Firefighter terminated for sick leave misuse

Donald Munn, an 18-year veteran, was fired Wednesday after managers determined he improperly used sick leave.

Thirteen other firefighters are under internal investigation and face punishments ranging from firing to demotion to forfeiture of sick leave, according to county officials, who said they didn’t know when the next penalties would be imposed.

The internal probe is separate from an inquiry being conducted by the Metropolitan Police Department and the FBI that could turn into a criminal investigation.

Munn, who couldn’t be reached for comment, received $112,000 in wages and $53,000 in benefits in 2010.

He was among firefighters whose suspicious sick leave use was publicized because of statements they made in emails.

County Commissioner Steve Sisolak, who pushed for the sick leave investigations, described Munn’s firing as a good first step in cleaning up abuse.

“I think a lot more needs to be done,” Sisolak said.

Sisolak said Munn and others should pay restitution on any money or benefit they received from gaming the system, whether it was improper time off, overtime or padded pensions.

Retired firefighters who abused the system shouldn’t be immune, Sisolak said, arguing that the county should make them repay their ill-gotten compensation.

But county officials said they were unsure whether they could compel firefighters to repay anything.

“We don’t think we have the legal authority to seek restitution,” county spokesman Erik Pappa said.

Pappa would not comment about Munn’s firing, saying Munn could still challenge it through arbitration.

In a written statement, Ryan Beaman, head of the local firefighters union, said if rules were broken, then appropriate steps should be taken. The union hasn’t decided whether it will challenge any penalty the county metes out for mis­using sick leave, he said.

“These disciplinary actions must remain private until all information has undergone further review,” he said.

Beaman has stated in the past that firing or demoting firefighters would be overreaching because the firefighters’ contract with the county only allows them to forfeit six months of sick leave as punishment.

Firefighters’ sick time can be costly to the county because the tight staffing often requires those who fill in for absent co-workers to be paid overtime, and usually for 24 hours. The county paid $7 million for firefighters’ sick leave in 2009.

Most firefighters who return to work less than 12 hours after finishing a shift also qualify for callback pay, in which a portion of that day’s earnings goes toward pensions.

Last year, overtime helped push firefighters’ average wages to about $130,000, and battalion chiefs’ average pay to $180,000.

Firefighters are only allowed to use sick leave for medical reasons and not as a substitute for vacation.

Munn used 333 hours of sick time in 2009, which totals a month and a half of missed shifts.

In a June 11, 2010, email, he talked of combining vacation and sick days to take the summer off.

“How does one get the entire summer of vacation?” a co-worker asked. “Who do you have pictures of?”

“No one,” Munn replied. “Between being sick & vac it will seem like most of the summer.”

County Commissioner Tom Collins said he backed managers’ decision to fire Munn. They had documentation proving he abused sick leave, Collins said.

However, he defended the Fire Department as a whole, saying reports of widespread abuse were exaggerated, and that only a dozen or so firefighters are turning out to be the culprits.

Collins was referring to a county report indicating that more than 230 firefighters missed a least 10 shifts, a month’s worth of work, because of sick calls in 2009.

He bashed Sisolak for using the report to publicly condemn firefighters who did nothing wrong.

“I think he owes that department an apology for his reckless comments about a full third of them” being guilty, Collins said.

But Sisolak said he stood by his statements, saying, “I don’t apologize for exposing the corruption and defrauding of the public.”

He argued that the only reason more firefighters aren’t being fired is because they weren’t so brazen as to send emails describing their scams.

County Commissioner Susan Brager said the system appears to be working to penalize those who broke the rules.

“It’s unfortunate that it came to this situation,” she said.

Contact reporter Scott Wyland at
swyland@reviewjournal.com or 702-455-4519.