Seven former Norman Veterans Center employees are seeking reinstatement and back pay after being fired for accepting money left to them in the will of a resident of the center three years prior to their terminations. The Case before Oklahoma Administrative Law Judge Anitta Bridges concluded testimony last week. The employees testified that despite a rule that they could not receive gifts from residents, the bequests were not covered because veteran Bill Marshall gave them the gift at his death and was no longer a resident. The employees also testified that they were told by the center’s director at the time, Christy Howell, that they could accept the gifts without being in fear of termination from their jobs. Attorney William O’Brian, who was general counsel to the veterans department at the time that Marshall died, testified that the acceptance of the gifts did not violate any rules of the Oklahoma Veteran Department’s handbook.
See Mick Hinton, Attorney Testifies Handbook Doesn’t Prevent Veterans Center Workers From Accepting Bequests, The Transcript, Jan 11, 2015.
