The long standing rumor is now fact as First District Supervisor Andrew Do has named Brian Probolsky as his Chief of Staff. Do’s choice is telling for a couple of reasons. He has selected a CoS who doesn’t reside in the first district and isn’t Vietnamese, but is solidly Republican. And Probolsky’s management style will be one to watch given that he was just sanctioned by the County of Orange for timecard abuses and making political threats against the County’s human resources department. News of Probolsky’s appointment came in via LinkedIn, a social networking site.
Now, Probolsky will be managing staff and having to closely interact with the county’s HR department.
From the Voice of OC story on the sanctions, this: “Orange County officials have sanctioned an influential OC GOP insider, Brian Probolsky, for attending weekday meetings as an elected official with the Moulton Niguel Water District board member last year while also on the clock in his job as a business practices manager at the county’s Community Resources Department (OCCR), according to sources knowledgeable about a completed human resources investigation into the matter.
Probolsky, who had been on loan to former Supervisor Pat Bates since July from OCCR and also briefly worked for Supervisor Lisa Bartlett in December, didn’t show any time off on his county timecard for water district meetings, according to sources.”
According to sources, Probolsky has in turn, spent the last six months confronting human resources investigators about their probe, fighting back while under questioning and even threatening investigators with political retribution given his posts with county supervisors.”
As Do’s Chief of Staff, Probolsky is in a prime position to make good on political threats made. His conduct and management style will be worth watching in the months ahead. And the issue of Probolsky’s timecard issues are going to be checked regularly by sources within the County of Orange who have promised to alert us to new abuses of his dual role in Do’s office and the Moulton Niguel Water District.
Probolsky’s sanctions were the most serious punishment levied on a county supervisor’s staff since 4th District Supervisor Shawn Nelson fired aide David Zenger in 2013 and former Santa Ana city council member Carlos Bustamante resigned in 2011 after being arrested on charges of sexual assault of staffers in his office. That trial will begin later this year.
Zenger filed a legal claim against the county seeking a six figure job or a million dollars and an apology, which county officials dismissed. The deadline for filing a lawsuit based on Zenger’s claims has since expired with no lawsuit filed.
From the story:
Nelson disputed that Zenger was fired because he was a whistleblower instead saying he was insubordinate and disrespectful.
“Dave worked hard to investigate any and every issue that came on the agenda and he did a great job,” Nelson said. “But his dismissal had nothing to do with that.”
“His ability to do investigative work is what kept him around not what formed the basis for his dismissal,” Nelson added.
“It was personal between Dave and I. He was disrespectful to me repeatedly,” Nelson said.
From an LA Times story on the Bustamante case: Last fall, an anonymous letter and a call to the county’s fraud hotline triggered more probes. Bustamante was placed on paid administrative leave Sept. 13 and resigned Oct. 4, but continued to receive three months of severance pay, according to the county human resources department. Bustamante is currently a Santa Ana city councilman.
Probolsky’s threats against County HR represent something the entire Board of Directors should address at their next meeting.
Um I think they are all exempt employees and don’t punch a time clock and this shouldn’t be about political party affiliation. Would someone from SHRM or a good employee rights/labor law attorney please speak up on this as the law is very clear. As salaried employees if they show up for one hour, they get a full days pay but on the other hand, if they work 15 hour days and weekends too, no overtime. They are paid for the value of their work. Do you know of any congressional staffers who pump up their paycheck with overtime? No it doesn’t work that way as aides to elected officials are exempt under FLSA. Period! Puhhleez read the law on this.
should they be paid for making political threats to staff? Should they have been rewarded with what amounts to a promotion?