Coles/Douglas Co. – (ECWd) –
We recently requested input on a matter regarding when a person’s pay stops (article here). That question has direct ties to our original article regarding the City of Mattoon hiring a former Arcola Police officer who was going to be terminated for a laundry list of alleged wrongdoing, as covered in the article at this link.
More to the story:
The letter issued to Officer Roley identified key facts.
- He was placed on leave on January 11, 2023.
- He would receive payment through January 16, 2023, the date he may be terminated by a vote of the board.
- He could end his employment by resigning to avoid being terminated.
Officer Roley took the resignation option as reflected in his resignation letter dated January 12, 2023, which was effective immediately, as is crystal clear in this letter.
An employee’s resignation letter, indicating it is effective immediately, stops all future pay as it relates to their employment. There is no need for the public body to approve the resignation.
Officer Roley took the path to resign on January 12, 2023, rather than stay on leave and continue getting paid and risk being terminated on January 16, 2023.
What was one of the determinations by the Chairman of the police committee as it relates to Roley?
(i) The falsification of any work-related records, the making of misleading entries or statements with the intent to deceive, or the willful and unauthorized destruction and/or mutilation of any department record, book, paper or document. (emphasis added)
Roley signed his timecard for the pay period of January 3-16, 2023. Considering he resigned on January 12, 2023, he did not work for the city of Arcola past that date. Can anyone explain how a person who resigned gets away with signing a timecard indicating he worked 8 hours on the 13th, 14th, and 15th of January, 2023?
Is this a “work related record” that is false? Does it contain “misleading entries“?
Article 8, Section 1 of our state constitution outlines that public funds, property, and credit shall only be used for a public purpose. What was the public purpose of paying a person who submitted a timecard indicating he worked 8 hours on those days when his own resignation letter indicates he ended his employment prior to those dated entries?
Who approved pay for 8 hours a day of work when the person was no longer an employee?
Can we all agree that he ended his employment on January 12, 2023, with the submission of his resignation letter?
On January 13, 2023, Roley signed an application for employment with the City of Mattoon Police Department. This application can be viewed at this link.
Roley marked “YES” to “Currently Employed“. Is this not a false entry? He resigned on the 12th of January, thus no longer employed, and then a day later applied with the City of Mattoon and claims he is employed. To most folks, that would indicate a false statement.
I contacted Mattoon Police Chief Gains regarding what appears to be a false entry on the application. According to Chief Gains, “He was still employed and being paid by the city of Arcola when he completed the application on the 13th. It’s my understanding the city of Arcola accepted his resignation at a council meeting on 1/16.”
While we agree he was being paid by Arcola the day he completed the application, we disagree that he was still employed on that day because he resigned the day before. In regard to Arcola accepting his resignation on the 16th, while true, they did; such approval was meaningless, as there is no statutory provision that a city employee’s resignation must be accepted. He self-terminated his employment on the 12th of January, 2023, and any claim that he was employed after that date would be false.
The work history portion of the application states: “Reason for Leaving”.
Roley entered “Career advancement options.”
While such a claim of “Career advancement options” could be true, isn’t the actual reason for leaving because he resigned to avoid being terminated?
Another interesting point on his application with Mattoon is the fact that he did not list anything related to his Coles County Sheriff’s office work history that he included in his application for employment with Arcola.
With the above details brought to light, it would appear the Arcola Police Committee Chairman’s findings, which were outlined in the letter issued to Roley January 11, 2023, appear to be on point as it relates to the allegation of (i) The falsification of any work related records, the making of misleading entries or statements with the intent to deceive, or the willful and unauthorized destruction and/or mutilation of any department record, book, paper or document. (emphasis added).
Our question for the public:
- Was Officer Roley employed on January 13, 2023?
- Did Officer Roley leave his employment for Career Advancement Options, or was it because he was going to be terminated?
- What do you call it when a timecard is signed alleging hours worked on days you’re no longer employed?
Please post your response in the comment section.
Thanks!
3 Responses
If he signed a resignation letter that clearly states January 12th was the date of his resignation,and then signed his time card for duties performed until the 16th would clearly show a lack of competency or blatant fraud. Did he perform his duties on those days or did he defraud us ?? The fact that he states he was employed when in fact he was not clearly shows a pattern of deceptive behavior and should have flagged on his background check !!! I expect better from law enforcement,!!
He resigned on January 12, but the signed timecard, in particular, makes this somewhat debatable. Any litigation would probably cost much more than a few days’ pay. I feel torn between wanting every law fully enforced and recognizing that saving public funds, in itself, serves a public purpose.
Regarding “Career Advancement Options” or his pending termination, two things can be true at the same time. He was clearly trying to make lemonade out of that lemon.
No, he’s was no longer employed on the Jan 13th as his letter dated on Jan 12th stated that he was resigning immediately.
No, he did not leave for Career Advancement but because he was going to be terminated.
He falsified his time card which is stealing. Just like the Sanford, FL police officer of 23 years of service charged with falsifying his time sheets.