Tampa Bay jobs chief Edward Peachey’s firing upended
Zachary T. SampsonTimes staff writer
Published: March 6, 2018
Updated: March 6, 2018 at 11:03 AM
Edward Peachey is back –– for now.
The decisions to fire Pinellas and Hillsborough counties’ jobs chief have been temporarily put on hold over the threat of a lawsuit, thrusting the agencies into further disarray amid state and federal investigations.
The executive committees of CareerSource Pinellas and CareerSource Tampa in Hillsborough, both of which Peachey served as president and CEO, voted to remove him last week over allegations that the agencies have inflated their job placement numbers in reports to the state. But members of both committees have invoked a rule to require a vote by the full board of each agency to decide Peachey’s fate.
In Pinellas board member Lenne’ Nicklaus has sought the vote by the full board. In Hillsborough, County Commissioner Sandra Murman made a similar request.
The Pinellas board is set to meet March 21 and Hillsborough is set to meet March 22.
“I feel that if we’re getting sued, I want the whole board to be a part of that,” Nicklaus said Monday. “I don’t want it to be just the executive board making that decision.”
Murman, in Hillsborough, was disappointed her fellow executive committee members voted to give Peachey severance despite the allegations swirling around the agency. She too felt like the decision should go up for a wider vote.
“It needs to go to the full board so everyone is held accountable,” said Murman, who still supports Peachey’s firing.
Pinellas board chair Jack Geller said he respected Nicklaus’ decision to seek a full board vote but was in “total shock” because she supported the firing last week
“She voted for it at the meeting,” Geller said.
Peachey now is still on paid leave in Pinellas and on unpaid leave in Hillsborough until a final decision is made. He had been suspended by both boards before the committees voted to fire him.
Nicklaus said she has not spoken to Peachey but would like to hear from him, not his attorney, about numerous allegations of mismanagement and what a state inspector general has called possible criminal activity.
“I think he should speak to the board and address some of the issues and explain it because we have not heard from him,” Nicklaus said. She said she still stands by voting to fire him.
Last week, another Pinellas board member, Kim Marston, exercised a similar option to void the executive committee’s decision to give Peachey up to five months pay in a settlement in Pinellas. The Hillsborough board also voted for a similar severance package.
The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity is reviewing whether Peachy would be subject to a state law that limits public employees to six weeks of severance.
Both agencies receive millions in tax dollars each year to train and connect people to work. Last month, the Tampa Bay Times reported that the jobs centers took credit for finding work for thousands of people who did not seek help from the centers.
Current and former employees have said Peachey also had a romantic relationship with a top administrator, Haley Loeun, whose pay rose dramatically as three of her relatives joined the agencies. Louen was fired two weeks ago.
The state DEO launched an investigation in January when the Times asked questions about CareerSource hiring figures. The U.S. Department of Labor and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement have since joined the inquiry.
