cheryljman
Nov 2, 2007, 10:26 AM
Hello I want to know if the incident I addressed below is grounds for a law suit. Please see the below.
Hello,
My name is Cheryl Williams, I work for the Federal Government. I was on detail(working in another state) for what was initially 3 months. During my time there, I was asked to stay an additional three months through October 31st and I agreed to stay. Prior to going to my duty station, my lodging was set up by the administrative assistant. When I reported to my duty station, I was authorized to receive a cash advance by the director for perdiem and lodging costs because my Government Credit Card had not arrived. Upon vouchering against the cash advance I received, I had to reimburse the Administrative Assistant's Government charge card for lodging cost. On Friday, August 3rd, my supervisor(who had recently came of board from another Government Agency) and I was standing in the elevator corridors discussing me moving from the hotel I resided in to an apartment. During our discussion, she asked if I had finalized everything at the hotel and I told her that I had given the hotel notice that I was leaving and the only thing I needed to do was to make certain that the administrative assistant's credit card was squared away. In the midst of the conversation, the Administrative Assistant walks up- I then say to her that we need to get together and reconcile her credit card; she agrees. The supervisor who is still standing there at the time says "I was in a training class on yesterday and learned that it is illegal for a person to use their credit card when they are not in travel status". The administrative assistant replies and says "I was instructed by Lindy(who is the Director) to set up lodging for this lady and that's what I did". The supervisor turned to me and asked if that were true, I told her that it must have been because prior to me arriving I was told to report to the hotel, its location and room number. I also told her that the state was foreign to me and I wouldn't have know where to begin looking for a place to reside. The supervisor instructed both myself and the Administrative Assistant not to inform anyone of the conversation that had just taken place. Before my Supervisor left work, she sends me upstairs to the Contracts Branch to visit a lady by the name of Aronel. The point of the visit was to have Aronel to use her Government issued Credit card for my monthly rent. Aronel, sends both the Supervisor and myself a response via email and tells her that "she was not going to put her Credit card up for lodging and gave instructions on what needed to be done to have my Government issued credit card limit increased to cover my monthly rental costs.
On August 15th, my sister passed away, I went into the office and told everyone. I was then called into the Director's office along with my supervisor and was told that they didn't need me to complete the assignment there and that due to the death of my sister that my family needed me. When I returned home and finally came back to work, I was contacted by the Inspector General's office regarding the credit card issue and for per diem claimed. I had to schedule an appointment to meet with them. I was shown the letter that was written indicating I had misused the Governments Credit Card and so on. The Inspector General's report was completed recently-this past week and I was contacted by the Special Agent on the case. He informed me that the case has been investigated and I was deemed in compliance and had not misused anything. He was very apologetic and mentioned that when he received the allegations from management, he was mislead or misinformed.
I feel that perhaps I had blown the whistle not knowingly. And the supervisor took what I had told her and maliciously/fabricated a story just to cover up what her friend who is the Director had authorized. They both are new to the I feel totally ashamed to come into work, wondering what people think. It is very difficult to go on or to pretend that nothing happened and that I am okay. I can't seem to . And to defame my character, destroy my credibility. I really want a fair dealing.
Hello,
My name is Cheryl Williams, I work for the Federal Government. I was on detail(working in another state) for what was initially 3 months. During my time there, I was asked to stay an additional three months through October 31st and I agreed to stay. Prior to going to my duty station, my lodging was set up by the administrative assistant. When I reported to my duty station, I was authorized to receive a cash advance by the director for perdiem and lodging costs because my Government Credit Card had not arrived. Upon vouchering against the cash advance I received, I had to reimburse the Administrative Assistant's Government charge card for lodging cost. On Friday, August 3rd, my supervisor(who had recently came of board from another Government Agency) and I was standing in the elevator corridors discussing me moving from the hotel I resided in to an apartment. During our discussion, she asked if I had finalized everything at the hotel and I told her that I had given the hotel notice that I was leaving and the only thing I needed to do was to make certain that the administrative assistant's credit card was squared away. In the midst of the conversation, the Administrative Assistant walks up- I then say to her that we need to get together and reconcile her credit card; she agrees. The supervisor who is still standing there at the time says "I was in a training class on yesterday and learned that it is illegal for a person to use their credit card when they are not in travel status". The administrative assistant replies and says "I was instructed by Lindy(who is the Director) to set up lodging for this lady and that's what I did". The supervisor turned to me and asked if that were true, I told her that it must have been because prior to me arriving I was told to report to the hotel, its location and room number. I also told her that the state was foreign to me and I wouldn't have know where to begin looking for a place to reside. The supervisor instructed both myself and the Administrative Assistant not to inform anyone of the conversation that had just taken place. Before my Supervisor left work, she sends me upstairs to the Contracts Branch to visit a lady by the name of Aronel. The point of the visit was to have Aronel to use her Government issued Credit card for my monthly rent. Aronel, sends both the Supervisor and myself a response via email and tells her that "she was not going to put her Credit card up for lodging and gave instructions on what needed to be done to have my Government issued credit card limit increased to cover my monthly rental costs.
On August 15th, my sister passed away, I went into the office and told everyone. I was then called into the Director's office along with my supervisor and was told that they didn't need me to complete the assignment there and that due to the death of my sister that my family needed me. When I returned home and finally came back to work, I was contacted by the Inspector General's office regarding the credit card issue and for per diem claimed. I had to schedule an appointment to meet with them. I was shown the letter that was written indicating I had misused the Governments Credit Card and so on. The Inspector General's report was completed recently-this past week and I was contacted by the Special Agent on the case. He informed me that the case has been investigated and I was deemed in compliance and had not misused anything. He was very apologetic and mentioned that when he received the allegations from management, he was mislead or misinformed.
I feel that perhaps I had blown the whistle not knowingly. And the supervisor took what I had told her and maliciously/fabricated a story just to cover up what her friend who is the Director had authorized. They both are new to the I feel totally ashamed to come into work, wondering what people think. It is very difficult to go on or to pretend that nothing happened and that I am okay. I can't seem to . And to defame my character, destroy my credibility. I really want a fair dealing.