Fired firefighters reap benefits

Two Clark County firefighters who were terminated for misusing sick leave received a total of $120,000 in severance pay and qualified for sizable pensions, the same money and perks they would have received if they had retired on good terms.

Battalion Chief Renee Dillingham and firefighter Donald Munn, both longtime veterans, were fired in large part because emails they sent in 2009 indicated they used sick leave for vacation rather than for medical reasons, a breach of the labor contract.

Dillingham and Munn were the only ones fired for sick leave abuse as the county wrapped up its internal probe this week. Any lesser punishments imposed on other firefighters will be undisclosed because of personnel privacy rules, county officials said.

Despite being fired, the two were allowed under the labor contract to cash in unused vacation and sick leave and other benefits.

Dillingham received about $70,000 and Munn got about $50,000, according to figures obtained from the county.

Dillingham, who had 24 years of service, will collect a pension of roughly $75,000 per year. Munn, who online data show is in his late 50s, will be eligible for about $40,000 a year in retirement pay when he turns 60.

Both of their pensions compare well with Nevada wages. Last year, the average yearly pay in the state was $38,000 in the private sector and $46,000 in government.

County Commissioner Steve Sisolak said he was outraged that firefighters who lost their jobs because of misconduct are treated the same as those who leave with exemplary records.

“This is further evidence that the system is broken,” said Sisolak, who called for an investigation into firefighters’ sick leave abuse earlier this year. “It’s ridiculous.”

The labor contract needs to be changed so county employees who are fired are barred from cashing in unused leave, said Sisolak, the commission’s harshest critic of firefighters’ compensation.

Firefighters who gamed the system also should give up at least some of their pensions, partly as restitution, he said.

County officials said they had no estimates for how much money Dillingham and Munn cost taxpayers by misusing sick leave.

Also, the county officials wouldn’t say whether Dillingham and Munn were challenging the county’s decision to fire them.

Firefighters’ sick leave can be costly because the tight staffing often requires those who fill in for absent co-workers to be paid overtime, and usually for 24 hours.

Overtime helped push the average wage of firefighters in 2010 to $130,000 and of battalion chiefs to $180,000.

Last year, Dillingham received $123,000 in regular pay, and Munn made $111,000.

The head of the local firefighters union emailed a cautious statement.

“We maintain our position that appropriate actions should be taken in response to any rules that were broken,” said Ryan Beaman, president of the International Association of Firefighters Local 1908. “Any comments regarding requests for restitution of those under investigation would be inappropriate and out of our realm of jurisdiction.”

The state’s Public Employee Retirement System doesn’t allow workers who are fired or jailed to forfeit their benefits.

“We have absolutely no provision that would allow it,” said Tina Leiss, PERS operations officer. “It’s an earned benefit. They cannot forfeit it.”

Another example is Martin Vohwinkel, a former county fire captain who is serving a 10-year sentence in federal prison for arranging a sexual encounter with a minor.

The PERS formula shows Vohwinkel is receiving more than $100,000 a year in retirement pay while in prison.

Pension protections aren’t limited to Nevada public employees. Federal laws prevent employers, public or private, from taking back their contributions from pension plans after the workers are vested, said Jonathan Segal, a Philadelphia employment attorney.

But in most states, employers don’t have to pay fired workers for unused vacation and sick days unless a labor contract requires it, Segal said.

Commissioner Mary Beth Scow said workers fired for cause should not be able to cash in unused leave.

“It’s really wrong for the taxpayers,” Scow said. “It’s one of those loopholes in the contract that needs to be closed up.”

Sisolak said perhaps it’s time for congressional leaders to change laws that prevent pensions from being forfeited if malfeasance is involved.

“It’s just not right,” he said.

County managers looked at a dozen other firefighters who might have abused sick leave and found none who should be terminated.

Confidentiality rules prevent the county from naming firefighters given lesser penalties such as demotions and forfeiture of sick leave, officials said.

The Review-Journal on Friday filed a formal records request for the names of the firefighters whom the county investigated and whether they were punished or exonerated. The county is being asked also to describe the penalties it imposed on those who violated sick leave policies.

Review-Journal Managing Editor Charles Zobell agreed with Sisolak that taxpayers deserve to know the outcome.

“These firefighters are paid with their money, so they have every right to know the resolution of the investigation and what punishments have been meted out and to whom,” Zobell said.

Meanwhile, the FBI and Metropolitan Police Department are several months into a probe that includes sifting through a half a million emails and other documents.

Sheriff Doug Gillespie said the agencies weren’t waiting for the county to finish its internal investigation.

“No, we’re not on their timeline,” Gillespie said.

Contact reporter Scott Wyland at swyland@review journal.com or 702-455-4519.