For years, women in the Republican Party swapped stories of Pima County Supervisor Ray Carroll’s bullying abuse. So, when Supervisor Ally Miller’s employees reported similar complaints, no one was really surprised.
And no one, who has lived in the County very long, was surprised when the County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry sent out a memo from his staff regarding a finding that the employees’ claims about bullying were not actionable. Everyone knows that no one is held accountable for anything unless, of course, Chuck and his cronies determine that it is your turn under the bus.
However, nearly everyone was surprised when the Arizona Daily Star reported that one of the employees, Joe Cuffari, recanted and was now claiming that Carroll’s bullying never occurred. If fact Cuffari claimed Miller made him file the complaint and then the crack County public relations team pointed out that he had received a raise as prima facie evidence of something nefarious.
They were most likely surprised because the Star left out key facts about Cuffari and Huckelberry. Cuffari was terminated by Miller on August 26th. Normally, a terminated employee would be paid through the end of that day.
Miller believed that to be the case with Cuffari until she discovered differently. It turns out that nothing was normal. Joe Cuffari was not the average Joe in the County. He was paid, as per Chuck Huckelberry’s orders, through September 1, having been placed on administrative leave with pay.
On September 2, Cuffari started his new job as a ‘Flood Hydrologist.’ The hiring could not be prima facie evidence of anything nefarious.
It is just the Pima County way, and what else would you expect? After all Chuck Huckelberry is close friends with the Cuffari Family, neighbors of his parents and was present at the young man’s wedding.
For those who have tried to get a plum job with the County, and nearly all jobs with the County are plum because they are some of the only jobs in the 8th poorest metropolitan area in the country, the likelihood of scoring a job immediately after being terminated is slim to none.
“Joe Cuffari, an administrative assistant, was terminated from my office on August 26th yet my staff later discovered, after speaking with Human Resources, that the County Administrator had directed Mr. Cuffari to be paid on Administrative leave following his termination. On September 2nd Joe Cuffari had a new title as a ‘Flood Hydrologist’ and has been working in the Flood Department since that time. I wasn’t too surprised to discover this as it is well known that Chuck Huckelberry is close friends with the Cuffari family, neighbors of his parents and attended Joe Cuffari’s wedding,” Miller said.
As for claims of directing Cuffari to file a complaint against Carroll, Miller stated, “In no way did I direct him to file a bullying complaint against Supervisor Carroll and it appears they both forgot to address the fact that Max Daffron, a graduate student in my office, was present during the April 15th incident when Supervisor Carroll tried to corner Cuffari in an elevator. I was actually stunned when I got a copy of the HR report which described the number of times Cuffari had negative encounters with Supervisor Carroll and was completely unaware of how many times Carroll had tried to intimidate Joe. If you read the HR report, it’s fairly easy to see who is telling the truth.”
Maxwell Daffron said, “I was present on multiple occasions when Supervisor Carroll confronted Mr. Cuffari in a hostile manner. The most notable occasion was after the April 15th meeting when he attempted to corner Mr. Cuffari in the elevator and I was forced to intervene. I was shocked to learn that not only was Joe Cuffari meeting with Supervisor Carroll after he was terminated but also that he went so far as to insinuate the claims were false and he was forced to file an actual complaint. He must not have remembered that I was present and that we both decided together to file a Human resources complaint after the elevator incident had occurred.”
In April 2013, the Pima County Board of Supervisor voted to approve an anti-bullying policy to “prevent, identify and address workplace bullying,” according to the Workplace Bullying Institute.
According to the Institute, Pima County’s policy leaves staff vulnerable to further abuse.
In their study of the County’s policy, the Institute made note of the weaknesses of the policy:
• There is a stated requirement that employees and witnesses MUST report incidents. This will help break the silence surrounding bullying, but it also is certain to trigger retaliation for reporting. The policy inadvertently ensures retaliation of workers who might have chosen to remain silent and safe.
• HR is central to implementation of the policy. Managers must report incidents to HR. HR must investigate. HR is instructed to conduct thorough and impartial investigations. Unfortunately, the track record tells another story about HR capabilities.
• The County Administrator (CEO-equivalent) determines fate of alleged bully after HR reports results of its investigation. This is very problematic. The big boss should never have the final say. CEOs are often the executive sponsors for manager-bullies. They have a terrible record of not holding bully-friends accountable. Workers groan knowing that the bully is unlikely to suffer punishment while the target and witnesses are retaliated against.
• “Appointing Authorities will take appropriate corrective action with any employee(s) found to have violated this policy.” This is deliberately ambiguous which allows each case to be settled without following strict guidelines. One manager may discipline a confirmed offender; another may reward her or him. Adjudication on a “case-by-case” basis opens the door to favoritism, something bullied county workers know all too well.
“I said from the beginning that I was innocent of any charge of bullying or intimidation,” Carroll told the Star. “I continued to proclaim my innocence. Now I’m vindicated.”
The bullying complaint filed by Supervisor Miller was on behalf of four employees who had alleged bullying behavior by Carroll.
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