LITTLE ROCK — The state Highway Commission voted Wednesday to terminate the state Highway and Transportation Department’s longtime chief counsel.
Robert Wilson was suspended with pay in September pending an internal investigation into a longtime practice allowing employees in the legal department a half-day off, with pay, every three weeks.
The practice was detailed in a state audit presented to lawmakers in September.
The audit found that employees within the division were paid for 2,520 hours they did not work between July 1, 2007 and Dec. 31, 2009. Based on the average hourly rate of the division employees, the improper pay totaled $73,891, according to the audit.
The five-member Highway Commission voted unanimously Wednesday to end Wilson’s decades-long employment with the agency, action recommended by state Highway Director Scott Bennett. The decision came on the same day civil rights lawyer John Walker handed out subpoenas to the highway commissioners in a lawsuit Wilson has filed.
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After the vote, Bennett declined comment on his recommendation to fire Wilson. Highway Commission Chairman Madison Murphy of El Dorado said highway officials had been advised not to discuss the matter.
“I think on the advice of counsel, probably we don’t need to address the specifics,” Murphy said. “You’re clearly aware that we were served earlier today, and I think because it’s a matter of pending litigation, it probably behooves us not to comment any further.”
Wilson did not attend Wednesday’s meeting and could not be reached for comment.
Walker said in an interview that he was not surprised by the commission’s actions.
“He had already been terminated for all practical purposes by putting him on unpaid leave,” Walker said.
Randy Ort, spokesman for the Department of Highways and Transportation, said Wednesday that Wilson’s suspension with pay lasted “40 some odd days” until Bennett determined that Wilson was not cooperating with an internal investigation into the audit findings.
“Everything was predicated on Mr. Wilson’s lack of participation,” Ort said.
Wilson’s federal lawsuit, filed Nov. 30, alleges that Wilson was suspended and effectively fired because he is black and spoke out against discriminatory practices. The suit, which names the state highway director and all five highway commissioners as defendants, seeks Wilson’s reinstatement, back pay and a declaration of unlawful discrimination.
Wilson told lawmakers during a Legislative Joint Auditing Committee meeting in September that the practice of giving legal department employees a half-day off, with pay, every three weeks dated back to 1989 and had been recommended by his supervisors, including recently retired state Highway Director Dan Flowers, who was an assistant director at the time.
Wilson told lawmakers the arrangement was set after some on the legal staff filed complaints against him because they were upset at having to work late hours and still be required to report to work the next morning at their regular time.