First, a public university in Alabama fired an employee, apparently for making critical statements on his personal blog about the Bush Justice Department and its handling of the Don Siegelman case.
Now the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is making what appears to be a bad-faith effort to lure the blogger back to work. Roger Shuler, who writes the blog Legal Schnauzer, says he almost certainly would be fired all over again if he were to accept the university's offer.
After being fired on May 19, Shuler filed an appeal through the university's Problem Resolution Procedure (PRP).
UAB policy indicates that the employee grievance committee was to rule up or down on Shuler's termination--that it was either done correctly and his discharge should be upheld, or it was wrongful and he should be reinstated to his old job.
But the university evidently decided the process would not be that straightforward. In a meeting just a few days after the hearing, Human Resources Director Cheryl Locke told Shuler the committee had recommended that his termination be overturned. But Locke also said that Shuler would have to accept two written warnings in his personnel file and he could only return to a job other than the one he had held at the time of his firing.
Shuler found numerous problems with Locke's proposal. For one, he was present for the entire grievance hearing and saw that his supervisor, Pam Powell, repeatedly replied "no" when asked if she could present documentation to support the charges against Shuler. Two, UAB policy says that any employee who receives three written warnings in an 18-month period of time is automatically fired.
"UAB's insistence that I return with two written warnings is simply a set-up," Shuler says. "They want me to sign away my legal rights under the current mess they have created, only to be fired a few months down the road for a third written warning that could come for most anything--wearing the wrong color of socks perhaps. Evidence at the grievance hearing showed there were no grounds for any discipline against me--either written or warning--and I know that from sitting through the whole process.
"UAB's proposal clearly is not made in good faith. It's a continuation of the deceitful behavior the university has shown throughout this process. That just strengthens my suspicions that my firing was driven by political forces external to UAB--people who did not like the truths I was presenting on my blog."
When Shuler said that he would not accept the two written warnings and would only return to his old job, Locke informed him that she would uphold the termination---even though her own committee had ruled that it was wrongful.
"It's hard to believe that an HR director would ignore the recommendations of her own committee," Shuler says. "But that's exactly what Locke said she would do. I expect to receive her written notice in the mail any day now."
www.legalschnauzer.blogspot.com
I live in Birmingham, Alabama, and work in higher education. I became interested in justice-related issues after experiencing gross judicial corruption in Alabama state courts. This corruption has a strong political component. The corrupt judges are all Republicans, and the attorney who filed a fraudulent lawsuit against me has strong family ties to the Alabama Republican Party, with indirect connections to national figures such as Karl Rove. In fact, a number of Republican operatives who have played a central role in the prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman (a Democrat) also have connections to my case.
I am married, with no kids and two Siamese cats. I am the author of the blog Legal Schnauzer. The blog is written in honor of Murphy, our miniature schnauzer (1993-2004)who did so much to help my wife and me survive our nightmarish experience with corrupt judges.
I grew up in Springfield, Missouri, and I am pretty much a lifelong St. Louis Cardinal baseball fan. I've lived in Birmingham for almost 30 years and have adopted the UAB Blazers as my Southern college football and basketball team to follow. Also, follow East Tennessee State basketball.
An avid reader, both fiction and non-fiction. Influential writers on public affairs are Kevin Phillips, Michael Lind, Thomas Edsall, E.J. Dionne, Molly Ivins, and Scott Horton.
One more step toward the total suppression of dissent and free speech in America. In Alabama, apparently university employees aren't allowed, even in their off time, to express opinions contrary to those of the Bush administration.
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Steve Elliott (5 articles, 1 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 6 comments)
on Tuesday, July 22, 2008 at 10:04:23 AM
They generally hate discussions of general ideas, let alone current issues. This was true during the Vietnam war as well. That's why students organized teach -ins. Most education institutions are indoctrination factories. You have to hang out in coffee shops and dorm lounges to learn how to think.
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John Hanks (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1094 comments)
on Tuesday, July 22, 2008 at 10:47:44 AM
