Health And Welfare Retreats From No-Visitation Policy

The state Health and Welfare Department is backing away from a memo sent to employees this month that appeared to order them not to visit the Legislature on their own time.

“We certainly don’t want to limit a department employee’s ability to interact with the Legislature during non-business hours,” said department spokesman David Ensunsa.

The memo, from Betty Osborn, administrative assistant to Health and Welfare Director Linda Caballero, said, “Complaint has been received that too many Health & Welfare staff are walking around in the Capitol; only assigned staff are to be at the Capitol. Some staff are ‘roaming the halls’ prior to the work day.

“If you need something from ‘across the street,”’ the memo said, one of four designated Health and Welfare employees should be contacted.

It also stated, “Please inform all your staff they must notify a task force team member prior to going to the Capitol for whatever reason.”

Rep. Marvin Vandenberg, D-Coeur d’Alene, said he was angered by the memo. “It’s making second-class citizens of some state employees,” he said. “That’s putting a muzzle on a certain class of our population, and I don’t like that.”

Ensunsa said the memo was intended only to make sure the department’s official contacts with the Legislature are organized and effective. “It wasn’t meant as a warning, but simply a reminder that unless staff has specific reasons to be there during business hours, that we need some sort of control on that process.”

, DataTimes