Remember Sharon Helman, former VA employee? She was the director of the VA Medical Center in Phoenix, AZ, when the \u201csecret waiting list\u201d scandal broke.<\/p>\n
After a VA internal investigation, she was fired.\u00a0 Recently her termination was upheld on appeal. But it probably wasn\u2019t upheld for the reasons you might think.<\/p>\n
Helman was alleged to have engaged in three forms of misconduct: (1) being responsible for delayed veterans healthcare and falsified data regarding medical appointments; (2) retaliation against whistle-blowers; and (3) receiving improper (and unreported) gifts from a former boss-turned-lobbyist.<\/p>\n
As it turns out, only one of those allegations were deemed an acceptable reason for her termination.<\/p>\n
The first allegation \u2013 delayed patient care and falsified data \u2013 was not accepted by the Administrative Law Judge hearing her case. The judge ruled that the VA had not provided sufficient proof of Helman’s culpability regarding that allegation. And while the judge did find that proof of the second allegation (whistle-blower retaliation) to be sufficient, he also ruled that Helman\u2019s misconduct was not serious enough to warrant being fired.<\/p>\n
However, the third allegation thankfully turned out differently. The judge ruled that at least nine of the twelve<\/em> (!)<\/span> allegations against Helman regarding improper acceptance of unreported gifts were fully substantiated. On these grounds, he allowed her termination from the civil service to stand.<\/p>\n