VA says they won’t reinstate Weiss
Stars & Stripes reports that the Department of Veterans’ Affairs won’t reinstate Linda Weiss, former director of the Albany-Stratton VA Medical Center in New York, who Judge Arthur S. Joseph of the Merit Systems Protection Board decided shouldn’t lose her job despite a demonstration of gross incompetence.
VA Deputy Secretary Sloan Gibson vowed to ignore the order to restore Weiss to her director’s job and to award her back pay.
“We believe today’s untimely decision is unenforceable under the law, and does not entitle Ms. Weiss to return to VA employment,” he said in a statement.
Weiss, who was paid $165,000 annually, retired while the case was pending and could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Joseph’s order comes more than a week after the board issued a statement that the VA’s discipline had been reversed. The statement did not provide an explanation or instructions.
Good for them, if they stick to their guns.
In January, MSPB judges also overturned demotions for the directors of the Philadelphia and St. Paul, Minn., VA regional offices, despite largely upholding the VA’s findings of wrongdoing. In those cases, as with Weiss, judges noted the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act only allows them to rule on whether a punishment is appropriate, as opposed to allowing them to offer a lesser penalty.
“If (the act) did not prohibit it, I would mitigate the penalty,” Joseph wrote in his Weiss ruling. “However, because that is not allowed, the only option is to reverse the action outright.”
Yeah, whatever, judge.
Category: Veterans' Affairs Department
Don’t bet the farm on them not reinstating her… They’ll find another job for her in the “system” to shut her up and get the VA out of another mess.
The VA can be beaten in the court of public opinion.
Call up their Office of General/regional Counsel(s) and tell them that.
It gets funny.
Sounds a bit like she is being forced to return to work. If she retired, it looks like she real doesn’t want to work there.
Forget the back pay. Forget the moving expenses. And PUH-LEEZE, can we stop paying lawyers to litigate this mess? Especially, must we pay this “person” another dime for anything? We simply can’t afford her services.
Keep in mind she caught the “retirement” bug that has been going around the VA.
So in essence, Sloane Gibson “stance” is moot. It strikes me more for show.
Finally, FINALLY common sense from the VA. Hoodathunk it was even possible? Thank you, Mr. Gibson.
Now, let’s see if it sticks. As some said, she may be given a non-existent job just to shut her up.
Personally, if I were her and was known as a slug, I would just want to disappear. Can you imagine returning to work with that reputation? I guess to some it doesn’t matter.
Question is can the VA reduce her retired pay to the last position that she served honorably?
SARC
I’m not an expert on legalese, but I think the judge also asked for a throat punch. I’m sure it’s in there somewhere.
Probably retired from the VA and took a job as a consultant for a pharmecutical company.