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One would think that working for the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has its risks; like being attacked by some tattooed covered inmate. However, a report from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Office of Federal Operations (OFO) says that “widespread retaliation” is a problem in the BOP.
Carlton M. Hadden, Director OFO, came to his conclusion after a lengthy process that resulted in a final report issued to the BOP on November 24, 2010. The BOP is responsible for the custody and care of more than 214,000 federal inmates and has over 35,000 employees. In August 2007, the OFO sent a letter outlining concerns it had about employment related retaliation complaints at the BOP that were significantly higher than in any other branch of the government (In FY 2005 complaints containing retaliation allegations at the BOP were 73.7% compared to 39.1% government wide). It took OFO three (3) years after it began its initial investigation to publish the report after disagreements with the BOP over the results.
The study consisted of a combination of a survey sent to all Bureau of Prison employees and site visits (3 prisons) to conduct interviews. The survey had under a 10% response rate, something the BOP argued about prior to the formal release of the report by saying that the use of “widespread retaliation” is not accurate since so few participated. One retired corrections officer, who asked that I not reveal his identity, told me that the survey required that the employees provide their name on the survey (see EEOC report in Exhibits), they would have no anonymity. Probably something OFO should have considered when the study involves employees who fear retaliation! The OFO countered that even with the small number of surveys received, the on site investigations/interviews provided similar results indicating an environment of intimidation.
The OFO found many management officials were hesitant to be candid and one even asked to “go off the record,” which is an odd request when the OFO was tasked with putting a report “on the record.” Here are some other curious comments from prison employees interviewed by the OFO:
- “I am not going to say that harassment has not happened here,… but there are no official reports of it.”
- “Once you file a complaint management will immediately punish you.”
-”It’s common knowledge that if you go against the grain something will happen to you.”
One prison employee who was interviewed by OFO’s team returned a second time to the evaluation team to report that the warden had reported that he had a list of everyone who was going to speak to the OFO evaluation team. I’m no expert but I would call these examples of retaliation….the latter example occurring in the middle of the investigation!
A former BOP employee, Shirley Minter-Smith, had filed her own lawsuit against the BOP for discrimination and retaliation. After a trial in October 2007, a jury agreed with her and found the BOP liable for damages and back pay of close to $500,000, plus a recalculation of Minter-Smith’s pension annuity (lump sum). The judge also order the BOP to pay her legal fees.
With the findings of the OFO and successful awards like those of Ms. Minter-Smith, other BOP employees are looking to file their own lawsuit. On September 30, 2010, Administrative Judge Nancy A. Weeks gave the case of Dennis R. Turner, et al., v. Eric Holder, Attorney General, Department of Justice-BOP, class action status. The plaintiffs allege they have suffered retaliation as a result of filing EEO complaints. One of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs, John Mosby, told me in a phone interview that the case is at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) awaiting review after objections were filed by the BOP. ”The EEOC is grossly understaffed and this could take years,” Mosby said, “but these are good people (plaintiffs) who have put their career on the line to change the culture and behavior of the BOP.” How many BOP employees (current and former) have sought to be included in the class action? ”Well over 2,000,” Mosby said.
Another BOP employee is alleged to have vented his work frustrations to a point that violated the law. Scott A. Holencik, at the time the warden of the Federal Correctional Institution I Victorville (northeast of Los Angeles), was said to have opened an account on the website www.prisonofficer.org. The website provides information and news on issues concerning…well, prison stuff. It also allows readers to comment, and that landed Holencik in trouble with the feds who allege he violated the Trade Secrets Act by divulging information deemed confidential and then lied to investigators when they questioned him about the posts. In an indictment, prosecutors allege that Holencik, under the username “VIMshooter” disclosed information about a prison employee suspected of involvement in an inmate gambling operation, as well as details about a homicide that occurred at the prison in August 2009. A federal judge, Virginia Phillips, has already ruled that the information posted on the PrisonOfficer website was not confidential, thereby dismissing those charges. Holencik’s lawyer, Geri Lynn Green, disputes that Holencik was even responsible for the posts and further that it is irrelevant because the posts were protected by the 1st Amendment (free speech) rights. Holencik went as far to set up his own website to dedicated to protecting free speech. No court date has been set for Holencik’s trial on remaining charges of lying to federal investigators but his pension has been suspended and his insurance coverage through the government cancelled. Coincidently, FCI Victorville was one of the three prisons designated for site visit interviews by the OFO during its investigation of retaliation abuse. Holencik was gone by the time those interviews were conducted.
All of the above occurred while BOP Director Harley Lappin was in charge. Lappin, who retired earlier this year, is now Chief Corrections Officer at Corrections Corporation of America, a company that runs private prisons to house state and federal inmates…so the BOP is looking for a new director. Groups including the American Bar Association, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and Human Rights Watch wrote U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder asking him to appoint someone from outside the bureau since all BOP directors since 1964 have been promoted from within. Their thinking is that major changes are needed to the culture of the BOP. The interim BOP director is Thomas Kane … and boy does he have his hands full. Kane has been with the BOP since July 1977.
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