A long-term county employee’s job duties gave him access to safety-sensitive information and a county vehicle to travel to various work locations. By chance, the county discovered the employee’s potential multi-year violations of the county’s policies concerning vehicle use and timesheet fraud. After careful consideration of: the findings of an administrative investigation; a Skelly meeting; the employee’s prior work performance; and the employee’s access to sensitive information, the county terminated the employee.
At the termination appeal hearing, the county provided direct witness testimony and documentary evidence of the employee’s misuse of the county vehicle and timesheet fraud. The county also brought evidence that the employee was untruthful during the administrative investigation. The arbitrator found that the county established by a preponderance of evidence that the employee’s violations of the county’s policies and untruthfulness were sufficient grounds for his termination.