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r FEB 31993 BOOK 88 F GE 7401 terminated effective September 18, 1992. Therefore, the County has effectively terminated Mr. Hallquist in violation of Section 9.07(D)(2). Further, Section 9.07(D)(3) provides that career service employees who are dismissed because of conduct prejudicial to the public interest,shall be given notice of dismissal on or immediately before the dismissal date and shall receive a written statement of the charges within seventy two (72) hours following dismissal. The County has failed to comply with this Section. Therefore, due to the County's failure to comply with its Rules and Regulations relating to suspensions and/or dismissals, any attempts to dismiss Mr. Hallquist by the County's present action should be considered a nullity and Mr. Hallquist should be immediately reinstated to his position with the County. Mrs. Wilkes' letter of September 21, 1992 sets forth, as a reason for the dismissal, the alleged fact that Mr. Hallquist has a 1 engthy history of off -the- job drug use and that, he had no interest in stopping the use of drugs. Mr. Hallquist adamantly denies making such statements. In fact, when Mr. Hallquist contacted my office on September 21st because of his belief that the County intended to take action against him, I immediately instructed him to submit to drug screening to determine whether Mr. Hallquist has any present history of drug use. If drug use had pre-existed, Mr. Hallquist would have tested positive even if he had ceased the use of drugs on or around the time of his meeting with Mr_ . Price and Mrs. Callahan. I have enclosed a copy of the results of such drug screening for your information. They indicate that Mr. Hallquist is absolutely free of any illegal narcotic or controlled substances as of September 21, 1992. If these results are not satisfactory to the County, Mr. Hallquist has indicated that he will submit to any drug test requested by the County. In fact, if Mr. Hallquist is reinstated to his position, he has requested that he be held to the same standards as required by the County of its firefighters who, like lifeguards, work under extreme stress and are responsible for the health, safety and welfare of the public on a very direct basis. The County's drug and alcohol policy which has been approved by the firefighter's also provides assistance for persons suspected of using alcohol or illegal drugs. Mr. Hallquist and other County employees should -be entitled to the same protections, if they are suspected of such substance use. Mr. Hallquist has been employed by Indian River County almost ten (10) years and has compiled an exemplary work record. The County's improper and unjustified dismissal of Mr. Hallquist should be set aside and Mr. Hallquist should be immediately reinstated to his Pi tion with back pay. Therefore, we request a hearing in accorda4" with applicable County policies. Thank you for your cotisidera o3,. S ncerel y urs, i i� James P. Wilson JPW/ ag 8