We did indeed settle so the saga is (mostly) over. Basically, after the Fifth Circuit's ruling [see Grits coverage], TDCJ called for a settlement conference. We agreed upon an amount and they wrote the check.Ouch! Still, given what happened to her, one can understand a touch of bitterness in Lyons' attitude toward her former employer. Congratulations to Michelle on her victory.
The only thing still being disputed is a neutral employment letter. As part of the settlement, I asked that they write a letter stating my years of service should I ever again to decide to pursue a job with the State of Texas. In the initial draft, they made no mention of my more than five years as director of the Public Information Office and so I asked them to update it. I'm told that Bryan Collier doesn't want to do that - he only wants to include the salary and pay grade I was in after my demotion. I am not sure why, other than it being a control issue and attempt to get in one last jab.Beyond that, I am extremely happy to be able to put this behind me, but still am troubled that the two individuals who perpetrated the discriminatory actions against me - namely Brad Livingston and Bryan Collier - remain at the helm of the agency. If they wanted to get rid of me, they could have done so without drumming up false allegations and then applying the rules only to me.
I hope our state leadership takes a hard look at this and other similar cases and determines that these individuals are not acting in the best interest of TDCJ or the State of Texas as a whole. It's time for them to step down and allow new leaders to repair the damage they have caused, restoring agency morale. Giving them another significant pay raise this session is not the answer, particularly when the men and women who actually serve on the frontlines get little to nothing.
Likewise my replacement, Jason Clark, should be investigated for perjury. He lied under oath about his own time-keeping practices and then was rewarded with a promotion. I'm sure it will never happen, but I think any journalist should be wary of the information he dispenses to them.
Thursday, February 12, 2015
TDCJ settled discrimination suit by former flak, Michelle Lyons
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice recently settled an employment discrimination lawsuit filed by its former Public Information Officer, Michelle Lyons, who alleged retaliation by her superiors for passing along public information to bloggers as well as MSM reporters. Upon hearing news of the settlement, Grits emailed Lyons who responded with the following comments:
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16 comments:
I tend to think Ms. Lyons is probably correct about Mr. Livingston. His recent comment to the legislature bragging on the quality of mental health care being provided in Texas prisons was a blatant lie.
Sounds like she's trying to get in her own last jab! She should just bow out gracefully and take the high road , which she has NEVER travelled. She received exactly what she wanted...money.
It doesn't look like a "victory" to me. It's another episode of TDCJ paying someone off instead of being held to account by a court - and for an agency so entwined with the judiciary, the irony is enormous.
I'm glad that Ms Lyons (however much I detest some of the things she said while in her job) has her settlement, but it wont help anyone who follows after her or the new guy.
Sunny, you are a very thoughtful wench! I agree! Jan
What???? No one in TDCJ would ever lie, unless they say something that makes the agency look bad. I'm should Jason Clark would respond to your comment by stating "the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Is the national model for dealing with the mentally disabled. We have a model plan where we place the mentally disabled in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day to help them better find themselves and repent for their sins. Our highly trained and well screen staff look out after their every needs. With quality UTMB health care inmates receive the latest and the most costly medications to assist in meeting their challenging needs. Once the mentally disabled are discharged from years of solitary conditions, they are ready to become your neighbor as they are truly reformed and repent of their sins."
In my opinion when you lie with dogs you get fleas. She should not have gotten nothing spewing her lies for them. She had no problem covering up for them when it suited her. Now, what do you expect when the Chairman of the Criminal Board tampers with government documents trying to get a relative hired and is still sitting there. That is an agency that is rotten to the core! She only cared about money not fixing a broken system. TDCJ was on a international human rights abuse list recently. I can tell you the units I have been on, Crain, Plane State, and Henley are no better than internment camps you see in third world countries. It is time to clean house at TDCJ.
"She only cared about money not fixing a broken system."
That's a tad unfair, do you make employment decisions based in part on income? She was a reporter in a small, company town (Huntsville) who went to work for the company like most everybody else who lived there. Not sure how much you can condemn her for avarice; IMO that's not the main story here.
Now, do I think she covered up for management while she was there? Sure, that's the job. TDCJ is one of several state agencies (DPS, too) whose PIOs have become more opaque and tight-lipped in the last decade and I don't think anyone else would have been better. PIO at TDCJ doesn't appear to be a particularly empowered position the way it arguably should be in such a vast agency.
Yes, Thanks Grits. Look what happened to her when she did try to expose some truth. Ralph Nader always said, "You can never chance an institution from the inside." He tried and learned his lesson the hard way.
Nader's comment was , "You can never CHANGE an institution from the inside."
Grits,
Yep you were right about my harsh words. She did cover for management but at the end of the day, I believe it was about money, i.e., lawsuit being filed when she felt she was wronged and not really about fixing a broken system a system of deceit.
Ethics is seriously lacking in TDCJ. As brought up by ANON 9:51, even the Chairman of the TBCJ tried to push falsified documents to get his sister-in-law appointed to the TBCJ. Michelle was a great small town reporter who helped keep TDCJ somewhat honest.
I have watched TDCJ for over two decades and only a hand full of people have made on honest attempt to change the culture of retaliation and good ole boy politics in the agency. People like Michelle Lyons, Mike Ward, and Senator John Whitmire have help put a dent in this broken down agency. We need a new generation to lead the charge against the corrupt politics in TDCJ. It's sad the Federal courts couldn't even put a dent in the corruption or change the culture of this agency. it truly is sad TDCJ was on the United Nations Committee Against Torture list as of their convention in Geneva in November.
It's sad even the wardens in the agency are too stupid to see how underpaid they are compared to entry level positions in other agencies and yet many of them ride blindly with their company man loyalty.
Thank you Michelle Lyons, from my involvement with TDCJ and other agency's we need a lot of accountability and investigations. This is not rehabilitation for wrong doing, it is pure REVENUE.
Jan! Good to see you - hope you and yours are doing OK :)
Anon 7.04 The TDCJ Wardens are not stupid - where else can you get paid to have your own little castle and minions, where your word is law, and you don't have to work a 9-5?
Ms Lyons did the job she was paid to do. I'm not sure how she can sleep at night, knowing what she has said over the years, but that's her issue now.
Having retired from TDCJ, I would like to say a couple of things. Frist and foremost TDCJ is not being held accountable to the people of Texas. Secondly any agency that has different rules from unit to unit is a train wreck waiting to happen. Thirdly the good old boy system needs to be gotten rid of. As for Ms Lyons she was paid to do pr for TDCJ. Glad she got a settlement, because a system agency cannot do that!
Look at the stature of Collier- can you say "napolean" sawed off wimp etc... etc.., livingston is nothing but a bean counter from jump street, very little working and personal contact experience with human employees. I wonder if he stays on state time when he suffers one of his "migraine" attacks, if these individuals (livingston and collier) were liable for an injustice then they should be personably responsible for payment of damages not the tax payers of Texas, deduct the monetary settlement from their wages until the judgement is statisfied.
I think unless you have worked for the agency and seen the dirt from the inside, then you can't even began to know what michelle went through. I work for the system over 20 years and i have seen all kinds of dirt on gray side and white side. congrats on your win i hope you can feel better now michelle and you know like i know that dirt will always be there and continue on and when Jason Clark does something the agency dont like or makes a oops, he will be in your seat, and come to you saying can you help me let the answer be yes, because some people are just blinded by ignorance and the more people that see the dirt the better.
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