May 17: Arbitrator upholds firing absent MnDOT employee

By JEFF SHELMAN, Star Tribune

Last update: November 7, 2008 - 11:12 AM

The former Minnesota Department of Transportation emergency management director, who was out of the state for 10 days after the collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge, won't be getting her job back.

An arbitrator ruled this week that the state was justified in firing Sonia Morphew Pitt.

She was placed on leave by the state in early September. In November, she was fired for unauthorized travel, making excessive personal calls on her MnDOT cell phone and conduct unbecoming to the agency.

Pitt was at a seminar at Harvard University when the 35W bridge collapsed on Aug. 1, killing 13 and injuring more than 100. After the seminar, she traveled to Washington, D.C., and didn't return to Minnesota until Aug. 11. Pitt contended she was able to perform her duties from there.

"In short, Ms. Pitt failed to justify her presence in Washington, D.C., following the bridge collapse," arbitrator Christine D. Ver Ploeg wrote in her ruling. "Just because Ms. Pitt was able to do portions of her job remotely does not mean that it made no difference where she was."

Ver Ploeg's decision "affirms our position that serious misconduct cannot be tolerated in the state's workforce," Patricia Anderson, state Employee Relations commissioner, said.

Pitt's attorney, John Fabian, noted the arbitrator's decision "also exonerates Ms. Pitt with respect to" several reasons the state gave for her termination.

Jeff Shelman • 612-673-7478

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