January 24, 2012 Ohio prison guard fired after making threats about the governor on Facebook www.privateofficer.com
TURTLECREEK TWP.Jan 24 2012 — A prison guard at Lebanon Correctional Institution was terminated this week after making threats about the governor, but the guard claims such statements were made in jest.
Jessie Hubbard, who lives in Trenton, was fired Tuesday, following an internal investigation into a posting Hubbard made on a social networking site, according to personnel records obtained by this newspaper.
Hubbard posted “Ok we got Bin Laden … let’s go get Kasich next. Who’s with me?” on his Facebook page, according to Hubbard’s termination notice.
Hubbard’s posting violated several rules of conduct, including threatening, intimidating or coercing another employee or a member of the general public; actions that could compromise or impair the ability of an employee to effectively carry out his/her duties as a public employee; and an act that would bring discredit to the employer.
Hubbard said he made the post in May but it was part of a joking conversations made amongst friends regarding the controversy surrounding Senate Bill 5, which would have greatly limited the power of unions. Hubbard is a member of a union. Hubbard said the post was never meant to be taken seriously and was taken out of context.
Hubbard said a “disgruntled co-worker” reported the posting in September, months after he had made the post, and that he had been on paid administrative leave for four months while the prison investigated it. He also noted the issue was turned over to the Warren County Prosecutor’s Office, which had declined to prosecute him.
“I feel like they just wanted to make an example out of me, for some reason,” Hubbard said. “At no time did I ever mean it as anything other than a joke.”
Hubbard has been an employee of LCI since 1997, according to his records. He was twice named Employee of the Month at the facility. He was given a rating of “satisfactory” in his last employee evaluation, conducted in April 2011.
Hubbard is appealing the termination.
Source:coxohio.com.
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