Arbitrator: State placed employee on leave and ‘forgot about him’

A controversial whistle-blowing investigator for the state Office of Medicaid Inspector General has been reinstated by a labor arbitrator who says higher-ups at the agency placed him on suspension in 2012 and forgot about him. That was until 2015 when Harvey Brody inquired about his status. Later that year they moved him from being on paid suspension to unpaid suspension, contending he violated health privacy laws regarding Medicaid recipients.

But that appears to be as far as the state went.

“It did nothing to further investigate; its referral to the appropriate State or Federal agencies was minimal at best,” union-management arbitrator Ira Lobel said in his Aug 11 decision reinstating Brody with pay (an estimated $100,000 when one adds in the longevity bonuses, unused sick and vacation as well as professional training time on top of his roughly $65,000 salary).

“Based on the testimony, it appears OMIG simply placed Brody on leave and forgot about him.”

Read more: http://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/266658/arbitrator-state-placed-employee-on-leave-and-forgot-about-him/