Fort Lauderdale — Today Rick Scott, Republican candidate for governor, released the following statement in regard to yesterdays’ news of Bill McCollum’s involvement in the Jim Greer scandal. Scott is an advocate for transparency and accountability in government, which is in stark contrast to his primary opponent, Attorney General Bill McCollum, who in both his words and actions has opposed transparency.

“The situation is Tallahassee is as sad as it is appalling. That is why we need a conservative outsider, like me, who can clean up this mess and force true transparency. As more comes to light about Bill McCollum’s knowledge and involvement in the Greer scandal, it is clear that no matter how far removed McCollum says he is from the investigation being conducted by his employees, it cannot be truly independent so long as McCollum is their boss. These latest revelations coupled with what already had been public knowledge raises serious questions about what McCollum knew, when he knew it and why did he fail to act earlier.”

Bill McCollum/Transparency/Greer Scandal

* McCollum Wants RPOF Finances Kept Hidden and Wants Party Credit Card Records Within Party “McCollum, interviewed before the weekly Cabinet meeting, said there should be an audit of past spending but that disclosure should only be available to state committee members, county GOP chairs and other party officers. ‘Right now, the party matters are totally internal,’ said McCollum. ‘I don’t think it’s good for any party to have everything that’s done inside the party open to the press and public. I don’t think that’s something historically that they do.’” (Cotterell, Bill “Updated: Crist, Rubio, McCollum Say party Disclosures Up To Republican Chairman” Tallahassee Democrat, 02/09/10)

* McCollum Says Government Doesn’t Lend itself to Transparency. “Speaking to a crowd that wasn’t the most receptive to the idea — newspaper editors — the attorney general said some of the things the Legislature does don’t lend themselves to openness. Lawmakers aren’t bound by the state’s Sunshine open government laws. ‘You can’t negotiate … and do deals with open government, to be perfectly frank,’” (”McCollum: Open Government Can Be Unworkable In Legislature” (News Service of Florida, 06/17/10)

* McCollum Claimed the Contract with Victory Strategies was ‘Perfectly Legitimate Contract.’ “McCollum said soon after he learned of the contract that paid Johnson a combined $400,000-plus salary he questioned its legality. He asked Richard Coates, the party’s former attorney, to scrutinize it. Coates concluded it appeared to be a legal contract. ‘It was on the face of it a perfectly legitimate contract,’ McCollum said. ‘Was it outrageous? Absolutely. Was it something that should have never been entered into? Yes. Was it illegal? There is no appearance of that.’” (Frank, John “The Buzz: Florida Politics” St. Petersburg Times, 02/09/10)

* Documents Show McCollum Much More Connected to the Greer Controversy Than McCollum First Let On. “A document obtained by the Times/Herald describing Greer’s negotiations with the Republican Party concerning his severance package illustrates the close connection to McCollum. Greer writes to GOP general counsel Jason Gonzalez that he will honor the ‘commitments that I have made to the House, Senate and McCollum’s campaign.’ It’s unclear what commitments Greer is referring to. In the document, Greer also takes credit for helping McCollum, ‘who I might add would not be without question the presumptive nominee if not for my efforts.’ McCollum’s campaign spokeswoman, Kristy Campbell, said no commitments exist and disputed Greer’s role as kingmaker.” (Morgan, Lucy, “GREER WANTS MCCOLLUM OFF GOP INQUIRY,” St. Petersburg Times, 4/8/10)

* Greer’s Attorneys Claim McCollum was Part of the GOP Leadership That Offered Greer Severance Pay. “‘We think McCollum should recuse himself from this,’ Miller said, noting that McCollum has received GOP campaign funds and participated in the decision to seek Greer’s resignation and offer him severance pay.” (Morgan, Lucy, “GREER WANTS MCCOLLUM OFF GOP INQUIRY,” St. Petersburg Times, 4/8/10)

* Yet McCollum Spokesman Claimed McCollum was ‘Unaware of Any Specific Details.’ “A campaign spokeswoman for McCollum would not directly confirm the severance agreement Thursday. Kristy Campbell said McCollum ‘is as shocked and outraged as anyone. He hopes that the money that was spent can be accounted for and was legitimate. We were aware of [severance] negotiations taking place as Chairman Greer announced his resignation. We were unaware of any specific details.’” (Deslatte, Aaron “GOP Fundraiser Charged Huge Sums To Party” Orlando Sentinel, 02/05/10)

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Host David Diaz and guest panelists Roberto Perez, Edgar de Leon, and Jason Smith discuss how Senator Pedro Espada allegedly violated not-for-profit corporation laws by negotiating a severance pay that if paid out would leave Soundview bankrupt, and by using Soundviews funds to for campaign literature, and how this ultimately affects the community by taking money that could have been used for services.

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me playin a song from band on drum set well…

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My employer told me that he knew I was unhappy in my job and had hired a replacement for me. He told me this verbally on Friday March 12th. He told me that I could stay around until April 30th (7 weeks time). I do have a 6 week pre-negotiated termination package. I stayed to train on my replacement out of respect for the company so that my replacement would be able to do the job, plus I did not have a new job to go to. I assumed that after April 30th I would then get my 6 weeks severance package.

However, I just got the paperwork today (April 5th) and it states that my employment ends on April 30th with no further payments as they gave me the required notice.

My question is… Does verbal notice count towards the 6 weeks or does it have to be written notice? If it has to be written, then the 6 weeks lasts into May which is worth thousands of dollars to me.

Does anyone know? I live in Ontario, Canada, but any guidelines would be helpful.

P.S. Just to make it better, I am getting married the week after they terminate me and I will be on my honeymoon for the following two weeks, making it impossible for me to find employment during this time (which they were well aware of having already granted me the vacation almost a year ago).

It sounds like they gave you verbal notice, but according the website for the Ontario Ministry of Labour says:

"Written Notice of Termination and Termination Pay

Under the ESA:

* an employer can terminate the employment of an employee who has been employed continuously for three months or more if the employer has given the employee proper written notice of termination and the notice period has expired;
or
* an employer can terminate the employment of an employee without written notice or with less notice than is required if the employer pays termination pay to the employee."
(http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/es/pubs/guide/termination.php)

Sounds to me like they failed to give you written notice of your termination, and were unclear that you were serving out the notice period. I’d contact the ministry of labour and verify that this is the case, and then I would notify my former employer and let them know that there was a misunderstanding and that they failed to provide written notice as required, and give them the opportunity to make things right.

Hope this was some help.

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My wife’s company is offering employees a seperation package to leave. It’s more than a fair amount given the time she’s been with the company. If she takes it, she won’t be eligable for unemployment. If they don’t get enough takers, they will let people go. They will give her like a month less of severance in this scenario than in the former. But, she would be eligable for unemployment benefits after the severance runs out. We’re trying to determine what to do. We’re concerned that if she leaves, companies will negotiate her salary down because she wouldn’t be currently employed. I’m confident that she could find SOMETHING. Should she take the package? It’s like 8 month’s salary. If these were better times the answer would be clearer. Of course, we wouldn’t be in this situation if these were better times. Thanks!
We live in a major metropolitan area where there are at least 8 Fortune 500 company HQ’s. We could live off of the 8 month’s salary if my employement stayed the same…for 8 month’s. After that would be problems. My concern is the state of the economy and job hunting.

Wow 8 months salary? That sounds pretty good. Thats as much as she would probably get if she claimed unemployment. She should take it and use the opportunity to find a job elsewhere. The reason I say this is that if the company is willing to do sometihng like this, they are obviously desperate to get rid of people. Therefore, if she declines their offer, they are likely to find another way to get her out. Possibly without the severance pay. That sounds like an awesome deal. Tell her to take it and use the time to find a more permanent job with job security.

Although the new co. has increased the offer 2 times,( 56k-58k-60k)it is still below my expectations(65K). Could I still negotiate, for example, to be reviewed after 6 months instead of a year? That way I get a salary increase in 6 mo. Also, with the bad economy of recent times,. how could I negotiate that in case they lay me off in the next 6mo. to 1 yr, for reasons other than performance, I would be entitled to 6mo. severance package? Can this be done and how do I ask. I am afraid they would just go to the next candidate if I ask for too much. Please advise. Thanks

If you wanted a severance package, you should have stated the demand in your first counter, now is a little late.

How bad do you need the job? Did you tell them from the BEGINNING that you want $65k?

If you did, and they continued the process anyway, then just informally ask about the raise and review at 6 months, but if you need the job, accept it.

Keep in mind that many times if you ask for this, the company will give you a raise at 6 months, (in this economy, doubtful it will be $5k, but you never know), but then NOT do an annual raise and review because, "you already had yours"–happened to me.

The worst that would happen if you just take the job as is, is you get employed, have a steady income and you keep looking for your dream job of $65k plus and a severance promise.

We need to wake up and realize that this downgrading of our pay is directly due to immigration and off shoring. DIRECTLY.

Until we all start making efforts to buy goods produced & packaged in THIS country, and demand Congress slow the flow, our wages will continue to be pushed down.

Good luck.

I am a Student studying to become a Surgical Technologist. I recently had the opportunity of shadowing an Operating Room Director. He graduating as an RN in 2006, he finished his RN in 3 years. While working as an operating room RN he immediately went on to pursue his Bachelors in Business, while working as an operating room RN. He was an OR RN and going to school for business at the same time. He is 10 months from earning his Bachelors in business. 2 years AFTER graduating as an RN he became the Operating Room Director! When he became the Operating Room Director he ONLY HAD 2 YEARS experience in the OR as an RN, and 2 years into pursuing his Bachelors in business, while he became the OR Director he has only gotten far enough in business school to earn his associate degree in business. He is only 28 years old and earns 115,000 a year!!! His sign on bonus for the Operating Room Director was 8 thousand dollars and he negotiated his severance pay which is an amount he just says is "considerably fair." If I did not physical meet and see this extraordinary person, I would think it would be impossible. He also said that part of his "package deal" was he agreed that he would pursue his Masters in Business and remain with his hopsital for 2 AFTER he pursues his Masters. From the week I shadowed him, he is well respected by many nurses and doctors. One of the Urologist that has been for 15 years told me "…good person to shadow…the kid knows his stuff…" Does this happen often? Will I be able to do this? How was he able to do it? Does anyone know of a story similiar to this? I look forward to your reply:).

This would seem to be incredibly rare, and one of the few instances I have heard of a person achieving this. It was probably the right mix of hospital size, and the location, this would not happen at most facilities in the US.

While the director of an operating room is often more concerned with the business of running an operating room than the clinical aspects of the OR, they still need to have some level of clinical competence.

In the average OR in the US, the clinical service coordinators have a Bachelor of Science in Nursing or often 5 or more years experience in the operating room. The Clinical Supervisors or Head Nurses usually have at least a BSN, though this may not always be the case, most have a minimum of 10 years OR experience, some much more.

Most Operating Room Directors, have a Masters Degree in either Nursing Administration, Hospital Administration, or frequently a Clinical specialization in OR coupled with an MBA.

The salary will vary by facility, but the average salary for a Director of Surgical Services in a major metro area is between $100k and $110K. I would have some level of skepticism about an inexperienced OR nurse, with no appreciable education exceeding the average, unless, nobody else would take the job.

My wife’s company is offering employees a seperation package to leave. It’s more than a fair amount given the time she’s been with the company. If she takes it, she won’t be eligable for unemployment. If they don’t get enough takers, they will let people go. They will give her like a month less of severance in this scenario than in the former. But, she would be eligable for unemployment benefits after the severance runs out. We’re trying to determine what to do. We’re concerned that if she leaves, companies will negotiate her salary down because she wouldn’t be currently employed. I’m confident that she could find SOMETHING. Should she take the package? It’s like 8 month’s salary. If these were better times the answer would be clearer. Of course, we wouldn’t be in this situation if these were better times.

We live in a major metropolitan area where there are at least 8 Fortune 500 company HQ’s. We could live off of the 8 month’s salary if my employement stayed the same…for 8 month’s. After that would be problems. Our concern is the economy, jump hunting, and with her being unemployed, being devalued in the marketplace. Thanks!

maybe it is win-win situation, but pls consider is it possible to have a new job within 8 months, recession will not end up 2009, it surely will last couples years, pls make a decision yourself, you should.

I am currently employed by a company that has slated myself and 4 other employees for lay off due to the fact that are working remotely in the state of AZ. All contracts state that our home office is in CA, yet the reason that they used for the lay off is that the office here in AZ is being closed. In contracts it does state that we must present to an office once a week in order to continue with our licenses. We have been using the office here in AZ as a courtesy office. When we posed the question as to how they could lay us off, when we are actually classified as CA employees and we should have other options they stated that all of a sudden we are assigned to the AZ office. Contracts do state that we are at will employees, so we are unsure if we even have any options. What we are wondering is if we have any grounds to dispute or negotiate our severance packages with the corporation?

It depends more on where your pay check comes from & whether CA taxes were withheld from your check then what office you used. Consult a California employment attorney.