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Commenter tells Texas Workforce Commission she was denied a fair appeal hearing and contested a written reprimand
Summary
A public commenter, Christy Lawrence, addressed the Texas Workforce Commission during public comment to dispute findings in her appeal and to say she refused to sign a written reprimand she called false; she said the board and hearing officer dismissed evidence and that personnel policies were being misapplied.
Christy Lawrence told the Texas Workforce Commission during public comment that she believes the hearing officer and board dismissed evidence in her appeal and that a written reprimand placed in her personnel file contained false allegations. "She was not truthful throughout the whole hearing. I do not believe that is a fair hearing," Lawrence said, referring to testimony she said she could not effectively challenge.
Lawrence said she submitted exhibits (identified in her remarks as Exhibit C-3, C-4 and C-5) in November 2023 that were dismissed as "false allegations," and alleged the office manager altered the reprimand so that a final paragraph implied she had resigned if she refused to sign. "I refused to sign it because this is not her first time doing this," Lawrence said, adding that the reprimand could affect pay increases and promotions under the employer's personnel policy.
She asked the commission to note that, in her view, the board's grievance decision may have been influenced by the assertion that she had resigned. Lawrence closed by saying she believed that if she had the opportunity to appear before the board, the reprimand and the termination could have been addressed differently: "If I had the opportunity to had gone before the board, I believe they would not had allowed her to terminate me, and I would still have my job."
