Bernardo Watch: Breaking the Law?

All kinds of interesting things coming over the transom these days. The latest is an anonymous note sent to County Executive Mike Hein accusing Terry Bernardo of breaking the law when it comes to the way her office is treating employees. It reads:

"Dear Mr. Hein,

Something is happening on your watch that needs to be addressed. The new chairperson is in my opinion breaking at least one and possibly two labor laws.

1.) Continues to tell employees to work more hours than they are paid for -- since these people are paid hourly it is clearly a violation

2.) Berates employees in the same room as other employees creating a hostile work place.

3.) Allows her husband to sit in on employee only matters.

It is not only a disgrace but also unprofessional. This needs to be corrected without retribution against any employee. Should this continue the original of this will be delivered to the NYS Department of Labor."

Let's go through each of these. The first is a matter of civil service law. If the Bernardo regime is telling employees to work more hours than is in their job description, the employee should be entitled to overtime, and would also be able to file a grievance with the union. If I were an employee who was being asked to perform duties that require time beyond that contained in my job description, I would tell my boss to take a hike and talk to my union rep.

The second point is typical Bernardo. When you don't know what the hell you're doing, the simplest thing to do is bluster your way through. You know, just be a loudmouthed asshole. The Bernardos don't know how to ask politely, all they know is how to bully. Par for the course.

The third point is the one I find most interesting. If this claim is indeed true -- that Terry Bernardo is allowing her husband Len to sit in on potentially privileged employee discussions -- it should definitely be investigated. Employers, including the government, are bound by a number of federal laws regarding employee privacy, Title II of HIPAA being one of the biggies. If there is any truth to the Bernardos being this cavalier with employee privacy, Hein should definitely look into it.

But I'm guessing he won't.

It'll be up to the employees in question to come forward. Hey, if you're looking for a forum to air the dirty laundry, you've got one right here. Your privacy will be respected, I assure you (unlike with certain others).