Mississippi Today has found statistics that show state employees rarely succeed in the civil service process to overturn the discipline imposed by agency administrators. Fisher claimed that the Employee Appeals Board is a crucial component in providing civil service protection. He said that he wanted the Legislature to stop his employees, including Highway Patrol troopers and Bureau of Narcotics agents, from having the right to appeal against the actions taken against them by Fisher and his administrative staff. Other agency directors have also complained over the difficulties of getting their disciplinary actions upheld by Employee Appeals Board. According to Mississippi Today’s request, state officials have provided information that shows that there were 121 instances in which state employees challenged the actions of the Employee Appeals Board against their employers. In 14 of these cases, the agency reversed the decision or the employee won. Further, the statistics compiled and maintained by the state Personnel Board show that fewer employees appeal against actions taken against them to their employer to the Employees Appeals Board. The average appeals during the six past fiscal years has been 59 per year. In 1998, however, there were 234 appeals. Brenda Scott, executive director of Mississippi Alliance of State Employees, stated that employees in the past have not been willing to appeal disciplinary actions taken against them to Employees Appeals Board due to the cost — $100 fee plus many workers believing they need an attorney in order to succeed. She said that she knew of one DOC (Corrections), employee who hocked everything including his house and still lost. Scott stated that it was important for the state’s civil service protection to be maintained for state employees. About 17,500 state employees currently have civil service protection. To be eligible for the protection, an employee must have worked for at least one year. The civil service protections are not available to some state employees, particularly those who work in administrative positions. Scott stated that the civil service protection eliminates inter-agency politics. We fight to keep it in force. Workers need some form of appeals process. While statistics show that the state wins the majority of cases where employees appeal their discipline, Fisher’s Department of Public Safety lost at least five of its cases over the past two years. It might not matter if the outcome of these cases involving public safety department cases was fair or not. Fisher doesn’t believe that the Employees Appeals Board made the right decisions. One of the cases that the public safety department lost was when James Richards (a trooper) was fired because he was under the influence drug while being tested for weapons at the public safety department’s training centre. This case generated controversy and the most attention. Richards, according to Testimony, was slurring his words, moving unsteadily and sweating profusely. Yet, he passed three weapons testing. After the testing, a drug test revealed that Richards had taken the medication prescribed for him to treat the effects of an automobile accident. His reinstatement was based on the key distinction made by the Employee Appeals Board. He was terminated for “unlawful usage of a prescribed substance” and not for reporting to work while under the influence of controlled substances, as this was legal. The Department of Public Safety claimed that Richards’ distinction was technical and shouldn’t be considered in deciding whether to reinstate him. The Appeals Board disagreed. It stated that its decision was based upon court rulings and that Richards did not act illegally, as the public safety department claimed. Capt. Capt. Reynolds disclosed that she had a prescription to pseudoephedrine before the test. This could have led to her positive methamphetamine test. The public-safety office was able to verify that Reynolds had been truthful about her prescription. The drug test was dropped after Reynolds was cleared of all issues. However, Reynolds was still subject to an investigation which resulted in a significant drop in her pay and a reprimand for taking two packets Biofreeze (an over-the-counter product) from the office. Public safety officials claimed that Reynolds was not truthful about her actions. The Appeals Board found no evidence that Reynolds was intentionally lying and ruled that the punishment for taking two Biofreeze packs was too harsh. Joyce Grant, a criminal record technician, was fired for refusing to sign an affirmation that she had read a document the agency had not given her to read. Fisher stated that they are a nightmare for supervisors to the Employee Appeals Board earlier in the year. Fisher stated that public-safety staff witnesses are often overlooked in hearings and that the hearing officers do not consider all evidence. The Employees Appeals Board’s decision can be appealed to a circuit court in any case. Fisher also mentioned a case involving Trooper Richard Todd Cox, who was accused of assaulting his ex-wife and her lawyer and being violent in the past. The Employee Appeals Board essentially ruled that the Department of Public Safety couldn’t prove these allegations and re-instated Cox to the force. Fisher expressed concern that he would not be able to discipline his employees but he stated that 99 percent of his employees do a good job. Fisher stated that even if the civil service was abolished, he would still ensure that employees are fired or disciplined only for good reasons. Fisher said that he is not seeking to fire many people, but added that a certain amount of discipline is necessary to run a law enforcement agency. It was detrimental to morale for law enforcement officers when they knew that certain officers were breaking obvious rules like working under the influence. They should not face consequences. Both the current and past Gov. Phil Bryant and the past Gov. Haley Barbour and Phil Bryant have worked together to get state employees out of the state Personnel Board. The Employee Appeals Board is part of the Personnel Board. The three Hearing Officers on the Employee Appeals Board are attorneys hired by the Personnel Board. They hear cases in which state agencies challenge the disciplinary actions of head state agencies. In the past, Lt. Governor. Tate Reeves, Speaker Philip Gunn and others supported efforts to eliminate civil service protections. For a brief period, agencies were exempted for the past from civil service protection regulations by the Personnel Board. Gunn stated once that agencies “provide better services at lower prices” by removing these regulations. This is a good thing. Normally, efforts to remove civil service protection would start in the House and Senate appropriations committees. Buck Clarke (R-Hollanddale), Senate Appropriations Chair, stated that no decision has been made about whether or not to attempt to remove the Department of Public Safety, from the Personnel Board, this session.