3 Top Officials at N. D. Workers’ Comp Agency Dismissed in Shakeup

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Three top officials in North Dakota’s workers’ compensation agency have been fired and the jobs of two others eliminated as part of a shake-up at Workforce Safety and Insurance, attorneys and agency officials said.

James Long, the agency’s chief of support services; Kay Grinsteinner, its internal auditor; and Billi Peltz, its human resource manager, were dismissed Tuesday, their attorneys said. In a statement, the agency said Long’s job has been eliminated “to accomplish a flatter organizational structure.”

Grinsteinner, Peltz and Long had previously requested protection against job retaliation at the agency for disclosing what they believed to be wrongdoing or questionable practices. Workforce Safety provides insurance coverage for employees who are hurt on the job.

Long called his dismissal “clearly an act of retaliation” because he provided information about alleged agency irregularities to the Burleigh County prosecutor. He said he intended to file a lawsuit challenging his dismissal.

“It represents that I was retaliated against for cooperating with law enforcement,” Long said. “They sent a clear message to me, and to every state employee … they’d better keep quiet, or else.”

Michael Geiermann, a Bismarck attorney who is representing Peltz and Grinsteinner, declined immediate comment.

Two other positions, the director of premium audit and collections and an executive job in charge of leadership and organizational excellence, also have been abolished, the agency said. The positions will be transferred to WSI’s medical services department.

A consultant’s report on Workforce Safety’s management and personnel practices recommended that Workforce Safety shrink its number of upper-level managers, and specifically suggested elimination of the leadership position.

The report was specifically critical of Grinsteinner and Peltz.

It described the human resources department as ineffectual, and said Grinsteinner had a “profound misunderstanding of her role” as internal auditor, “and a disturbing sense of self-importance and lack of judgment.”

The audit committee of Workforce Safety’s board voted Wednesday to dismiss Grinsteinner and advertise for her successor. Its recommendation went directly to John Halvorson, the agency’s interim chief executive officer, who said it would be implemented immediately.

WSI’s directors also are advertising for a new interim chief executive to succeed Halvorson. The consultant’s report also recommended that Halvorson be replaced as interim director.