Washington Blade - December 19, 2003
Lou Chibbaro Jr.

Michael Snoddy, a public health analyst at HAA since 1998, alleges in his lawsuit that DOH and HAA officials violated the city's Whistleblower Protection Act by orchestrating a pretext to downgrade his job performance rating because of his Council testimony.

The suit, which seeks $2 million in damages, alleges that the officials also targeted him for retaliation because they believe he leaked information to the press about other internal problems at HAA prior to the May 15 Council hearing.

The suit was filed in D.C. Superior Court on Sept. 26. Snoddy and his attorney, Mindy Daniels, did not announce to the press and the public that the suit had been filed until last week.

Snoddy's suit names as defendants James Buford, director of the Department of Health; Ronald Lewis, the DOH chief operating officer and the former director of HAA; and Ivan Torres, interim HAA director. It also names as defendants Felicia Lynch, HAA's director of health and support services; Brenda Crowder-Gaines, HAA's deputy director of health and support services; and Henry Bishop, coordinator of one of the city's Ryan White AIDS assistance programs. Bishop served as Snoddy's immediate supervisor.

"Plaintiff, Michael Snoddy, alleges that he was intimidated and threatened, that his job performance was downgraded, that concerns about his job performance were lodged wrongfully, that his civil and constitutional rights were violated, and that he was defamed and retaliated against for protected disclosures he made to the public, press and the D.C. Council," the suit states.

Vera Jackson, a spokesperson for the DOH, of which HAA is a part, declined to comment on the Snoddy lawsuit, saying the city never discusses pending litigation.

The D.C. Council passed the Whistleblower Protection Act to encourage city employees to report instances of public corruption, gross mismanagement, misuse of public funds, or illegal actions by government officials or employees. The act makes it illegal for city officials to penalize or retaliate against an employee who invokes the act to disclose wrongdoing or mismanagement in city government agencies.

'Culture of intimidation'

In his Council testimony, Snoddy said that Lewis put in place a "culture of intimidation and fear of retaliation" aimed at discouraging HAA employees from going public about management problems that Snoddy claims were widespread within HAA. Snoddy said Lewis and other high-level HAA officials threatened to fire employees if they breached the "confidentiality" of information that could cast HAA in a bad light.

In his lawsuit, Snoddy states that in addition to retaliating against him for his Council testimony, Lewis and other officials may have based their retaliation against him on the belief that he leaked to the press and community groups a highly critical e-mail message about internal problems at HAA. Former HAA employee Ramon Bush, whom Lewis fired and later rehired, wrote the email message.

"Mr. Bush's e-mail alleged, among other things, that sexual harassment at HAA was being ignored, drug dealing took place on HAA premises, and that senior management showed favoritism in handling or ignoring certain personnel matters," Snoddy's lawsuit states.

Snoddy also testified that HAA management retaliated against vendors providing services to people with HIV under city-funded contracts if the vendors criticized HAA.

Lewis denied Snoddy's allegations during his own testimony before the May 15 Council hearing. Lewis said HAA was doing its best, under constraints of a tight city budget, to carry out its mission of helping people with HIV and seeking ways to curtail the spread of the disease. He said he encouraged employees and vendors to question HAA policies and actions in what he called a healthy environment of discussion and debate among his staff.

In response to questions from D.C. Council member David Catania (R-At-Large), Lewis testified at the Council hearing that he rehired Bush, after having fired him for cause, because Bush later acknowledged that the allegations in his e-mail message were based on unconfirmed rumors. Lewis said he felt sorry for Bush and wanted to give him another chance to return to his job.

Catania told Lewis he was skeptical of this explanation and had reason to believe the rehiring was motivated by a desire to encourage Bush to keep quiet about internal problems at HAA.

Snoddy's testimony came at a time when some gay rights and AIDS activists expressed concern that HAA was not adequately disclosing how it was spending its funds to carry out its programs.

In January of this year, D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams announced he had directed the city's Inspector General's office to conduct a review of HAA's finances. The mayor's announcement came after news surfaced that two middle-level HAA officials were implicated in an embezzlement scheme that allegedly led to several million dollars being stolen from the Washington Teacher's Union.

Sources familiar with HAA say the city Inspector General's Office is currently conducting its review of HAA's finances after delaying the start of the review for several months.

Council warned HAA against retaliation

During the Council hearing at which Snoddy testified, D.C. Council member Sandra Allen (D-Ward 8), the chair of the Human Services Committee, and Council members Carol Schwartz (R-At-Large) and Catania urged HAA not to retaliate against Snoddy for his testimony. Catania said during the hearing that he would personally seek to have HAA officials prosecuted for intimidating a Council witness in addition to having them prosecuted for violating the Whistleblower Protection Act if he learned of attempts by HAA to retaliate against Snoddy.

Snoddy's lawsuit states that Snoddy received "excellent" and "outstanding" job performance ratings during the two years prior to his testimony. In the weeks following his testimony, the lawsuit states, HAA officials gave Snoddy a "lesser rating" for his job performance and presented him with a "memorandum of concerns" alleging problems with his performance.

The suit states that the "close proximity" of Snoddy's most recent performance evaluation and the unfavorable memorandum and his D.C. Council testimony indicate the adverse personnel action is linked to his testimony.

"We will have evidence unearthed by this lawsuit that we may be able to use to take action against HAA for intimidating a Council witness," Catania said this week.

Catania said that under D.C. law, the act of intimidating a Council witness is a criminal offense that could be more serious than the non-criminal civil offense of violating the Whistleblower Protection Act.

During the May 15 Council hearing, Buford praised Lewis's work at HAA and announced he had promoted Lewis to the post of chief operating officer for DOH. Buford said he would begin a nationwide search to find a replacement for Lewis at HAA. Torres, who is gay and was named interim director of HAA, has said he is not a candidate for the permanent director's position.

031219
WB031208

Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2003. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.

Copyright ©1980, 2003. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .