Bismarck Tribune - Bismarck News - Long files lawsuit against WSI

Long files lawsuit against WSI

Sep 18, 2008 - 04:05:52 CDT

By JENNY MICHAEL
Bismarck Tribune

Another dismissed whistleblower from Workforce Safety and Insurance agency has filed a lawsuit against the agency, alleging a conspiracy to fire him by agency officials.

James Long, the former chief of support services at the agency, filed a suit against the state of North Dakota, WSI and several officials involved in WSI on Tuesday. He is the second person who applied for whistleblower status while employed by the workers' compensation agency, to sue the state for alleged conspiracies related to job termination. The first was Todd Flanagan, whose similar suit was filed on May 22. Flanagan's lawsuit has not been settled.

Randy Bakke, a Bismarck attorney who is representing WSI and other defendants in the lawsuits, said he already has filed a motion to dismiss several claims in Flanagan's lawsuit, as well as the cases against individuals named in the lawsuit. He said a similar motion is in the works for Long's lawsuit. In the future, he anticipates filing motions to dismiss both cases in their entirety.

"WSI denies Long's claims and will vigorously defend this lawsuit. WSI is confident the litigation will reveal the true facts and legitimate reasons for Mr. Long's termination from employment with WSI," a release from Bakke said.

South Central District Judge Robert Wefald will decide whether to grant any or all of the motions in the Flanagan case.

Tom Tuntland, Long's attorney, said he is working on a reply to Bakke's motion to dismiss.

"(The case) is going to be lingering for a few months," Tuntland said.

Long's lawsuit, filed in South Central District Court in Bismarck, demands at least $50,000 in damages. It also demands he be given back his job and receive up to two years' worth of back pay and benefits. Flanagan's lawsuit asked for similar damages.

Long alleges he was fired on March 12 - after being suspended with pay since Nov. 15, 2007 - for cooperating with investigators in a felony criminal case against Sandy Blunt, WSI's former director, and Romi Leingang, the former head of the agency's investigations unit.

Long filed for whistleblower protection on Oct. 19, 2007, with the attorney general's office. He reported four perceived violations in the protection request: Misuse of sick leave, salary increase, nepotism and deliberate circumvention of open records law. He also detailed an alleged conspiracy to oust Burleigh County State's Attorney Richard Riha.

The Whistleblower Act, or the Public Employees Relations Act, essentially protects employees of a state agency from retaliation for reporting what they feel is illegal or a misuse of public resources. Reports must be made in writing to the employee's respective agency head, a state's attorney, the attorney general or an employee organization, according to the North Dakota Century Code.

The charge against Leingang was dropped, along with one charge against Blunt. However, two felony misappropriation of entrusted property charges against Blunt were reinstated by the state Supreme Court, which said South Central District Judge Robert Wefald had inappropriately dismissed them. He is slated to appear at a dispositional conference on Nov. 3, with a possible trial date of Dec. 15.

Blunt and Leingang no longer work at WSI.

Kay Grinsteinner, the agency's former internal auditor, and Billi Peltz, former human resources manager, also were terminated after filing for whistleblower status.

Bakke said another lawsuit has been initiated against WSI by a whistleblower, but has not yet been filed. He declined to say who was pursuing the lawsuit.

Long's lawsuit names as defendants the state of North Dakota, WSI, Blunt, John Halvorson, the agency's chief of employer services and former interim CEO; Tim Wahlin, special assistant attorney general; Rob Forward, special assistant attorney general; Tag Anderson, assistant attorney general; Robert Indvik, former chairman of the board of WSI; and Mark Gjovig, current chairman of the board of WSI.

The lawsuit says Long cooperated in the official investigation into Blunt's and Leingang's actions and provided the Burleigh County State's Attorney's office with information about his suspicions of work-related criminal wrongdoing and misapplication of state resources by executives and employees of WSI.

"When executives at WSI learned that Mr. Long was providing information and assistance to the police and prosecution regarding possible criminal activity and misapplication of funds at WSI, some of the executives met and conspired and agreed to follow a course of action which would impair or kill any investigation of Mr. Long's allegations. They further charted and agreed on a course of action to retaliate against Mr. Long for disclosing facts relating to possible criminal activity and misuse of public funds at WSI," the lawsuit alleges.

The complaint also alleges that each of the individuals named participated in discussions and actions to further a conspiracy to retaliate against Long.

"As the direct and proximate result of the individual actions of each of the defendants and of the conspiracy between and among the individual defendants James Long was wrongfully fired from his job at WSI on March 12, 2008," it says. The lawsuit said those actions constitute violations of the state's whistleblower protection act, the state's public employee's relations act and the state constitution.

(Reach reporter Jenny Michael at 250-8225 or jenny.michael@bismarcktribune.com.)

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Comments

To to Living it wrote on Sep 25, 2008 11:25 PM:

" Perhaps you would be more understanding if you walked in "Living it's" shoes.

There but for the grace of God goes you. "

to Living it wrote on Sep 25, 2008 8:05 AM:

" You type pretty well! "

Living It wrote on Sep 25, 2008 1:36 AM:

" I hope all the whistleblowers file suit an I pray that they win because wsi isn't above the law it's just we can't get any law to enforce the law,why hasn't the BCI torn the carpet out of the building,why have all the audits(not conolley an marsh) been about moral-why hasn't an IRS agent stepped in an taken a good look at the way safety grants have been handed out an to whom-the true treatment of the injured workers,100million over surplus but asking for a 50 thousand dollar surplus,i have proof wsi paid 5550,00 for one ime to do an exam on me-it took about an hour an a half,come on folks we are your injured workers,our facts don't lie and we need your help--wsi=worlds sorriest illusion "

Barney wrote on Sep 24, 2008 10:33 PM:

" Lots of this anti Long rhetoric is coming from Pro-WSI, Pro-Blunt supporters who looked the other way about Long and his misdeeds as long as he was doing their dirty work and was on their side. Once he turned on them they begin to chastise him for things they were supportive of when he was one of them. Pathetic, just pathetic. "

Sunny wrote on Sep 24, 2008 2:45 PM:

" To opinion:

If Long's misdoings were his undoing as you purport, then why was he there until he started rocking the boat? His alleged misdoings had been overlooked for a long, long time. "

REX wrote on Sep 24, 2008 9:47 AM:

" WSI=Why people snicker at ND. "

My Opinion wrote on Sep 24, 2008 9:04 AM:

" Just want to post that the previous post by "My opinion" is not from me - the one who usually posts under this name. "

leo wrote on Sep 23, 2008 1:53 PM:

" to My opinion

You don't think....he lost his job because of whistleblowing? The key words are opinion and think. You evidently aren't aware of fact. Of course, management will do their best to discredit anyone who questions their actions. Management perceived the whistleblowers as a direct threat to themselves, rightfully so. The only people who knew how corrupt management was were the employees of WSI, and possibly some legislators. Facts and truth will eventually surface, much to the dismay of WSI management. "

My opinion wrote on Sep 23, 2008 12:47 PM:

" I don't think he lost his job because he filed for whistleblower protection, I think he lost it because of all his own misdoings in his position. Everyone seems to think he was fired because he blew the whistle, but somewhere along the line his own behavior was revealed. Whistle blower protection may protect him from blowing the whistle but can't change the history of his own behavior pattern. "

Frank wrote on Sep 19, 2008 11:02 AM:

" Nothing like taking the shotgun approach to a lawsuit. Long sues everyone he can think of and maybe one of them will stick. How does he know people had conversations about him? Weren't some of the people he is suing fired before him? Sounds like a waste of time and money. "

leo wrote on Sep 19, 2008 10:20 AM:

" There should be some good come out of all this mess. What has WSI execs worried is that one of their own turned on them. Jim Long's knowledge of the extent of unethical behavior and acts of WSI management should make them exceedingly uncomfortable, but I seriously doubt it. Their mode of operation has made them impervious to wrong-doing. They are doing their best to cover their tracks and will try to justify their activities as routine operations. Their's is not a pretty world. If Kay Grinsteinner files suit, the fur should really fly. Between Long and Grinsteinner, the evidence will be fairly unbelievable to the common man. If you weren't at WSI to witness what management did to people, don't bother to comment. You have no idea what these people are capable of. At the very minimum, the whistleblower laws in ND should be strengthened to allow people to report unethical and illegal actions without fear of retaliation. The government of ND should be concentrating on watchdogging their public officials and agencies rather than trying to protect them. We'll see what the next legislative session brings. "

To All wrote on Sep 18, 2008 9:49 PM:

" The reason Flanagan and Long requested their jobs back is because of how the pathetically written whistleblower law is written. It's a requirement.

Long was one of the good ole boys until he started standing up to the other execs. Then he fell out of favor. Remember, he wasn't the only one who was scared they'd lose their jobs when Blunt returned. There's only one other employee at WSI who was afraid of retaliation (the would-be whistleblower who sent a message, fire me and I'll give details). But then that employee had the benefit the AG assisting with writing the 'protect me if I need it' request. How is it one got assistance from the AG and the rest of them got the boot courtesy of AG attorneys? Evidence of retaliation for the rest of them who spoke out? "

GameOn wrote on Sep 18, 2008 9:04 PM:

" I would bet that Jim Long has lost sleep over some of the things he did while in the elite exec circle at WSI. I look at it like this. Jim could have easily stayed on, collected his big salary, and continued to play the game. After all, Armstrong and Halvorson have been doing just that, haven't they? You have to give JIm Long credit for speaking up, apologizing to some people, and fighting WSI. You will never see Armstrong or Halvorson do that. If people only knew some of the stuff they pulled. I say good luck to both Jim Long and Todd Flanagan in their lawsuits against WSI. What a pathetic mess WSI is in. It's the laughingstock of North Dakota. "

haze wrote on Sep 18, 2008 7:37 PM:

" Sad to say but everyone who's lived in this state for over a year knows the outcome of this case. Long will lose - whether he's right or not. The judges are bought and paid for and it's just a nice, tight little circle.

Give it up now Jim before you spend any more wasted dollars. You will never win this one - doesn't matter what proof you have. The judgment is already made. "

Living It wrote on Sep 18, 2008 5:45 PM:

" Everyone needs to know just how bad wsi really is,the whistleblower laws were made to help fight the corruption inside large companies, state an federal run agencies without fear of retaliation from employers once again wsi has shown that it's beyond the law-by allowing wsi to do this you allowing corruption to continue and with that your allowing injured workers to be abused an kicked to the curb.... "

okay... wrote on Sep 18, 2008 4:40 PM:

" I suppose that WSI will fight this one and spend 100's of thousand's of dollars in attorney fees fighting so they don't have to pay out what Long is asking for. Completely uncalled for in my book!

Pay up, WSI, and stop wasting money! "

GMAR wrote on Sep 18, 2008 4:07 PM:

" ND is an 'at will' State but that doesn't mean an employer can discriminate or retaliate against an employee. I'm not saying that Long being fired was in retaliation for him participating in the investigation and filing for whistleblower protection. Just enlightening the crowd that 'at will' isn't a get out of jail free card. The likelihood of this actually getting into court will depend on the strength of the case and Longs motivations for filing the case to begin with. If he has a strong case there is a good chance it will settle before ever getting to court. If he has an axe to grind he may not want to settle and push this as far as he can. Time will tell. "

Law wrote on Sep 18, 2008 1:19 PM:

" It will be interesting when this goes to court. The timelines on when he knew about the alleged illegal activity and when he blew the whistle. Was it after his inappropriate behavior or before? I didn't see him return his overpriced salary increase, how come? Because he was part of the management team, an insider who didn't come clean until all other options were exhausted.
Don't forget he was upset he didn't get the interim director position that went to Halvorson. "

Right On He Was One of Them wrote on Sep 18, 2008 12:44 PM:

" You got that right, he was definitely one of them and now is crying cause he cannot draw his fat salary. Get over it Jim, you are not the pure, honest person you want others to believe you are. You are actually worse cause you turned around and stabbed them in the back when the going got tough. "

Deb wrote on Sep 18, 2008 12:24 PM:

" Jim was fired after he filed for whistle blower protection. Regardless of whether his position was subject to ND's no hire status - he should have been protected under the state's whistle blower protection act.

What's the point of having whistle blower protection if you can be fired after filing for it? The whole point is to save oneself and one's lievelihood from retaliation. "

wow wrote on Sep 18, 2008 11:56 AM:

" exactly - i thought that ND was a no hire/fire state - they don't have to give a reason for not hiring or firing you and we employees have no recourse - there should be no need for this lawsuit

secondly, instead of paying him all this money - 2 yrs wages, insurance, etc.....lets get some QUALIFIED people in WSI to check over people's medical issues - tooo many are slipping thru the cracks and being denied and then again, tooo many are being approved when it is well known that they do not have any medical issues at all - they are abusing the system - go after them for once.... "

Not understanding wrote on Sep 18, 2008 11:46 AM:

" I don't know why Mr. Long wants to work at WSI any longer. What will the atmosphere be like? Won't that be awkward to say the least if he has to fight to get that job back that apparently some people thought he shouldn't have? And why would he ask up to two years of back pay, hasn't been near that long. And who will pay for this back pay and bennies? Wasn't his leave with pay for a while anyway? How effective can someone be at a job gotten back under these circumstances, the underlyng feelings of spite and the new feelings of dominance would certainly play a part in work performance, I would think. it seems he should move on. Too much water under the bridge. "

He Was One of Them wrote on Sep 18, 2008 11:42 AM:

" I watched Jim "strut" his stuff along side all the other overpaid executives at WSI and he fit right in! He fell right in line with what was going on and at that time did nothing about it! Now when things started "going south", Jim recognized the opportunity to "save face" and protect himself and only then did he blow the whistle!! It's ironic that Jim is running for public office because isn't that what politicians do...look for an opportunity and ride the wave into public office! "

Get Real wrote on Sep 18, 2008 9:44 AM:

" "(The case) is going to be lingering for a few months," Tuntland said. Yeah, Tuntland will make sure it lingers until at least November 4th. Remember Tom your his lawyer not his campaign manager.

To "to mandanite" great recap, but you forgot that WSI employees are unclassified, just like a number of other agencies and positions, and are at will. Dr. Long is going to have a tough go at this as a number of his claims are based on innuendo and circumstantial evidence. Revenge is a dangerous motivation and makes people do irrational things. "

to mandanite wrote on Sep 18, 2008 8:57 AM:

" No, mandanite, North Dakota is not an "at will" state, at least not for state employees. In government service, since the abuses of the "Spoils System" (to the victor belongs the spoils) were addressed by civil service reforms in the 1870s, we don't let political whims lead to mass firings of public workers. In this case, Mr. Long isn't saying he's entitled to continued employment no matter what - he's saying he was fired because he blew the whistle on what he perceived were criminal activities of his co-workers. He's got a good case. It walks just like a duck. "

Economic Conservative wrote on Sep 18, 2008 8:52 AM:

" Good Luck Mr. Long! "

Just have to say wrote on Sep 18, 2008 8:35 AM:

" Your right this is an at will state, although this does not mean that Mr. Long cannot file a lawsuit over his dismissal from WSI. Here are some other points to think about too. If Jim Long were wrong about everything, or lying do you really think he would push it this far with WSI? Do you think he would run for office? Do you think he would have been willing to put his job on the line at WSI if all this was made up?

I would have to say the issues will come out in the end, and we will see the facts as time goes on. Although I have, a feeling with all of WSIs other actions they have already spoken volumes on how they are, and how they run things.

Good luck Jim! "

Wefald wrote on Sep 18, 2008 8:33 AM:

" Couldn't they find another judge? No one thought maybe there would be at least the appearance of a problem?

The perception of many is he bent over backwards trying to clear WSI's the former CEO of criminal charges, now Wefald is involved again?

Bad idea folks. "

Bob wrote on Sep 18, 2008 7:56 AM:

" Will he ever let this go? Revenge can be such a self-destructive thing. This man seems to eat, sleep, and breath WSI. "

My Opinion wrote on Sep 18, 2008 7:33 AM:

" Good for you Mr. Long. I hope you get somewhere with your suit. It's high time people sued the various state and quasi-state agencies for their illegal actions and activities. Best of Luck!!!!! "

mandanite wrote on Sep 18, 2008 7:11 AM:

" Isn't North Dakota an "at will" state? Move on Jim Long. You were fired. If ND is an at will state, no reason needs to be given to terminate your employment. "

In the Know wrote on Sep 18, 2008 5:16 AM:

" Dear Jim, From all of us who know the truth, best wishes in your lawsuit. "

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