Ex-Dann worker is entitled to jobless benefits, panel says

By David Skolnick

The former employee wants to return to work even if it’s for less money.

YOUNGSTOWN — An Ohio Unemployment Compensation Review Commission hearing officer ruled the state attorney general’s office fired a Campbell man “without just cause.”

The attorney general’s office had contested paying unemployment to Lonnie M. Jones, fired March 28 during the Marc Dann administration.

Jones worked as a claims account representative in the attorney general’s Youngstown office beginning Dec. 3, 2007, earning $31,678.40 annually. He began receiving his unemployment checks of about $300 a week ago Tuesday.

Nadine S. Pettiford, a review commission hearing officer, stated Jones was entitled to unemployment benefits.

The office fired Jones three days before his 120-day probation period in the job ended, claiming he failed to meet the minimum qualifications for the post. The attorney general’s office contended he didn’t deserve to receive unemployment checks because he was fired with cause during his probationary period.

Pettiford criticized the attorney general’s office in a four-page decision for not giving Jones a training manual when he was first hired as well as failing to be told of his job expectations or how to do the work.

“Insufficient evidence was presented to establish that the expectations were reasonable, and that [Jones] was not performing the required work,” she wrote.

Jones said his problems occurred because he was harassed by female supervisors at the Youngstown office.

“I knew I wasn’t wrong,” he said. “They set me up to fail because they didn’t like me. They trained others. I should be able to do my job in peace and harmony.”

Jones, 61, said he wants to return to the attorney general’s Youngstown office. He’s willing to take a different job, a pay cut and wants to work there for about a year and then retire.

That doesn’t seem to fit in with the attorney general office’s plans, however.

“We do not agree with the hearing officer’s position,” said Ted Hart, an AG spokesman. “Mr. Jones was terminated during his probationary period. We are contesting the hearing officer’s decision and we’ll be appealing.”

Jones also filed complaints with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Youngstown Human Relations Commission claiming discrimination based on his age, his sex and his race. If Jones, who is black, was rehired, he said he’d drop the complaints.

The attorney general’s office has seen a great deal of turmoil in the past few months.

Sexual harassment complaints from two female workers escalated to a scandal in the office that resulted in the firing of two top staffers, the forced resignation of another, Dann’s resignation as well as about a half-dozen high-level administrators in the office quitting.

Jones, who worked for 30 years at Delphi Packard Electric in Warren, knew Dann before working for him. Jones said Dann was his attorney on a custody issue involving his son.

Jones said he decided to seek a job with Dann’s office after hearing him on a Youngstown radio show talk about hiring people with college degrees. Jones has a bachelor’s degree in business from Youngstown State University.

Jones contends Dann, who spent a lot of time at the Youngstown office when he was attorney general, was probably aware of the problems, but he doesn’t blame Dann for them.

“He’s a decent guy,” Jones said of Dann.

skolnick@vindy.com