TALLAHASSEE —
Issues in a telecommunications docket involving an employee terminated for
inappropriate behavior should be vacated and re-evaluated according to a Florida
Public Service Commission staff recommendation.
The non-binding recommendation will be considered February 28 by the
same three-member Commission panel that voted on the original recommendation.
An internal investigation found former staff engineer Doris Moss improperly
used a fictitious e-mail account in an effort to contact Commissioners
regarding the merits of a docketed matter involving BellSouth. The
investigation also uncovered clear and convincing evidence that Moss, using an
agency computer, sent improper e-mails to BellSouth in violation of Commission
rules governing communications with parties in docketed matters.
The staff’s recommendation expresses concern that the improper conduct
could raise “concerns regarding the impartiality of her analyses and
recommendations.”
A possible remedy, according to staff, is to take the six issues for
which concerns could be raised and assign them to staff not previously involved
in the docket for a new recommendation. This recommendation would be scheduled
to go before the Commission panel as expeditiously as possible.
###
|