Saturday, August 26, 2006

Why that wanna-be Acting Labor Commissioner Robert Jones should not be confirmed by the Senate

Terminated Lawyer Fights Back Against Agency
by Marie Anne Hogarth, The Recorder.
“...political appointees have colluded with employers to water down worker protections in an underhanded way.”
Well, why doesn't someone take a hard look at the decisions and actions of republican political appointees Victoria Bradshaw, Jose Millan (before he was banished to the kiddie college), Donna Dell (she's gone, too), and that wanna-be Acting Labor Commissioner Robert Jones? Let's line up all of their decisions and put them into three columns: unrelated, employer, and employee. This can go a long way towards transparent accountability.

“Robert Jones, the state Department of Labor Standards and Enforcement's new chief counsel, put him [Locker] on paid suspension and ordered him out. A state peace officer followed Locker home and seized his laptop”
What does this action tell me? That wanna-be Acting Labor Commissioner Robert Jones had the option to intimidate or low-key it. He chose the option of intimidation. Abuse of position, abuse of authority? Probably. The actions of a bully? You decide.

“…poked fun at the Schwarzenegger administration over its proposed "emergency" regulations on meal and rest breaks”
When Arnold and his DLSE lackeys (Bradshaw, Dell, Millan, et al) concurred that these much-needed regulations were an 'emergency,' then that allowed the DLSE lackeys to bypass the normal implementation process of rule-making. In their ever-growing pattern of rescinding incompetent decisions, i.e. take-backs, Arnold's DLSE lackeys rescinded their idiot 'emergency' [workers taking their meal periods posed an 'imminent' {issuance of emergency regulations under the Administrative Procedure Act} threat to life, health and safety] rules ten days after they tried to walk it in through the back door! If it was truly an emergency, then why didn't they have the stones to argue their case? In another pattern of their competence, they throw something on the wall to see if it sticks, hoping it will not be challenged. When they are challenged, they run away like scared rabbits or lose in court. Idiot decisions that should have been never formulated waste time, money, and resources. Once again, the taxpayers got shafted. Instead of working of something constructive, they are drafting inept policies or losing in court...not very productive & costing the taxpayer money - in time and resources.

“Jones bristles at the suggestion he is anti-worker.”
Is it possible for someone to ‘bristle’ with joy?

“Jones sent a memo prohibiting DLSE staff from public speaking,”
Why is that wanna-be Acting Labor Commissioner Robert Jones issuing “no speak” memos to DLSE lawyers? Why does that wanna-be Acting Labor Commissioner Robert Jones have such a stiffy for stifling DLSE employees’ free speech?

“Jones has since rescinded the ban”
Why is wanna-be Acting Labor Commissioner Robert Jones issuing a 'no-speak' memo and only rescinding it when it’s about to be challenged in court? How come that wanna-be Acting Labor Commissioner Robert Jones did not have the stones to justify issuing his memo in court? What kind of cowardice is that? Can I send him a memo stating that he's an A-hole and then rescind it right before I'm punished for discourteous treatment? After all, I took it back; aren't take-backs allowed like Jones' no speak order? If he can do it, then I can do it, right?

I’ve been in public service for a very long time…do you know how many memos I’ve issued that have been rescinded? ZERO, NONE, ZILCH. From what clown store did Secretary Vickie Bradshaw get this guy? Do you know what the act of Robert Jones rescinding his memo tells me? It tells me that this guy likes to shoot without aiming, hoping that some of his bullsh*t will not be challenged. Do you think Victoria Bradshaw ever admonished Robert Jones for writing such a jack-ass memo? Doubt it, because the memo had no other purpose than to squelch DLSE attorneys from public speaking. How many other memos has that wanna-be Acting Labor Commissioner Robert Jones rescinded?

FRAUD, WASTE, and ABUSE. How much time and how many resources were spent dealing & resolving a memo that wanna-be Acting Labor Commissioner Robert Jones should have never issued in the first place? That wanna-be Acting Labor Commissioner Robert Jones should pay a bill to the taxpayers in the exact amount that was spent dealing with his rescinded memo, from beginning to end. If this genius doesn't have the brains to think through a memo, then signs it, sends it and subsequently rescinds it, then he should pay a price (i.e., be held accountable) for his mistake to the taxpayers, albeit "unintentional" (yeah right).

I suggest that Victoria Bradshaw strip Robert Jones of his computer keyboard and return him to the pencil and eraser…just in case he cannot think through his next BIG IDEA. What a tool. It seems that this guy does nothing but destroy DLSE morale, reduce DLSE productivity, and decrease DLSE efficiency. In other words, he's leaving this agency WORSE than how he received it. That's not a good sign of the agency's future with this guy at the helm. Can someone please print this out and send it to those who are in charge of his confirmation hearings?

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

What confirmation hearing?

9/01/2006 4:31 PM  

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