Disclosing discipline records would identify ‘dead wood’ government workers, backer says
A bill to make reasons for discipline of teachers, state employees and other government workers public record was revived in a committee of the North Carolina state legislature this week and could soon be headed to the floor of the Senate for a vote.
“This bill was never intended to do but one thing, and that is to make North Carolina a more transparent state as far as its employees are concerned,” bill sponsor Sen. Norman Sanderson said during a committee meeting Tuesday.
Republicans are the bill’s sponsors and supporters. So far Democrats have been publicly opposed, though not many are willing to talk about it yet. The North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association is in favor of it, but there is union opposition from the State Employees Association of North Carolina and the North Carolina Association of Educators.
“This bill is going to hurt working people in a real way,” Suzanne Beasley of SEANC said Wednesday in a committee “... It chips away at the morale on the job.”
This is at least the fourth time in three decades that North Carolina lawmakers considered making employee records more public, including a 2010 law that made public whether the workers had been suspended or demoted. The new legislation would require governments to provide a general description of discipline, as the law already does for promotions.
If the new bill is passed, general descriptions for demotions, dismissals, transfers, suspensions and job separations would become public. It would apply to all state employees, local government employees and public-school employees.
A majority of other states make the information public.
Sanderson, a Pamlico County Republican, made some changes during earlier committee meetings this spring after lawmakers and lobbyists shared concerns.
The description for a demotion would not be public until the affected employee has gone through the appeals and grievance process. An earlier change to the bill would have made it public 30 days later, but in this latest version, the timeline was dropped. Sanderson told The N&O that a deadline wasn’t needed.
Sen. Paul Newton, a Cabarrus County Republican, said that “the number one demoralizing factor for high performing employees is low performing employees not being dealt with.” He said that employees are demoralized by co-workers who don’t do their fair share but are paid the same amount or more.
“One thing this bill will do is it will help weed out poor performers,” Newton said. He said it would “identify those people who are simply dead wood.”
Discipline records came up in the legislature in 1997, when Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper was then a state lawmaker. He sponsored the “Discipline Disclosure Act,” however it did not pass. In May, Cooper told The N&O that the pending legislation is “an issue we ought to work on. It’s complicated.”
Sanderson said Tuesday “it’s a right to know” situation about disclosing the records. He said it should be a priority in the state.
Sen. Mujtaba Mohammed, a Mecklenburg County Democrat, was concerned about state employees’ recruitment and pay. He said he wanted to “make sure our state is welcoming to folks.”
John Bussian, a Raleigh-based media lawyer who serves as legislative counsel to the North Carolina Press Association, called it a “culture of secrecy versus a culture of openness.” [The News & Observer, Charlotte Observer and Herald-Sun are members of NCPA.]
“Nobody’s running away from those jobs, and ... those laws have been on the books for 50 years, so what’s wrong with North Carolina?” Bussian said.
Phil Lucey, executive director of the North Carolina Press Association, called the change in the law the “bare minimum.”
“We think that this is a very simple step that brings us in line with almost 35 other states,” he said.
Sen. Wiley Nickel, a Wake County Democrat, is opposed to the bill. He told The N&O after the meeting Wednesday that he’s been hearing concerns from SEANC, NCAE and the AFL-CIO that it would hurt morale and the legislature should be focused on better pay and benefits for state employees.
He plans to vote “no,” but said that “maybe there’s a middle ground.”
“I’ve heard from some folks it might not get out of the House — even if it gets out of the Senate it may not get out of the House,” Nickel said.
What was once Senate Bill 355, the Government Transparency Act, became the new version of House Bill 64, which was previously about NC Works membership. It is now bound for the Rules Committee that is the final gatekeeper on the way to a vote on the Senate floor.
For more North Carolina government and politics news, listen to the Under the Dome politics podcast from The News & Observer and the NC Insider. You can find it at link.chtbl.com/underthedomenc or wherever you get your podcasts.
This story was originally published June 9, 2021 at 5:19 PM.
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