Worker Fired for Blowing the Whistle after speaking with Mike Mason Fights Back

Steve Sherman

A DOT Whistleblower fired after speaking with Four in your Corner is fighting to get his job back. Today he met with county officials to plead his case and says he will sue the county if he doesn't get re-hired.
County officials claim Steve Sherman was fired because they were changing his job title and happened to look through his records and found some baggage in his past but Sherman says it's only because he blew the whistle on D.O.T. problems and now he wants his old job back.

Today Sherman prepared for his hearing with Lee County's Human Resources Department. He was fired on Wednesday and given just two days to refute the county's claims against him. He's now fighting to get his job back and his ammunition is a stack of documents.

Four in you Corner’s investigator Mike Mason was not allowed to attend the hearing but Sherman feels he presented a good case. He says, “ They can fire me any time any day but over these charges, no."
On Wednesday, Sherman was handed a document notifying him he was being terminated.Officials claim he violated county policies such as: having his driver's license suspended back in 2004 for a DUI arrest. His position required him to have a valid driver's license at the time.
But documents Sherman presented today show how supervisors accepted the circumstances of his arrest and reassigned Sherman to a position that didn't require him to drive. Sherman states, "That indemnifies me as far as notifying H.R. and notifying the county attorney who agreed to maintain me on the payroll in a limited working capacity back then."

The county also claimed Sherman failed to notify management after being arrested for violating an injunction in 2008. Today his supervisors provided written statements saying he *did* notify them.

Sherman says, "I presented all of this to H.R. today and they said they'd get back to me some time next week.” Sherman was fired just one day after he met with the Clerk of Courts office and requested Whistle-blower protection for speaking with FOX 4 and voicing accusations that D.O.T. officials use harassment, intimidation and are wasting taxpayer money.
Attorney Jason Gunter represents other county employees who were fired after blowing the whistle and says Sherman meets that specific criteria. Sherman says if he doesn't get his job back he will sue the county. "I'll definitely sue them for defamation of character, slander, harassment."
Sherman should know by next week if he'll be fired or re-hired. We'll stay on top of this and let you know.
To view the Fox 4 Report click here: http://www.fox4now.com/news/125670958.html

Workers question if County audit is an investigation into Whistle blowers

Lee county's manager finally releases details about the audit into the Department of Transportation but some workers feel they're the ones being investigated for blowing the whistle.

Karen Hawes

Four in your Corner investigator Mike Mason sparked the audit after uncovering numerous problems with the troubled department. But the audit has a big problem; all of the issues Fox 4 exposed are related to D-O-T's Operation's Center and the audit states it will only focus on D.O.T.'s Traffic Department. Some workers now accuse county manager Karen Hawes of using shady tactics to avoid the truth. D.O.T worker Steve Sherman tells Fox 4, "Anybody who's been watching the news that you've been airing, I mean a blind man would know the problem is at Operations."

Four in your Corner contacted County Manager Karen Hawes to find out why she didn't include the Operations Center in the audit and only then did she issue an email stating the scope will *now also* include an investigation into the D.O.T. Operations Center. Sherman says that makes him very suspicious of Karen Hawes, "She just doesn't want to get to the problem for some reason, there's something there that she's protecting."

Hawes says the objective of the D.O.T. audit is to address employee harassment, intimidation and retaliation and also look into D.O.T management and employee non-compliance with county policies. The actual scope of the audit will include Interviewing D.O.T employees, reviewing the performance of Human Resources for compliance with county policies, verifying time-keeping and payroll data and determining if there is any misuse of county resources.

Our investigation previously exposed workers who say they were fired for coming to work late even though records show they reported to work on time. Fox 4 also showed how supervisors are accused of delivering tons of free dirt to family members while other residents have been told they will be put on a long waiting list if they want some dirt. Tom Mere is a Lee County resident and a North Fort Myers Firefighters Commissioner but he didn't receive any special favors when he requested dirt. He's been waiting for more than a year to have dirt delivered to a mobile home park he owns in North Fort Myers.

Steve Sherman

Fox 4 has also exposed supervisors who are accused of harassing employees. Sherman claims he is *still* being harassed because he blew the whistle on D.O.T. and spoke with us about the problems within the department. Supervisors have notified him that county officials have been rifling through his personnel records. Sherman says it doesn't surprise him, "I have nothing to hide, bring 'em on. Let them do what they've got to do. They're going to find nothing and they're going to look foolish at the end of it all."

And the buck stops with Karen Hawes, she's the top dog at Lee County and is paid 192-thousand dollars a year as county manager. Sherman doesn't feel Hawes is working to make Lee County a better place for employees, "I don't believe she's doing justice by the workers or the taxpayers."
To view the Fox 4 report click here: http://www.fox4now.com/story/15037662/county-audit-or-investigation-into-whistleblowers

Lee County worker blows the whistle on county managers

A Lee County worker blows the whistle on county managers, accusing them of forcing employees out of their jobs. This comes after a Fox 4 investigation into the controversial resignation of the County's interim D-O-T Director.

Steve Sherman works for Lee County's Department of Transportation's Traffic Sign Division and after watching our report last night he decided to speak out. He wants to expose the way county officials are treating their employees and he feels it's so important he's willing to put his own job on the line for this. Sherman admits he's nervous about going public but says, "I feel the obligation to do right by my fellow employees and Mr. Wingard".

Paul Wingard is currently the county's interim Director of the Department of Transportation and has recently decided to resign. Wingard says he's leaving because he's not happy with the current administration, "when you're working with a group of people and you really feel like you're not part of that group, that's just not a good place to be in."

County Manager, Karen Hawes, claims Wingard and other key employees have been leaving to pursue more lucrative jobs in the private sector. But Wingard says that's not at all true, "I'm not leaving because of additional pay that absolutely has nothing to do with the reason I'm leaving."

And that has Lee County Commissioner Brian Bigelow questioning the integrity of Karen Hawes. Bigelow wonders, "are we getting other information in the course of doing county business that might also be inaccurate or misleading? This is a grave concern for myself."

Sherman says he knows the truth about why good employees are leaving and it's because county managers are forcing them out. He claims they rule with a "heavy handed mentality, it's my way or the highway,jobs are tough so if you don't like it here then go like it somewhere else."
Sherman now works for the County's Traffic Division of the Lee County Department of Transportation, he says he's happy there and he likes his supervisors but that wasn't the case a few years ago. When he worked at D.O.T's Operations Center he wasn't happy at all, he said supervisors there ruled with an iron fist and he's talked with other employees throughout Lee County who also say they have a problem with the upper management style.
Sherman says, "It's counterproductive to be chastised and be heavy handed in certain areas of departments with the employees". Sherman goes on to say that employees will eventually leave if things don't improve at the workplace, "Absolutely, if the employment business gets better in the private sector I'm sure there will be a great exodus out of here."
Lee County Commissioner Tammy Hall told Four in your Corner's Mike Mason more employees may lose their jobs because the county has a 46-million dollar deficit. County employees, however, don't feel that should have anything to do with how they are treated at work. Lee County records indicate 26 employees have left their jobs since May first of this year but the circumstances of *why* they left are unclear. Fox 4 would like to hear from public employees if they have problems at work. They can call or text Fox 4 at 239-206 Fox Four or send an email at ‘Foxfournow.com' and click on the ‘Viewers' Voice' tab.

Here's a link to the Fox 4 TV report: http://www.fox4now.com/story/14918744/lee-county-worker-blows-whistle-on-county-managers?redirected=true