, I asked for clarification as to if I was working on a rsum
for a veteran--which I spent quite a bit of time on cumulatively with many
veterans--would that need to be recorded on this spreadsheet? Immediately
Russell Best reprimanded me for this, stating that I shouldn't be spending time
doing rsums for the veterans; that I should be sending them to County of
Riverside Workforce Development (WD) for this. I expressed my dissatisfaction
with the rsum that WD had supplied to several veterans that I had sent
through the WD system, this being the CalJOBS/Rivcojobs rsum, which was a
33
rsum in a format that it would be unprofessional to send to an employer,
which were data-searchable rsums, but were not formatted (visually) to be
emailed/faxed, yet were being printed out for customers. Russell Best stated that
if these were not sufficient, they then could go to the WD Boot Camp workshops
where they could learn how to create a better rsum. I also expressed my
dissatisfaction with the horrendous amount of time that the veterans had to
spend going through the whole process simply to take a single workshop on
creating a rsum. (At the time, a customer had to enroll for four days of
workshops; they could not take only one (this, I believe has been changed).
Additionally, they had to attend an orientation, take several assessment tests,
see career coaches, offering of training, etc., when a veteran simply needed his
rsum looked at and put into a nicer format and expanded somewhat. Further,
I had seen the rsums written after taking the rsum workshop class, and,
though an improvement, were still substandard in regard to applying for
professional jobs. What I think wasn't understood, and is still not understood by
Workforce Development, is that a significant amount of traffic that moves
through Workforce Development are customers who are unskilled labor, and the
rsums that are created for these customers are sufficient. But a veteran, who
has served at least four years in the military, who often has very specialized
skills and often much college work completed while on active duty, requires a
much more detailed and professionally-formatted rsum to obtain upper-level
employment).
Returning to the meeting, I stated that I had a very nice format that I
could take the veteran's previous (whether Caljobs or not) rsum, and, using my
extensive rsum writing skills, ability to utilize various informational sources
34
to expand on job skills, I could create a a very nice rsum for the veteran in a
relatively short amount of time. Again it was reiterated by Russell Best (and
vehemently stated in a nasty manner by Judy Jones) that I should direct my
veterans to WD to get help with rsums.
I was then severely reprimanded and commanded by Judy Jones during
the meeting that I would absolutely not work on any veteran rsums--that she
"would make sure of it."
I noted to myself, but did not state, that per the Position Statement, it
calls for COWH staff to "assist veterans with rsum writing" (See Exhibit 6),
but, per Cheri Hales (See Section 7), the Position Statement was not a valid
indicator of what we should be doing.
Additionally, during the discussion of my rsum writing services for
veterans, two COWH coworkers began to complain about how my helping
veterans with rsums, and my extensive time helping many veterans in the
CRA with rsums and job searches, had been making excessive work for them;
as when I wasn't around, they contended, these veterans expected them to
supply as much time as I devoted to them. This I contended was an untruth. I
noted to myself but did not state that these COWH staff members did very little
work with veterans, especially the COWH staff member that I had sat next to on
the fourth floor for several months, rarely seeing him do any work.
35
Section 8A
CONFERENCE CALL FROM GOVERNOR'S OFFICE BY DAVID KNUDSEN,
THE DEPUTY CABINET SECRETARY, TO ALL SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
COWH STAFF AND MANAGERS
August 19, 2010
The same issue that occurred, as described in Section 2, was repeated, that
is, that Judy Jones prior to and during the conference call instructed all staff to
not say a word, even if comments and questions were asked for by Mr. Knudsen.
36
Section 8B
EMAIL SENT TO JUDY JONES COMPLAINING OF SEVERAL ISSUES,
SUBSEQUENT MEETING WITH THOMAS FLOURNOY, JUDY JONES, AND
MYSELF
September 27, 2010
While I was sitting on the fourth floor in the receptionist area, knowing
that Judy Jones was at her desk on the fifth floor, on 09/27/2010 I sent Judy
Jones an email complaining of several issues (copy of email included below).
Within minutes I was summoned up to her desk via phone, she almost screaming
at me.
We argued about the various issues addressed in the email, which ended
with her request as to what I was referring to when stating in the email: "I
would like to speak to Dianne Hughes regarding these and other matters," in
which she wanted to know what the "other matters" were. I told Judy Jones that
I didn't want to discuss it with her, but, as she pressed me, I revealed that I
wanted to discuss with Dianne Hughes the mandate that we were not allowed to
make comments or ask questions during conference calls, training, and
conferences. That we were forbidden in contacting outside entities and County
of Riverside/EDD partners. Upon saying this, Judy Jones asked me if I wanted to
speak to Thomas Flournoy. I stated that I didn't think anything would be
resolved by speaking to him, but, when pressed, agreed to speak to him. We
walked down to his office and met for approximately thirty minutes, Judy Jones
also present. The discussion with Mr. Flournoy in regard to the various
points/requests I made in the email is the following:
37
Regarding the VESS/VWS position that I was not informed about, Mr.
Flournoy told Judy Jones that she was at fault for not indicating to me why I
was excluded from these positions. Judy Jones indicated her fault in this, but as
to why I was in fact excluded was never stated then or thereafter.
Regarding the Moreno Valley outstation issue, Mr. Flournoy questioned
Judy Jones regarding this, agreeing that she did in fact tell me for several
months that I would be going to the Moreno Valley Employment Center on a
permanent basis; and then had sent another employee without any explanation
to me. Mr. Flournoy faulted Judy Jones for this, stating that it was her
prerogative to send her staff wherever she saw fit, but that, after indicating to
me for several months that I was to be outstationed there, and then simply
dropping the subject and sending another staff member was unprofessional. I
then and subsequently was not told why this decision was changed, although
Judy Jones indicated there was a reason for this, and intimated that she would
make this known to me.
Regarding the employee being given an outstation at the Corona EDD, Mr.
Flournoy asked Judy Jones the specifics of this. Judy Jones indicated that this
particular individual had formerly been driving down to Oceanside and was
given this outstation so that he would not have to make the long commute. I
later met this individual, Lee Peterson, and found that in fact he had been
having to spend approximately three hours commuting to work, so that this
outstation being given to him was justified, and my complaint thereof in error. I
subsequently spent half a day at the Corona EDD office with Mr. Peterson (we
carpooled to a Murrieta meeting), and found him knowledgeable about his duties
and deeply concerned for the veterans he was working with).
38
Regarding the issue of COWH Riverside staff members doing receptionist
work, Mr. Flournoy argued with me that we were not in fact doing receptionist
work; that EDD had leased the area, and that we were simply having to
occasionally direct people to various places. I indicated the extensive
receptionist duties that we were responsible for (see Section 5 for a detailed list
of these duties); that there was posted a sheet entitled "4th Floor Receptionist
Schedule" (see Exhibit 1); that County of Riverside employees had rotated
receptionist desk duties prior to COWH staff members taking over these duties;
and that the woman that had "trained" us, Kathleen Terry, had called what we
were doing receptionist duties and had stated she thought it wrong for us to be
doing it. After I had gone over all of these things, Mr. Flournoy reiterated that
he still thought we were not doing receptionist duties; that, not having
anywhere to put COWH staff, he had had to "lease" these receptionist areas; that
County of Riverside had "been gracious" in letting us use these areas, and we
should be thankful for having a place to work.
Regarding the HP ink cartridge issue, Mr. Flournoy stated that it was my
fault for using my own money to buy a printer cartridge, even though (as I
explained to him) I had requested from Judy Jones on numerous occasions to
procure me replacement cartridges; that I had, per Mr. Flournoy, without
authority to do so, bought a cartridge, and therefore would not be reimbursed.
(As a background to this, the fourth floor receptionist area had desktop
computers but no printer. In order to print something, we would have to go to
one of the many empty cubicles on the fifth floor. Because I almost always had
my notebook computer set up with printer, and, having all my PDF files with
veteran's benefit information thereon (and a host of other information that I
39
would often print out for veterans), it was much easier to print out from the
notebook rather than to have to email the document to myself, then go to one of
the cubicles, open up my email, then print it).
Regarding the "other matters" that I had wanted to speak to Dianne
Hughes about, I was fearful of broaching the subject of Judy Jones forbidding
her staff from making outside contacts with EDD partners/ organizations/
private entities; but I was more fearful to reveal that Judy Jones had forbidden
her staff from making comments or asking questions during conference calls,
training, and conferences. I was fearful because I felt that if known, Judy Jones
would lose her job. I mean by this that, for the most part, Judy Jones was a very
nice person and treated her staff very nicely and courteously. She was absolutely
incompetent, mismanaged the program, and mandated that we do things that
were plainly against what was specified in the Position Statement (see Exhibit
6), but, ironically, the majority of the time, was a very nice and cheerful person.
I knew, like everyone else, that Judy Jones had bills she had to pay,
rent/mortgage, car payments, etc.; and that, if this mandating that we not speak
during conferences, etc. was known, she would lose her job. I did not want this.
But, prompted by both Judy Jones and Mr. Flournoy about bringing up these
"other matters," I revealed these things to him. I assumed he would be shocked to
find out about this. I was flabbergasted, however, when this information didn't
bother him in the least. His response was that I had been in the military, so I
should be used to being told to do things that I didn't necessarily agree with.
Regarding doing things that were clearly against what was delineated in the
Position Statement, he indicated that the EDD was constantly changing how
they did things, so that I needed to get used to it.
40
Other matters that were discussed were the fact that I and most other
staff members were told that they were getting a certain salary upon being hired
and then, several days or weeks into the position, found out we were to receive
lesser pay (i.e., the furlough situation). Mr. Flournoy was shocked that we were
not told this upon being hired. Additionally, I indicated that, during training, we
were told we would be constantly going to various outstations--VA hospitals,
Vet Centers, etc.; be given a state car where we would be meeting veterans at
various places; that we were going to be networking with various organizations,
businesses, etc.; that the entire program was misrepresented to me and a host of
other COWH staff members. Again, Mr. Flournoy stated that EDD is constantly
changing the way they do things; again, that I had been in the military, so I
should know that how things are done are constantly changing.
Regarding speaking to Dianne Hughes, Mr. Flournoy asked me if I still
wanted to speak to her. I was so intimidated at this point that I retracted my
request to speak to her.
Again, as with other meetings, the result was that I should do what I was
told and shut my mouth, or I could find employment elsewhere.
(Please see the email below in reference to this section):
41
From: Zane, Kris@EDD
Sent: Monday, September 27, 2010 12:29 PM
To: Jones, Judy D@EDD
Cc: Zane, Kris@EDD
Subject: Kris Zane Questions
Judy,

With all due respect, I don't really understand why I have been omitted from
participating in the part-time VESS/VWS positions that Steve and Charles have
been a part of and other staff members in the Murrieta locations have been a
part of.

Secondly, I don't understand after you told me several times that I was to be
going to the Moreno Valley Resource Center, this was never followed through
with. There is a large population of the USVETS MARB homeless shelter vets
that utilize the facility, and I made it very clear that I wanted to work with
them, whereas I have been told by Paul that he doesn't like working with them.

Now I have been told that another COWH staff member is going to work at the
Corona facility, when I live right on the edge of Corona. You have the right to
utilize me as you see fit, but I don't think it is very professional to not inform me
as to why I am being excluded from certain positions.

Thirdly, I still disagree with COWH staff being used as receptionists for the
County of Riverside.

Fourthly, I am owed $25.00 for a HP98 Ink cartridge I bought for which I
requested replacement ink cartridges several months ago. I borrowed the HP95
ink cartridge from Steve that is due him.

Fourthly, I would like to speak to Dianne Hughes regarding these and
42
other matters.
Sincerely,

Kris Zane
Employment Development Department
CalVET/Veteran Programs
Operation California Welcome Home
1325 Spruce Street
Riverside, CA 92507
Cell: 951-972-2141
http://www.veterans.ca.gov/
43
SECTION 9
INFORMED THAT I WAS BEING LAID OF BECAUSE OF BUDGET CUTS
December 13, 2010
I was informed on 12/13/2010 by Judy Jones that Thomas Flournoy
wanted to see me. I entered Mr. Flournoys office with Judy Jones, sat down, and
Mr. Flournoy began to "remind" me that the COWH program was only
provisionally funded until December 31, 2010; and, because of budgetary
cutbacks, I was being laid off. He indicated to me, in this strangely gracious
manner that I would be eligible for Unemployment and could use the Riverside
office for any EDD services. The moment was almost surreal, as Mr. Flournoy's
voice was wavering, nervous, as if this was something that he really did not
want to do, and he felt ashamed to do it. Flabbergasted, I stated that we had been
told for several months that the COWH program had been extended to June of
2011, without anything said to the contrary. I don't recall what he said in
response to this, being almost in shock. He then slid a letter towards me, signed
by someone high up within EDD (I did not look at the name), thanking me for
my service. Glancing at it, I noticed it was addressed to Ms. Zane (I suppose
assuming that the name "Kris" indicated a female), to which, I, being irritated at
this, informed Mr. Flournoy of this blatant error, in which he became very
apologetic and disconcerted, and asked me if I wanted him to fix it. I stated I
didnt care, being almost in tears at the shock of being told I was being laid off
two weeks before Christmas without any warning.
I then asked if I was the only one being laid off, to which he informed me
that one other person was being laid off. (Later I questioned all my coworkers
and found this to either be a lie, or perhaps he was referring to someone from
44
another office, as neither my three coworkers at the Riverside Office nor the one
coworker outstationed at the Moreno Valley Employment Center were laid off). I
asked as to why the other COWH employees were not being laid off, to which he
responded that according to my evaluation matrix, I fell out of the satisfactory
category. He would not and did not elaborate as to specifically why I, versus the
other employees, was being laid off. I then asked if this lay off was rather due to
the various complaints and waves I had made, specifically:
1. Regarding COWH being assigned County of Riverside receptionist duties (see
Section 5).
2. The debacle of me going to the U.S.VETS Homeless shelter on my own time
to present the COWH services (see Section 6).
3. Of being told for several months that I was to be assigned the Moreno Valley
office, and then silence in the matter.
4. The cubicle punishment (I will elaborate on this below).
5. The lack of following the COWH Position Statement (see Exhibit 6)
Mr. Flournoy indicated that my past complaints had nothing to do with
my being laid off. I contended that my being laid off because I was not found to
be satisfactory in regard to the evaluation matrix was not reasonable, given the
fact that, as an example, I had recently spent several days creating a
PowerPoint presentation on how to apply for a federal job through
45
USAJOBS.gov; that I and one of my coworkers, Charles Smith, had conducted
this presentation at a VET-NET meeting on 12/1/2010, a veterans networking
group administered by Workforce Development, meeting on a weekly basis. That
the administrator of this program, Mark Rosales, the day after we had given the
presentation, informed me that many of the veterans who attended had called
the next day, stating how impressed they were with the presentation, and
couldnt praise it enough. Mr. Rosales had asked for a copy of the presentation,
stating that he thought the presentation could be used in other contexts (i.e., to
non-veteran customers), and at other locations. He also stated that he was
going to inform his superior of the success of the presentation, and present his
ideas of reusing the presentation again in other contexts. I also informed Mr.
Rosales that I had in mind a follow-up to the presentation, concentrating on
creating a resume on USAJOBS; to which he stated that, by all means, to work
on it, and to conduct a follow-up presentation. In fact, as I was called by Judy
Jones on 12/13/2010 to be laid off by Mr. Flournoy, I was putting the finishing
touches on this follow-up presentation. I indicated to Mr. Flournoy that my
widespread success in this PowerPoint presentation, praise by both veterans
and staff, along with the my well-known work ethic, did not seem reasonable in
regard to this "evaluation matrix" he kept referring to. He did not respond to
this.
I noted to myself, but did not indicate, additionally, in relation to this
evaluation matrix, that it did not make sense, as I had recently submitted a
very remarkable success story, in regard to meeting with a veteran who
had been a walk-in customer; that I had been called to meet with him; had signed
him up with the COWH program; interviewed him; and, being informed that he
46
was out of work and had some personal trainer experience, informed him that
the gym I was a member of was looking for a personal trainer. I was actually one
of the few people cognizant of this, as the husband and wife team that ran this
gym, the husband being my personal trainer, informed me that he and his wife
were moving back East; that he would find someone else to be my trainer. After I
told the veteran of the gym's possible need for a personal trainer, the veteran
went directly from the Workforce Development office to this gym, and not only
procured a position as a personal trainer, but was given a position managing
the two gym locations. This I documented in a lively manner in a narrative
success story, sending it to Judy Jones, never hearing of it again.
Further, I informed Mr. Flournoy that the individual who had been given
the position at the Moreno Valley office (the position that I was promised for
several months), had, as I sat next to him for several months (before he was
transferred), done little if any work, playing on the internet, making endless
personal phone calls, etc. I further informed him that 90% of the employees
that quit (we began with (I believe) 21 COWH employees at the Riverside office,
and now have 4), did the same; and, in fact, one particular employee, the most
recently to leave, of which I wont mention his name, I, after observing him
since 04/2010, had never seen him do any work. Mr. Flournoy informed me
that this was impossible because he had good numbers (i.e., showing that he
had completed many interviews and follow-up interviews with the CDVA CVCS
system. I suggested that he look in the comments section of the CVCS COWH
interview screen for the veterans that he had worked with, for after working
with a veteran for several months, he had perhaps six words describing his case
notes on a particular veteran. Judy Jones chimed in that some people are more
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wordy than others. My knowledge of this particular COWH employees case
notes comes from the fact that I and other Riverside COWH employees were
reassigned the veterans that he had been helping and could look at his scant
amount of case notes. I suggested to Mr. Flournoy that he contact the veterans
that this particular COWH employee was supposedly helping to ascertain
whether he had actually provided them with any services. Both Judy Jones and
Thomas Flournoy asked me why I didn't say anything about this particular
COWH staff member or other staff members. I responded that it was not my job
or place to note such things.
Regarding the cubicle matter, I brought up the fact that, after
complaining about receptionist duties on the fourth floor, the day after being
brought into Mr. Flournoys office (see Section 7) , Judy Jones emailed the COWH
Riverside staff a cubicle schedule (see Exhibit 7), informing us that we would
be sitting in a two particular cubicles, which were opposite to Judy Jones'
cubicle. I happened to be the first person on the schedule, along with the
above-mentioned employee, indicating that I and this other employee would be
sitting there for a month. These particular cubicles at the time were called by
COWH staff members, jokingly, the cave, because it was on part of the fifth floor
where about a month earlier, all staff (from the County of Riverside) had been
vacated for some unknown reason (they are back now); so that, as I sat there, it
would not be uncommon for me to not have any human contact or hear any
human voices for literally several hours at a time. This was an issue because
COWH staff members would often "pump" each other for information that they
did not know, for instance I was always asked information about homeless
veteran services, and I often asked other staff members for information, not to
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mention the pleasantness of human contact and camaraderie. The other
employee on the "cubicle schedule" never had to follow the schedule, along with
other preferential treatment he received, including often taking time off, coming
in late, and, amazingly (I believe) receiving a letter of recommendation from
Judy Jones prior to his quitting his position. Regarding Judy Jones' adjacent
cubicle, because she came in perhaps half of the time, and did little in the way
any management duties aside from compiling time sheets, this added to this
"cave" aspect of the cubicle area. When not at the Riverside office, she was,
supposedly, at the Southwest (Murrieta) EDD location, although this was theory
on COWH Riverside employees part, as she rarely informed us where she was
when not at the Riverside office. When she did come in, as I sat in the adjacent
cubicle, I would hear an endless array of personal phone calls and personal
conversations. Further, the cubicle schedule, after I completed my one month
period, was never followed by any other employees, save sitting there
occasionally a few minutes at a time.
I further brought up that the timing of my lay off was strange, as I had
been asked on 12/9/2010 by Ronni Beauregard, a COWH employee at the
Murrieta EDD office, whether I wanted to begin going to the U.S.VETS Homeless
Facility once a week to assist the veterans. I had informed Ms. Beauregard that I
was excoriated for doing this previously, called in Mr. Flournoys office, etc. (see
section 7). Ms. Beauregard informed me that that was because another COWH
employee had been in charge of visits to the facility, not wanting to share the
wealth so to speak. But now that she was in charge, she would inform Judy
Jones about it and make it happen. I stated that if I "wasn't called out on the
carpet" again, I would be happy to resume helping the homeless veterans,
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because it was something I very much enjoyed. My reference to this Ronni
Beauregard statement regarding my again going to the U.S. VETS facility to Mr.
Flournoy was not responded to.
The following day, 12/14/2010, having kept detailed notes and making
copies of various items since beginning my tenure at the Riverside EDD/WD
office, I decided to begin compiling an analysis of the various problems and
irregularities I witnessed, and this text is the result thereof. It was emailed to
the following individuals on 12/20/2010:
David Knudsen (David.Knudsen@gov.ca.gov)
Ted Puntillo (Ted.puntillo@cdva.ca.gov)
Michael Bunch (Michael.Bunch@cdva.ca.gov)
Dianne Hughes (Dianne.Hughes@EDD.ca.gov)
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SECTION 10
MISCELLANEOUS PROBLEMS AND MISMANAGEMENT
1. Judy Jones knows little if anything about veterans' issues. For example,
during the June 1-3, 2010 "Connecting the Pieces" conference, Dianne Hughes
was asking the COWH staff members if we had any veterans assigned to us that
were suffering from PTSD. Judy Jones, hearing this, asked what PTSD was.
Additionally, after I had been in the Riverside office for approximately a month,
during which several new COWH staff members were just arriving after the
Oceanside training, carrying copies of of the 2010 California Veteran's
Resource Book--this is the "Bible" of Veteran's Benefits, and is the blueprint upon
which the CVCS interview format is based, being above 200 pages--Judy Jones
asked what it (the Resource Book) was, never seeing it before, and requested a
copy be given her.
2. After my and other COWH coworkers' health, dental, and vision insurance had
not begun at the stated time, and after several COWH employees (including
myself) had contacted the benefits official (Becky Moreno) to find out what the
problem was, we were reprimanded for this by Judy Jones, and told to simply
wait until the insurance kicked in. Additionally we were given no help or
information on what insurance plans were best for us, as there were several to
choose from. All I had at my disposal in choosing a dental/vision/health
insurance plan was a three-hundred page PDF file that a coworker had found on
SharePoint, which was basically too cumbersome to be of any use. Additionally,
it was never clear how much the insurance was going to cost, who the providers
were, etc. I subsequently found out that my regular dentist was not covered
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under the dental plan I chose, and, subsequently because of problems that
occurred because of the two initial dentists I chose under the plan, have yet to
receive needed dental work. Further, I received my benefits approximately one
month after I was supposed to receive them, and at least one other COWH staff
member waited several months after the stated time to receive his benefits.
3. The pay of $16.00 per hour was misrepresented to myself and several other
COWH employees by various COWH managers/interviewers. I found out three
days into beginning the position that because of the furlough program, I would
be making $14.00 per hour instead of the stated $16.00 per hour. (This was
later made even lower by a "union deal," which, incidentally I am not a part of
the union, yet pay dues to them).
4. One state car was available for the entire Riverside EDD office, so that when
we had to go to remote locations for meetings, we had to use our own vehicles
and gas, never being reimbursed.
5. A former Riverside Workforce Development employee, Jessie Willette, who
ironically became one of my CVCS veterans, stated to me that he was unjustly
fired from Workforce Development--Cheri Hales, among others, per Mr. Willette,
being among those who conspired to get rid of him. Mr. Willette indicated to me
that he was in the process of filing a complaint through the Department of
Justice. I did not question Mr. Willette's allegation, nor did I pursue it, but
deemed it appropriate to include given Cheri Hales' relation in regard to points
addressed in this Analysis. END OF ANALYSIS
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