Department of Transportation to comply with rehiring order

CARSON CITY — A Nevada Department of Transportation official said Tuesday that the agency will comply with a state Supreme Court order to rehire fired state pilot Jim Richardson.

Department spokesman Scott Magruder said his agency must reach an agreement with Richardson because the high court refuses to reconsider. He added that Director Susan Martinovich opposes appealing in federal court.

Because the state has filled Richardson’s former position, the agency probably will try to reach a financial settlement with him.

Richardson was fired as state pilot in 2008 after he failed to notify supervisors that an engine on one of the state’s planes “over-sped.” An over-speeding engine is considered a safety threat by the Federal Aviation Administration. The engine should have been inspected before the plane flew again.

A hearing officer ordered him rehired, but the Transportation Department appealed in District Court. A judge upheld his dismissal, but the Supreme Court on Nov. 16 reversed that decision and ordered his rehiring. In the decision, justices noted that while Richardson was fired, the Transportation Department did not terminate his supervisor, Gary Phillips, for transgressions that included allowing his 14-year-old son to fly the state plane, a Cessna Citation.

In the decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the agency could demote Richardson for the safety violation but also decided that the infraction was not severe enough to fire him.

Transportation Department lawyers asked the Supreme Court to rehear the case, a step justices rarely take. On Dec. 27, justices rejected the rehearing.

“Basically NDOT has ruined me,” Richardson said in an interview last month.

He said he faces $100,000 in legal fees and for a time could not pay his rent because of the Transportation Department’s continued refusal to reappoint him to his $60,000-a-year job.

Vishnu Subramaniam, chief of staff for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 4041, said the Transportation Department destroyed Richardson’s life by its refusal to rehire him after the hearing officer’s decision.

“We are happy to hear they are finally doing the right thing,” he said. “But it took them a very long time to get to this point.”

The plane is operated by the Transportation Department but often is used by a variety of officials, including Gov. Brian Sandoval when he flies to Las Vegas.

Contact Capital Bureau Chief Ed Vogel at evogel@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3900.