Housing authority staff fight firings

The embattled director of an agency providing public housing in Clark County ordered senior staffers not to communicate with commissioners on its oversight board without his approval.

Those who did otherwise were fired by John Hill, executive director of the Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority, according to documents obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

To identify who was talking with commissioners, Hill asked Kenneth Wood, the agency's director of information technology, to conduct an email search.

The email search found that the director of human resources, the director of affordable housing, the deputy executive director, the former director of operations and the executive secretary had sent email to certain commissioners.

"None of the emails copied John Hill nor was Mr. Hill made aware that these e-mails were being sent and received by SNRH employees to commissioners," according to an April letter from the agency's lawyer Theodore Parker to commissioners.

Hill hired HR Alternatives Inc. to investigate. The company determined that Sharon Williams, director of human resources, and Shannon Gammie, director of affordable housing, had violated the agency's employee handbook, but no specifics were provided, according to documents.

On April 1, Williams and Gammie were terminated as at-will employees by Hill.

Commissioner and the Rev. Dave Casaleggio, who has been a strong supporter of Hill, said he didn't think the terminations were an act of retaliation. "I think it would be retaliation if he had not gotten outside experts," he said on July 24.

But an attorney representing the women has raised concerns about retaliation, discrimination and whether Hill followed agency policies. An internal mediation procedure for Hill dealing with allegations of failure to follow policies is scheduled for today. The mediation is not related to the terminations.

A separate allegation has arisen that Deputy Executive Director Dwayne Alexander also communicated with commissioners but wasn't terminated. Alexander didn't return a call seeking comment Thursday.

Nicholas Crosby, the attorney representing Williams and Gammie, on July 16 sent an email to commissioners, asking them to intervene in the situation.

"Never in my years of representation of employers in employment and labor issues have I witnessed such blatant discriminatory actions," he wrote. "I am requesting the board intervene at this point, as it is apparent Mr. Hill refuses to follow the policies of the authority, ignores the basic tenets of employment law and apparently counsel for the authority is blessing this conduct as well."

Casaleggio refused to have the board get involved in the matter, according to an email chain between commissioners in mid-July. "Let the process play out and it will determine who is right and who is wrong," he wrote. "Then we can judge John Hill on what he did."

During the grievance process, Hill disclosed the reason for the terminations was communication with commissioners without his knowledge.

Gammie's grievance officer, who was Wood, the same person who conducted the email search at Hill's request, concluded that Hill had the authority to terminate her.

Williams grievance officer Deloris Sawyer, director of housing programs for the housing authority, reinstated her with full back pay and benefits.

"The directive for senior staff not to communicate with the Board of Commissioners prior to Mr. Hill's approval, appears to violate (housing authority's) code of conduct policy, which clearly states senior staff 'can' respond to requests/questions for commissioners," Sawyer wrote in her conclusion.

But Parker in a June 26 letter he sent to Crosby says the matter will proceed to a second hearing. Under the housing authority's personnel handbook, only the employee can request a second hearing with a committee and that decision should be final and binding.

Contact Yesenia Amaro at yamaro@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3843. Find her on Twitter: @YeseniaAmaro.