As if anybody needed more evidence of how difficult it is to fire a government employee, consider the case of Lovelock prison guard Amie L. Bianchini.

Ms. Bianchini was let go last November because prison authorities found out she and a fellow officer, Sean Hoferer, engaged in oral sex while on duty. The incident occurred in a bathroom at the prison while inmates were on lock-down status.

Mr. Hoferer quit his job once the incident was discovered. But Ms. Bianchini did not, so she was fired.

Had something like this taken place in the private sector, that would have been the end of the matter. But we're dealing with unionized public employees. So Ms. Bianchini fought her termination.

On March 2 a state hearing officer, Patrick Dolan, reinstated Ms. Bianchini with back pay. Under current prison regulations, Mr. Dolan found, the maximum penalty for Ms. Bianchini's actions is a 30-day suspension with pay.

Now, let's not be too quick to criticize Mr. Dolan. He is, after all, bound by state law and its various mandated parameters and procedures. But if regulations don't allow the dismissal of guards who are having sex while on duty, the state has a problem.

State prison officials say they will try to amend regulations so that guards can be fired the first time they are found having sex while at work. What a concept!

Watch the Nevada Corrections Association -- the union representing guards -- fight them tooth and nail.