MEMO FROM CARSON CITY:
Pilot’s grounding costing state time, money
Sunday, Aug. 2, 2009 | 2 a.m.
Sun Archives
- Pilot put Gibbons, others in danger (3-11-2009)
- Turbulence on the state plane (11-19-2008)
A year ago, Jim Richardson was piloting the state plane, ferrying elected officials and senior management between Carson City, Las Vegas and the rural counties in the state’s Cessna Citation.
Then he found himself grounded, demoted to a job carrying 120-pound bags of rocks and earning about half of his pilot’s salary.
The employment saga of Richardson is a messy case of employee said/employer said. And it promises to drag on through the court system, possibly for years.
For the union representing state employees, it’s Exhibit A for the argument that state government workers need better protections against management.
During the past legislative session, the union, backed by Democratic lawmakers, pushed through a bill that would have given employees the right to collectively bargain on some workplace issues, such as grievances with management and unfair firings. It would not have allowed them to bargain over pay raises or other economic issues, such as benefits, which the Legislature sets.
Gov. Jim Gibbons vetoed the bill, and lawmakers did not have time to attempt to override it. But the issue is sure to come back in 2011, during the next regular session. And in making the case for why state workers need the power to bargain collectively, proponents will surely point to Richardson.
In January 2008, he went to his boss, the head of the Nevada Transportation Department, Susan Martinovich, with a list of allegations against the state’s then-chief pilot, Gary Phillips. Richardson alleged that Phillips:
• Almost ran out of fuel on more than one occasion, including while flying with Gibbons.
• Took off while the plane was overweight.
• Allowed his 14-year-old son to fly the plane.
The Transportation Department says it investigated the complaints but could find no evidence that the plane had almost run out of fuel or taken off overweight. Phillips was later demoted, from chief pilot to pilot, though department officials say they cannot explain the reason because it’s a personnel matter.
Richardson later got into trouble after he failed to immediately report that an intern, while flying the plane, had over-revved an engine. He waited a day before informing Phillips.
Punishment’s severity queried
He was fired for the lapse. But he claimed his firing was retribution for blowing the whistle on safety violations. He also says now that he believes he was singled out because he’s a member of the state union.
He appealed his firing to a state hearing officer.
Richardson admitted he made a mistake in not immediately reporting the over-revving. He received a letter from the Federal Aviation Administration after it did an investigation, its lightest form of punishment.
But he argued that his punishment by the state was much more severe than that meted out to Phillips. The status of an FAA investigation into the allegations against Phillips was not available on Friday.
The Transportation Department, however, argued that Richardson was fired only for the safety violation, and Martinovich testified that she didn’t want Richardson flying the plane again.
The hearing officer, Bill Kockenmeister, sided with Richardson. Phillips, he ruled, had committed much more serious offenses — the ruling said there was “substantial, reliable and probative evidence” — and ordered the department rehire Richardson.
The department has appealed to district court, where the case is now.
Meanwhile, Richardson was rehired in June and assigned to the state’s aggregate lab, where he earned $17 an hour. As a department pilot he had been paid about $32 an hour.
Richardson received back pay, though at the lower rate.
“I was basically hauling 120 pound bags of rock,” Richardson said in an interview last week. “I physically couldn’t do it.”
He lasted for only a matter of hours before he was transferred to an engineering technician job, a job he said he’s not qualified for. His pay remains $17 an hour.
“It’s something I’ve no idea what I’m doing,” he said. “I’m trying to learn the job the best that I can.”
Kockenmeister issued another order, saying that Richardson must be placed in a pilot’s position. But the Transportation Department obtained a stay until the case is ruled on in District Court.
Litigation is costly route
Dennis Mallory, head of the local chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, said the state needs better rules to prevent these cases from dragging on. The state is spending unnecessary time and money on the litigation, and will be forced to pay Richardson higher back pay, with interest, for services the taxpayers aren’t getting, he said.
Transportation Department spokesman Scott Magruder denied that Richardson was fired for his union affiliation. “This absolutely had nothing to do with his union membership,” he said. “It had to do with the incident that occurred. I can say that unequivocally.”
Magruder added that both pilot positions funded by the Legislature had been filled before the administrative hearing officer’s order to rehire Richardson came down.
Jeff Blanck, a Reno attorney representing Richardson, said he expects the case will ultimately be resolved by the Nevada Supreme Court, a time-consuming proposition.
“Right now, on average, we’re talking about two years for the Supreme Court to render a decision,” Blanck said. “That’s when it comes back to who’s got the time and the money. It’s real tough on the employees.”
He said there are a number of cases in which union members have been harshly punished.
“The state waits for them to step on a crack, and then goes after them,” he said. “For minor infractions, union members get nailed. Other nonunion employees have larger infractions without repercussions.”
Gibbons won’t comment on the case, but stands by the grievance process, according to his spokesman, Dan Burns.
“The governor doesn’t judge the validity of the system in place right now based on one or two cases,” Burns said.
Richardson, meanwhile, said he’s still showing up to work.
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Don't give up Jim. The State Government here is a joke. They only no how to administrate by fear and intimidation. Why do you think the Legislature and Gov. Jimbo will not give employees CB like county and city workers. They know their staffs are incompetent and may actually be held accountable. Why do you think, so many State agencies have paid out millions for sexual discrimination and wrongful terminations. It is pretty sad, when the majority of your admin. never went to college and just regurgitate the same old broken system.
All men and womean are not created equal.
State=Association
County and City= Union
Thanks for watching out for the little guy, LUVGOV.
It appears state employees of Nevada have been targeted by the executive branch of government. The rank and file of Nevada State employees who are members of a union have been targeted for there standing up and being counted on doing things right for there fellow workers. Jim Richardson appears to be one of them. He happens to be a member of a union. The state contends what he did was wrong by reporting a state pilots wrong doing with a state aircraft. I don't know the particulars of his case except he reported what appears to be wrong doing of the pilot so he's punished for reporting it. There appears to be problem with that picture. More then likely it will end up in Federal Court.
There were members of the same union that were attacked by a prison administration who did not like people standing up and saying there's a problem. We were called the Nevada 9. In a few months our case will be heard in Las Vegas Federal District Court to find out by way of a jury if the state of Nevada violated our rights under the United States Constitution on first amendment grounds as well as union busting activities that was sanctioned by the former state administration at the time. The case number is: Case 2:05-cv-00204-PMP-GWF.
I wish Jim Richardson the best.
The Sun should do a background on the pilot. I would agree with mywallet700.
This is slightly off topic, but in this economy why do we need a state plane? Let these people take Southwest or drive an old state car like other state employees. Oh ya, legally, Gibbons can't take his girlfriends or family in a state vehicle.
Lifting 120 pounds? Sounds like an exaggeration to me. And a letter from the FAA is not a little "thing", its the kind of "thing" that would keep any good pilot out of the cockpit. If he is so valuable why isn't he flying for United or Delta making twice as much?
The violations Jim committed was very serious and could have cost lives. Noone that calls himself a pilot would neglect to ground that plane right after he "overrevved the engines"
It sounds like he was positioning himself then to get out of trouble and it sounds like he's positioning himself now to get a fat retroactive paycheck. The state passengers don't want to fly with the man anymore. Who could trust him now. I say keep him on the ground and watch out he doesn't hurt anyone with those rocks.