Opinion ID: 2324757
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: The proceedings against Ms. Okyiri.

Text: On February 26, 1993, four days before the discovery of the Bert Smith & Company letter in Ms. Okyiri's in-box, Dr. Franklin issued the formal letter of warning accusing Ms. Okyiri of insubordination in relation to the Form PL 456 controversy. On April 8, 1993, Mr. Molumby sent Ms. Okyiri a thirty-day notice proposing that she be removed for insubordination in connection with Dr. Greenlee's voucher and for inexcusable neglect of duty in connection with the Bert Smith & Company letter. The portion of the notice dealing with the neglect of duty allegation included the following: Lorenzo McQueen, the designated contact person in the DC Controller's Office[,] indicated that he had spoken with you several times in January and February asking what the Library was going to do about the audit. According to McQueen you urged him to have the Controller write the March 2 letter to Dr. Franklin. It is incomprehensible to me that you never let me or Dr. Franklin know of either of these inquiries from the Controller's Office or of the crucial information in your possession during January and February. Your failure to bring to the attention of me or the Director the information you had received in late December, information that you knew was critically important to our response to the audit, constitutes a serious neglect of your duty. As Head of the Budget and Fiscal Department, it is your responsibility to assist the Library in issues relating to audits, especially when costs are questioned. Your action could have resulted in a negative audit report, needless embarrassment to the Library, and even the need to reimburse the federal government $75,000 for funds which the Library had in fact spent in compliance with federal requirements.
The dispute between Ms. Okyiri and the DCPL has come before an impressive number of tribunals. This court is the sixth entity or individual to consider Mr. Molumby's allegations against Ms. Okyiri [9] and the second to consider the whistleblower case. After the initiation of the adverse action, the DCPL's personnel director designated Jewell Ogonji as a disinterested designee who was to hold a hearing on the proposed discipline. [10] Ms. Okyiri made no objection to Ms. Ogonji's designation. On May 5, 1993, Ms. Ogonji recommended that Mr. Molumby's proposal to remove Ms. Okyiri be sustained. Dr. Franklin approved the proposal four days later.