WEST HAVEN — A union president terminated from her job as a registered nurse in the VA Connecticut health care system has filed a grievance alleging that it was an act of retaliation from management.
Sandra Salmon, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 2138, has brought whistleblower reports from within the system to federal authorities, including allegations of illegal hiring practices within the VA Connecticut system that spurred a U.S. Office of Special Counsel investigation against the system’s new director. She said her job performance came under intense scrutiny in the two years after she was elected president of the union, in sharp contrast to the plaudits she received for almost two decades prior.
“In my first 20 years there have been no behavioral issues, and in the last two years I have all these behavioral issues,” Salmon said. “They hate me because I’m effective, so what they really want is to get me out of the union.”
Salmon was hired to the VA Hospital in West Haven in June 2001 and was elected as president of the union in May 2020.
Salmon was terminated on Aug. 26 on charges that she did not complete a required training and licensure program on time, that she violated the procedures around paid leave and that she violated a hospital policy around video recording in the building.
Salmon, who remains in her role as president of the union, said these violations stem from harassment she received from management as she was not allowed on campus without a police escort and had work devices confiscated.
Due to the ongoing nature of Salmon’s grievance, a spokeswoman for the VA Connecticut healthcare system declined to comment on specific charges and claims made in the grievance.
“All federal employees are entitled to due process to resolve issues related to workplace performance and conduct. As this is an ongoing case, we are unable to respond at this time,” the statement said.
Salmon said she was placed on leave after she was referred to a therapist at the hospital and spoke to a social worker during her intake where she made reference to the tense atmosphere among staff.
“I said that I could see how someone would slit somebody’s throat,” Salmon said. She said that the comment was escalated up the chain of command and claims it was distorted into a direct threat against hospital management, which was used to place her on leave.
“They did it to gain an advantage against me,” Salmon said.
Salmon said she was unable to complete her required training because, upon being placed on leave by management, she was not given access to work devices and was barred from entering the campus. While banned from campus, she said she was provided with a work phone that could accept incoming calls but would not make outgoing calls.
“They would give me access one day, then they take it and I’d fight for it, then they’d give it back to me one day. That’s how they are playing these games until they give me access not at all,” she said. “These are all power games at my expense to my reputation.”
In her termination letter, Deputy Chief Medical Officer Craig Coldwell said he did “not see evidence of a good faith effort” from Salmon to participate in the required trainings.
Salmon admits to one of the charges against her in her termination — that she videotaped within the hospital while receiving her flu shot. She said that, because she was required to be accompanied by a police escort on campus, she intended on filming her interactions out of concern for her personal safety as a woman of color.
The grievance seeks to have…
Read More: Terminated VA system whistleblower, union president alleges retaliation