A Workforce, Safety and Insurance employee who was suspended from WSI can't be reinstated by the attorney general.

Jim Long, chief of support services at WSI who was put on administrative leave more than a week ago, on Tuesday requested the attorney general reinstate him to his position.

"At this point, the specific remedy I am looking for is to simply be able to go back to work to do my job,"Long wrote in a letter to Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem.

Tag Anderson, assistant attorney general, responded in a letter dated Wednesday.

"This office does not have authority to direct the personnel decisions at WSI or any other agency,"Anderson wrote. "Special Assistant Attorneys General at WSI are fully aware of the law under N.D.C.C. chap. 34-11.1 and I assume they have outlined those obligations to those individuals who have authority to make personnel decisions at WSI. Any request for reinstatement should be directed to WSI."

The North Dakota Century Code chapter referred to covers protection from retaliation for state employees who report illegal activity within their agency.

WSI attorney Tim Wahlin had notified Long of his suspension through an e-mail, saying Long's effectiveness on the job "has become compromised to the point that we must step back and regroup."

Long believes his suspension is retaliatory for his participation in an ongoing investigation into WSI, which included the state Bureau of Criminal Investigation executing a search warrant on another executive's office. A personal journal was removed from the office.