Associated Press

State Veterans Affairs Commissioner Bob Hanson says he has fulfilled all of the duties asked of him and does not know why he was suspended.

The Veterans Affairs Administrative Committee put Hanson on paid leave this week, saying he has done a poor job of management.

A written performance evaluation prepared this summer says Hanson has failed to correct problems in the department's Fargo office that were brought to light eight months ago. The evaluation also scored Hanson as meeting standards in 11 of 14 areas.

Rudy Jenson, of Valley City, chairman of the administrative committee, this week credited Hanson with doing an outstanding job in the field, but said he "has no management abilities in that office."

One of the issues raised by the administrative committee, which includes representatives of five veterans' groups, is that Hanson micromanages the office's five employees.

Hanson said in an April memo to the committee that he had met with the employees as directed and that three of the five said he did not micromanage their areas. He said he asked employees to speak up when they think he is micromanaging.

Hanson this week said that he thought a mediation session he and his employees had with a state personnel official was productive, and he was agreeable to meeting again.

Hanson, a former state treasurer and tax commissioner, has held the Veterans Affairs job for about three years. Jenson plans to call a special committee meeting to discuss Hanson's position.