Opinion ID: 4204166
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: INDOT’S Treatment of Other Employees

Text: Monroe identified three INDOT employees who also had instances of inappropriate conduct and were not fired. Mon‐ roe testified that in 2009 or 2010 an employee named Jim Pat‐ rick supervised five unit foremen, including Monroe. Monroe stated that four of the five unit foremen complained that Pat‐ rick was belittling and undermining his subordinates. Ac‐ cording to Monroe, Patrick was not officially demoted, but his supervisory authority was taken away. Between 2007 and 2009, Jeff Wilson, a unit foreman, was reprimanded, placed on a performance improvement plan, and given a poor performance rating for various shortcom‐ ings, including mistreating his subordinates. In 2010, Wilson was demoted for creating a hostile work environment for his employees. In 2014, when Wilson yelled at his former super‐ visor about a performance rating Wilson had received, he was given the option to resign or be discharged. He chose to re‐ sign. The third employee identified by Monroe, Jim Branson, was disciplined for acting unprofessionally in February 2012 when he told two co‐workers to “get away from the fing truck” he wanted to drive. According to Monroe, during the incident Branson also threw down a squeegee, cursed, and stomped his feet. Branson was given a three‐day suspension 8 No. 16‐1959 for that infraction. In May 2013, George demoted Branson from the position of unit foreman after he “put his hands” on a co‐worker. The document memorializing Branson’s demo‐ tion stated that he had engaged in “[r]epeated and consistent inappropriate conduct in performing management and su‐ pervisory duties which have resulted in diminished ability to effectively manage the operations and personnel of the Indi‐ anapolis Sub‐District.”