Arizona Governor Doug Ducey Fires State Department of Economic Security Director Tim Jeffries
On Wednesday, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey fired Tim Jeffries, the man he'd appointed as director of the state's Department of Economic Security. The grounds for dismissal: Jeffries' mass firings of workers, which were first reported last year by Phoenix New Times.
Jeffries, who received an annual salary of $215,250, had served for 633 days before he submitted his resignation under pressure from Ducey. A businessman and friend to Ducey who had no prior experience running a state agency, Jeffries had come under increasing fire in recent weeks for the terminations, which at times appeared unjustified or even reckless.
The DES is one of the state's largest agencies, with about 7,700 employees, and mainly helps administer welfare, food-stamp, and unemployment-benefit programs.
Following a tip, New Times broke the story in October 2015 that the new director had fired 72 people he deemed "bullies," "liars," "slackers," and "bad actors," claiming they all had "multiple black marks" on their records. New Times followed the article, which received nationwide attention, with stories that detailed how some employees had apparently been fired without a good reason.
Read more: http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/arizona-governor-doug-ducey-fires-state-des-director-tim-jeffries-8849467
