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    E XECUTIVE O FFICE OF THE G OVERNOR

    O FFICE OF THE C HIEF INSPECTOR G ENERAL

    Citizens Property Insurance CorporationReview of the Decision to

    Disband the Office of Corporate Integrity

    CASE NUMBER 201211190008MAY 13, 2013

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    EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

    On October 11, 2012, Citizens Property Insurance Corporation (Citizens) 1 officialsinformed the four employees serving in its Office of Corporate Integrity (OCI) that their employment at Citizens would ...cease as a result of position elimination. According to

    the notices given to the employees, the action became necessary due to a change incorporate direction on the functionality provided by the unit According to the former OCI employees who agreed to an interview, the decision by Citizens to eliminate their positions was a surprise and had not been discussed with them before the meeting onOctober 11, 2012.

    On October 16, 2012, the disbanding of the OCI was reported in The Miami Herald.That article tied the action to several other issues that had recently been raised atCitizens. 2 The next day, October 17, 2012, Citizens President Barry Gilway, in a letter to Governor Scott, commented on the issues raised in the article. In his letter, Mr.Gilway asserted that Citizens corporate integrity functions ha d not been eliminated, but

    rather these duties had been realigned under other business units, including the Officeof Internal Audit, 3 the Ethics and Compliance Officer and the Employee Relations Unit.He also asserted that the change was in accordance with current corporate bestpractices and should strengthen and enhance Citizens corporate integrity and ethicspolicies and procedures.

    On November 19, 2012, Governor Scott requested the Chief Inspector Generals Office 4 to conduct a review to determine whether any of the terminations of the employeesserving in the OCI were retaliatory in nature.

    During the review period, December 2011 to December 2012, Citizens was an

    organization in leadership transition. This is illustrated by the following:

    There were three different Presidents during this period;The reporting structure for the OCI changed from reporting to the GeneralCounsel to reporting to the President to, again, reporting to the General Counsel,and most recently, reporting to the Chief of Internal Audit;

    A long-time Chief of Internal Audit resigned and a new Chief of Internal Audit washired;New policies and procedures relating to processing and investigating complaintswere devised, drafted and implemented;

    1 Citizens was created in statute effective July 1, 2002 to provide affordable property insurance to

    applicants who are in good faith entitled to procure insurance through the voluntary market but are unableto do so. 2 Citizens eliminates corporate integrity office, The Miami Herald, October 16, 2012, by ToluseOlorunnipa.3 The Office of Internal Audit is established in Section 627, Florida Statutes.4

    Pursuant to Section 14.32(2)(k), Florida Statutes, the Chief Inspector General shall conduct specialinvestigations and management reviews at the request of the Governor.

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    The Vice President of Corporate Administration and the Director of HumanResources resigned. A consultant was engaged to assess the Human ResourcesProgram, act as interim Director of Human Resources and find a permanentDirector of Human Resources; and,Mr. Gilway and Mr. Joe Martins , Citizens Chief of Internal Audit, were new to

    Citizens.The decision to disband OCI occurred amidst these organizational transitions.

    In addition to the conditions cited above, there is a need to analyze:

    1. The decision and action to disband OCI; and,2. The justifications offered for the decision after the decision had been made.

    In interviews, Mr. Gilway, Mr. Martins, and other Citizens decision-makers denied thatdisbanding OCI was in retaliation for any acts or actions by OCI employees including

    the conduct of recent investigations involving some of Citizens senior managers . Mr.Gilway provided a statement to the Board of Directors (Board) after the elimination of the OCI positions that listed several justifications for the decision to disband the OCI.While Mr. Gilway asserted that the reasons were in response to what he consideredintense and unfair media attention, the reasons cited performance issues that were notraised prior to disbanding OCI nor supported by other decision-makers involved in thedecision. No evidence was found that the justifications presented to the Board by Mr.Gilway entered into the decision to disband OCI and Mr. Gilway asserted that the realreason for the decision was what he reported to Governor Scott in his letter of October 17, 2012, a change in corporate direction.

    Mr. Gilway acknowledged that his biggest error associated with the decision was one of timing because the OCI was disbanded shortly after the Chief Inspector General beganan investigation of reported excessive travel and travel-related expenditures at Citizens.

    Finally, the four former employees of OCI were not covered individuals and the conductof internal investigations is not a protected activity. 5 While the elimination of a positionappears to be an adverse action, Citizens management presented a legitimatenondiscriminatory business reason for the elimination of the positions. While the former employees believed retaliation occurred, evidence to support their belief was notpresented.

    Based solely on the evidence, the evidence did not support a conclusion that retaliationwas the reason for the decision to disband OCI.

    5 In its 2009 Crawford decision, the U.S. Supreme Court concluded that an employee who is interviewedas a possible witness to workplace discrimination or harassment is protected from later retaliation by theemployer under Title VII. In Brush v. Sear Holding Corp. in April 2012, the Eleventh Circuit Court of

    Appeals refused to extend Crawford to protect a company investigator who objected to the way theemployer was responding to an employee's sexual harassment claim.

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    At the time of this report, the Florida Legislature is creating, effective July 1, 2013, anindependent office with a statutorily mandated investigative function and a prescribedreporting structure.

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    TABLE OF CONTENTS

    EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................. iTABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................................ivINTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 1BACKGROUND .............................................................................................................. 1

    Statutory Authority .................................................................................................... 1Plan of Operation ...................................................................................................... 2Citizens Organizational Chart .................................................................................. 3

    PURPOSE, SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY .................................................................. 4Retaliation ................................................................................................................. 4

    FINDINGS ....................................................................................................................... 5Florida Statutes Establish Citi zens Office of Internal Auditor ................................... 5Reporting Structure of Employee Misconduct Investigations Varied Over Time ....... 6Citizens Policy Numbe r 102 Governs Internal Complaint Handling ......................... 7Relevant Complaints against Senior Managers ........................................................ 8Interviews ............................................................................................................... 10

    ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................. 17RECOMMENDATION ................................................................................................... 19

    APPENDIX I TEAM .................................................................................................... 20

    APPENDIX 2 -- TIMELINE ............................................................................................ 21 APPENDIX 3 -- PERSONS INTERVIEWED ................................................................. 22RESPONSE .................................................................................................................. 23

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    INTRODUCTION

    On October 11, 2012, Citizens Property Insurance Corporation (Citizens) 6 officialsinformed the four employees in Citizens Office of Corporate Integrity (OCI) that their positions were being eliminated. Shortly thereafter, media around the State raisedquestions about this decision and suggested that the OCI had been disbanded inretaliation for OCI staff investigating misconduct on the part of senior staff that madeCitizens look bad. The decision to disband the OCI came shortly after the Governor asked the Chief Inspector General (CIG) to examine reports of excessive travel andtravel-related expenditures. 7

    In an October 17, 2012, letter to Governor Scott, Citizens President, Barry Gilway,commented on the issues raised in the article. In his letter, Mr. Gilway asserted thatCitizens corporate integrity functions ha d not been eliminated, but rather had beenrealigned under other business units, including the Office of Internal Audit, 8 the Ethicsand Compliance Officer and the Employee Relations Unit. He also asserted that thechange was in accordance with current corporate best practices and should strengthenand enhance Citizens corporate integrity and ethics policies and procedures.

    In a letter dated November 19, 2012, Governor Scott requested the CIG 9 to conduct areview to determine whether any of the terminations of OCI staff were retaliatory innature.

    BACKGROUND

    Statutory AuthorityIn accordance with Section 627.351(6), Florida Statutes (F.S.), Citizens was createdeffective July 1, 2002, by the Florida Legislature as a government entity. As outlined ins tatute, Citizens is the states last resort insurer, and insures hundreds of thousands of homes, businesses, and condominiums whose owners otherwise might not be able tofind coverage.

    By statute, Citizens is to provide affordable property insurance to applicants who are ingood faith entitled to procure insurance through the voluntary market but are unable to

    6 Citizens was created in statute effective July 1, 2002 to provide affordable property insurance toapplicants who are in good faith entitled to procure insurance through the voluntary market but are unableto do so. 7

    In a letter dated September 4, 2012, Governor Rick Scott notified Citizens President Barry Gilway thathe was requesting CIG Melinda Miguel to conduct a review of travel expenditures at Citizens. OnFebruary 14, 2013, the Office of the Chief Inspector General issued Report Number 2013-10.8 The Office of Internal Audit is established in Section 627, Florida Statutes.9

    Pursuant to Section 14.32(2)(k), Florida Statutes, the Chief Inspector General shall conduct specialinvestigations and management reviews at the request of the Governor.

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    do so. Additionally, according to Section 627.351(6 )(a)1., F.S., the Legislature intendsthat:

    affordable property insurance be provided and that it continue to beprovided, as long as necessary, through Citizens Property InsuranceCorporation [Citizens], a government entity that is an integral part of thestate, and that is not a private insurance company. To that end, thecorporation [Citizens] shall strive to increase the availability of affordableproperty insurance in this state, while achieving efficiencies andeconomies, and while providing service to policyholders, applicants, andagents which is no less than the quality generally provided in the voluntarymarket, for the achievement of the foregoing public purposes. Because itis essential for this government entity to have the maximum financialresources to pay claims following a catastrophic hurricane, it is the intentof the Legislature that the corporation [Citizens] continue to be an integralpart of the state and that the income of the corporation [Citizens] beexempt from federal income taxation and that interest on the debtobligations issued by the corporation [Citizens] be exempt from federalincome taxation. 10

    Plan of Operation

    Section 627.351(6), F.S., states that Citizens shall operate pursuant to a plan of operation approved by or der of the Financial Services Commission 11 and specifieswhat should be included in the Plan of O peration. Citizens current Plan of Operation,effective date August 1, 2002, and as amended July 28, 2009, indicates that Citizens isgoverned by a Board of Governors [Board] consisting of eight individuals responsible for

    administering the plan. The Governor, the Chief Financial Officer, the President of theSenate and the Speaker of the House each appoint two members of the Board, and atleast one of the two members must have demonstrated expertise in insurance. TheChief Financial Officer designates one of the appointees as Chair of the Board.

    In accordance with statute and the Plan of Operation, Citizens President and Senior Managers 12 shall be engaged by and serve at the pleasure of the Board. The Presidentis subject to confirmation by the Senate and is responsible for employing additional staff as the corporation [Citizens] may require, subject to review and concurrence by theBoard. The Plan of Operation specifies that the Chair of the Board is responsible for supervising, reviewing the performance, and establishing annually the compensation of

    10 During our review, we noted a Certificate of Exemption from state taxes issued by the FloridaDepartment of Revenue for Citizens based on a state government exemption category.11 In accordance with Section 20.121, F.S., the Financial Services Commission is comprised of theGovernor, the Attorney General, the Chief Financial Officer, and the Commissioner of Agriculture.12 According to Citizens Plan of Operation, Senior Manager of the Corporation means a person whoserves as an officer of Citizens including the President, one or more Senior Vice Presidents, one or moreVice Presidents, the Chief Financial Officer, the General Counsel, and any other person designated andengaged by the Board as an officer.

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    the President. The Plan of Operation, lists among other things, the duties andresponsibilities of the President to include in pertinent part:

    (4) Hire the staff of the Corporation [Citizens], subject to the review andconcurrence by the Board through approval of the budget or other process; and retain independent contractors and other vendors, asnecessary, to carry out the business of the Corporation [Citizens] as setforth in the Statute and this Plan, subject to any directives, guidelines or procedures as may be adopted by the Board.

    (6) Consistent with the Statute and this Plan, locate and employ or retainindividuals or entities to provide administrative or professional services toeffectuate the Plan and provide services for the operation of theCorporation's [ Citizens ] business, subject to any directions, guidelines or procedures as may be adopted by the Executive Committee.

    (7) Promulgate and administer policies and procedures for the renderingof services to the Corporation [Citizens] by staff, providers, vendors and

    Agents of the Corporation [Citizens], including policies for employeesregarding conflicts of interest, dual employment, and post-employmentrestrictions, and report the status of operations of such individuals or entities to the Board on a regular basis. Any breach of conflict of interest,dual employment, post-employment or other ethics policies by employeesor members of the Board shall be reported by the Executive Director [President] to the Chair of the Board immediately upon discovery. If suchbreach constitutes potential criminal or fraudulent activity, the fullcircumstances shall also be reported in accordance with the Statute and

    other applicable law.

    Citizens Organizational Chart

    Citizens organizational chart as of September 19, 2012 , shows that the President andthe Chief of Internal Audit report directly to the Board. The following Senior Managerswithin Citizens report to the President:

    Chief Insurance Officer Chief Financial Officer General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer Chief Administration Officer Vice President of Enterprise Planning

    and Project PortfolioChief Information Officer

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    Char t 1 : Citizens Organizational Chart as of September 19, 2012

    PURPOSE, SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY

    Based on the Governor s request to determine whether any of the terminations of OCIstaff were retaliatory in nature, the CIG performed the following activities:

    Interviewed selected current and former Citizens employees who played asubstantive role in the decision to disband the OCI;Interviewed former OCI employees who agreed to an interview;

    Analyzed documents and records that related to the operation of OCI, employeeperformance, and anything relevant to the disbanding of the OCI; 13 and,Interviewed Citizens outside counsel. 14

    The period of interest for this review was December 1, 2011, through December 31,2012.

    Retaliation

    In employment situations, retaliation occurs when an employer takes an adverse actionagainst a covered individual because the individual engaged in a protected activity. The

    13 The data collected and reviewed totaled more than 2 gigabytes or the equivalent of about 135,000

    pages of data if all of the data was in text format.14

    This required Citizens to waive attorney client privilege.

    Board of Governors

    President/CEO/ExecutiveDirector

    Chief Insurance Officer General Counsel andChief Legal Officer Chief Information Officer

    Chief AdministrationOfficer

    Chief Financial Officer

    Vice President EnterprisePlanning and Project

    Portfolio

    Vice President of Corporate

    AdministrationVice President of Claims Vice President of

    Underwriting

    Chief of Internal Audit

    Vice President of Information Technology

    Strategy and Architecture

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    terms adverse action, covered individual, and protected activity are generally definedwith reference to Federal law.

    Adverse Action is an action to try to keep someone from opposing adiscriminatory practice and can include employment actions such as a change inworking conditions, termination, refusal to hire or denial of promotion. It does notinclude petty slights or annoyances or justified negative comments aboutperformance.Covered Individuals are people who have made formal complaints, participatedin the investigation of formal complaints, taken other action to oppose unlawfulemployment practices, or requested workplace accommodations related toreligious beliefs or covered disabilities.Protected Activity includes actions taken to oppose unlawful discrimination.

    In general, there must be a causal connection between the protected activity and theadverse employment action to establish retaliation. A defense to retaliation is there wasa legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for the employment action.

    FINDINGS

    Florida Statutes E stablish Citizens Office of Internal Audi tor

    Section 627.351(6)(i)1., F.S., established an Office of Internal Auditor (OIA) withinCitizens to:

    Provide a central point for coordination of and responsibility for activities thatpromote accountability, integrity, and efficiency to the policyholders and to thetaxpayers of this state;Provide direction for, supervise, conduct, and coordinate audits, investigations,and management reviews relating to the programs and operations of thecorporation;Conduct, supervise, or coordinate other activities carried out or financed by thecorporation for the purpose of promoting efficiency in the administration of, or preventing and detecting fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in, its programs andoperations;Submit final audit reports, reviews, or investigative reports to the Board, the

    executive director, the members of the Financial Services Commission, and thePresident of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives;Keep the Board informed concerning fraud, abuses, and internal controldeficiencies relating to programs and operations administered or financed byCitizens, recommend corrective action, and report on the progress made inimplementing corrective action;

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    Report expeditiously to the Department of Law Enforcement or other lawenforcement agencies, as appropriate, whenever the internal auditor hasreasonable grounds to believe there has been a violation of criminal law; and,Report on or before February 15, in an annual report evaluating the effectivenessof the internal controls of Citizens and provide recommendations for correctiveaction, if necessary, and summarize the audits, reviews, and investigationsconducted by the office during the preceding fiscal year.

    The statute specifies that the internal auditor is as follows:

    Selected without regard to political affiliation; Appointed by the Board;Generally supervised by the Board; and,Not subject to supervision by any Citizens employee.

    Based on statute, Citizens provides administrative staff and support to the OIA.

    Reporting Structure of Employee Misconduct Investigations Varied Over Time

    In June 2008, Citizens established an Office of Corporate Compliance (OCC) reportingto the Vice President of Corporate Administration. The OCC, later titled Office of Corporate Integrity (OCI), is not defined in Florida Statutes or Citizens Plan of Operation.

    Based on Citizens Policy Number 102, effective September 21, 2009, the OCC wasassigned responsibility for investigating complaints of employee misconduct. CitizensPolicy Number 102 also assigned the responsibility for Citizens internal complainthandling process to Citizens Employee Relations Unit. Citizens Employee RelationsUnit, part of Human Resources, reported to the Vice President of Corporate

    Administration.

    In 2010, the OCC was renamed to OCI and reported to the General Counsel rather thanthe Vice President of Corporate Administration. The General Counsel reported directlyto the President.

    On January 26, 2012 , Citizens President at that time directed the OCI to report directlyto him. He also directed that the responsibility for overseeing Citize ns internalcomplaint handling process be reassigned from the Employee Relations Unit to the OCI.

    Citizens appointed an interim President on March 12, 2012, and on March 28, 2012, theinterim President directed OCI be reassigned to the General Counsel.

    On June 13, 2012, Mr. Barry Gilway was appointed President and effective July 23,2012, he directed OCI to report to the OIA. The OIA reports directly to the AuditCommittee of Citizens Board.

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    Citizens Policy Number 102 Governs Internal Complaint Handling

    Citizens Policy Number 102 was created in April 2008 to set the policy for complainthandling at Citizens. The policy directed that complaints be forwarded to one of four units in Citizens. At the time of its creation, the policy specified that complaints wouldnot be investigated by or shared with any person outside the unit to which the complaintwas forwarded. The four units that received complaints were as follows:

    Consumer Services Department was assigned responsibility for consumer complaints; 15 OIA was assigned responsibility for providing direction, supervision, conduct, andcoordination of audits, investigations, and management reviews relating toCitizens programs and operations ;16 Special Investigations Unit was assigned as the central point for complaints of possible fraudulent claims by policyholders or persons making insurance-relatedclaims; 17 and,Employee Relations Unit was designated to receive employee relationscomplaints.

    The Vice President of Citizens Corporate Administration was responsible for administration of Citizens Policy Number 102. The policy was revised in December 2008, September 2009 and October 2012. The September 2009 revision showed thatthe OCC (later the OCI), was established to examine or investigate complaints of employee misconduct. This is the policy that was in force until OCI was disbanded.Under this revision , if the allegations were against a member of Citizens senior management, outside counsel or an outside third party conducted the investigation or assisted with the investigation.

    On October 17, 2012, shortly after the disbanding of OCI, Citizens Policy Number 102was revised so that the responsibility for administration of complaint handling wasmoved from the Vice President of Corporate Administration to the Ethics andCompliance Officer who reports to the General Counsel. Following receipt of acomplaint, the Chief of Internal Audit, the Ethics and Compliance Officer and the headof the impacted business unit review the complaint and decide whether additionalinvestigation is required and who will be assigned to investigate the complaint.

    15 Section 627.351(6)(k)2., F.S., states that Citizens shall establish a unit or division responsible for

    receiving and responding to consumer complaints, which unit or division is the sole responsibility of asenior manager of Citizens.16 Created in accordance with Section 627.351(6)(i)1., F.S.17

    Section 627.351(6)(k)1., F.S., states Citizens shall establish and maintain a unit or division toinvestigate possible fraudulent claims by insureds or by persons making claims for services or repairsagainst policies held by insureds; or it may contract with others to investigate possible fraudulent claimsfor services or repairs against policies held by Citizens pursuant to Section 626.9891, F.S.

    http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0600-0699/0626/Sections/0626.9891.htmlhttp://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0600-0699/0626/Sections/0626.9891.html
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    Relevant Complaints against Senior Managers

    CPIC 12-03-0004 - Complaint about Mismanagement

    On March 21, 2012, members of the Board received an anonymous complaint regardingMismanagement of the Purchasing Department at Citizens Property Insurance by Chief Susanne Murphy [Chief of Administration]. In accordance with Citizens Policy Number 102 in effect at that time, 18 the complaint was routed to the OIA 19 and was assignedcase number CPIC 12-03-0004. In general, the allegations were as follows:

    1. Chief of Administration, Susanne Murphy, violated Citizens Purchasing Policy;2. Purchases were not presented to the Board as statutorily required; and,3. Other vague concerns about management and investigations relating to the Chief

    of Administration and two of her direct reports.

    The OIA completed an investigation into these allegations and issued a report datedJune 22, 2012, which concluded:

    As a result, our work focused upon available documentary evidence and observation without conducting extensive interviews with management and staff and our results on some of the allegations were thereforeinconclusive. In addition, the majority of the claims made in the letter werefound to have no evidence that supports or confirms the allegations. OIAdid make some observations and recommends that Citizens Management take proactive measures.

    CPIC 12-03-0007 - Complaint about Mishandling Investigations and Discipline

    On March 30, 2012, Citizens received an additional anonymous complaint through itsTell Citizens Program 20 that alleged that the General Counsel, Chief of Administration,and members of the Human Resources and Legal Departments:

    mishandled investigations, discipline, and Citizens funds and thatExternal law firms are hired to investigate select allegations. The paidfirms are given direction and limitations on who and what to investigateand how to report. The information provided and reported ismisrepresented as the true [ sic ]. The reports are false. When they are

    18 According to Citizens Policy Number 102, all complaints of fraud, abuse, mismanagement, internalcontrol deficiencies, and Code of Ethics/Conflict of Interest Policy violations were to be forwarded to theOIA.19

    The OCI reported directly to the President on this date and they were not involved in investigating thiscomplaint. 20Tell Citizens Reporting Program includes a toll-free hotline (800-593-7420) and a website(https://www.tellcitizens.com ) designed to receive complaints. The hotline and website are operated byan external vendor that does not trace telephone calls or web reports. The Tell Citizens hotline andwebsite are available twenty-four (24) hours a day.

    https://www.tellcitizens.com/https://www.tellcitizens.com/https://www.tellcitizens.com/https://www.tellcitizens.com/
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    afraid they cant protect certain empl oyees or are afraid an employee willreport these mishandlings, they pay them $$$$$ to keep this quiet and askthem to resign. This is all keep [ sic ] hush hush and is not reported asstatute requires.

    This complaint was routed to OIA and, at the direct ion and consent of Citizens former Interim President and Audit Committee Chairperson, OIA requested the assistance of OCI to investigate the allegations on April 5, 2012. 21 Just prior to this request, OCIreported to the President. However, as of March 28, 2012, the OCI and its four employees were reassigned to report to the General Counsel, who was one of thesubjects of the allegations in the March 30, 2012, complaint.

    On July 19, 2012, OCI issued an interim report regarding their initial assessment of theallegations contained in the March 30, 2012, complaint. This document was 73 pages inlength and included 164 exhibits. In compiling the report, OCI did not conduct anyinterviews, access any personnel files, or examine any computers held by persons of interest. In summary, the report was an analysis of existing documents, current andhistorical organizational documents, Citizens emails and instant message archives andother historical records believed necessary to understand the background informationgathered to this point.

    This report provided background on Citizens internal complaint handling (of which theOCI was a party of and now assigned to investigate) , Citizens Determinat ionCommittee 22 (of which the General Counsel, the Vice President of CorporateOperations, 23 the Director of Human Resources and others were members) , Citizenspolicy regarding severance and settlement payments to separated employees andrecited the results and summaries of investigations conducted at Citizens of employees

    and former employees over the period of 2009-2011 by varying units (OIA, OCI, or outside counsel).

    Joe Martins, Chief of Internal Audit, was appointed on June 11, 2012, and Barry Gilway,President, was appointed on June 13, 2012.

    The interim report prepared by OCI was submitted to Mr. Martins and Mr. Gilway andconcluded:

    this review disclosed documents supporting in part, the complainantsallegations involved activities by certain Citizens officers and

    management. To resolve this complaint beyond the document reviewaddressed in this report however, other investigative steps including the

    21 Citizens Policy Number 102 in effect at this time showed that the OCI was established to examine or investigate complaints of employee misconduct. This is the policy that was in force until OCI wasdisbanded. Under this policy, if the a llegations were against a member of Citizens senior management,outside counsel or an outside third party conducted the investigation or assisted with the investigation.22 This unit was established by Susanne Murphy. 23

    Susanne Murphys position title was changed effective May 31, 2011, to Chief Administration Officer.

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    review of personnel files and interviews of those named and involved, areneeded.

    After the Director of OCI, T.W. Smart, briefed Mr. Martins and Mr. Gilway, Mr. Gilwayauthorized OIA, with the assistance of OCI, to investigate the allegations and conductinterviews of senior staff, review personnel files and clone hard drives or other datastorage devices. However, three of the persons to be interviewed objected to beinginterviewed by the OCI staff because these persons considered OCI staff to have a biasagainst them. 24 For this reason, and because Citizens Policy Number 102 providedthat investigations of allegations against senior staff be conducted by outside counsel, 25 OCI staff did not participate in the interviews of Susanne Murphy, Chief of

    Administration; Dan Sumner, General Counsel; or J.D. Lester, then Director of HumanResources; and Mr. Martins, Mr. Fox, and Mr. Mark Connolly, an attorney withShumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP, engaged by the OIA, interviewed these senior staff members.

    The final report on the investigation into allegations received on March 30, 2012, waswritten by Mr. Martins and is dated August 31, 2012. The report concluded that theinvestigation did not substantiate the three allegations of mismanagement raised by theanonymous complaint . However, information gathered confirmed inconsistency of treatment in: the management of complaints reported, investigations completed andresulting disciplinary actions. Based on the investigation , Citizens management, inresponse to the report, agreed to:

    Develop procedures and processes to assure complaints are handledappropriately;Develop and implement a formal discipline policy and procedure; and,Develop and implement a formal severance pay policy and procedure.

    Interviews

    Megan Walker, former Analyst, OCI, Citizens

    Ms. Walker declined to be interview.

    Melanie Yopp, 26 former Investigator, OCI, Citizens

    Ms. Yopp said that she began work at Citizens in late February 2012. She said that shehad done nothing at Citizens that would result in retaliation. Ms. Yopp said she believedretaliation occurred but she had no evidence to support her belief. However, she said

    24 The General Counsel put his concerns in writing. Ms. Murphy and Ms. Lester verbally expressed their concerns to Mr. Martins.25 Citizens Policy Number 102 dated September 21, 2009, provided that, in the event a complaint isreceived against a senior manager, as defined in the Citizens Plan of Operation, any resultinginvestigation will be conducted by, or assisted by, an external third party. 26

    Ms. Yopps confidentiality agre ement is dated February 27, 2012.

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    that Selisa Daniel, former OCI Senior Investigator, produced a 73-plus page report after Citizens received an anonymous complaint in March 2012.

    Ms. Yopp said that on October 11, 2012, a meeting was scheduled to discussperformance reports and that prior to that meeting, she was not aware that OCI wasgoing to be eliminated. She said that they met in the conference room at the appointedtime and Ms. Gena Buonamici, Director of Human Resources and Mr. Thom Burke, theinterim Director of Human Resources, joined the meeting. She explained that she knewthen that something else was going on. She said all four of the employees of OCI weretold that their jobs were eliminated. She said the reason she was provided for their terminations was that Citizens was going in a different direction.

    Ms. Yopp said she believed that T.W. Smart, former OCI Director, had no idea that OCIwas going to be disbanded prior to that meeting. She said that it was about a weekbefore the meeting when she started feeling uneasy because they were not receivingany new complaints to review. She said that Ms. Daniel also told her that Citizenswould not pay for any continuing professional education for Ms. Daniel that Ms. Danielbelieved she needed.

    Selisa Daniel, 27 former Senior Investigator, OCI, Citizens

    Ms. Daniel said that she began working at Citizens in November 2008. She said thatwhen Mr. Smart, her supervisor, was hired in late 2011, the OCI reported to Mr. DanSumner, Citizens General Counsel, but shortly after Mr. Smart was hired, OCI wasrealigned to report to the President. She said that then President Scott Wallaceresigned two or three weeks later and Mr. Tom Grady became President. She said itwas at about that same time, Ms. Joyce Bellows, Chief of Internal Audit, resigned and

    Mr. John Fox was appointed as the acting Chief of Internal Audit.

    Ms. Daniel said that during March 2012, a number of complaints were received. Shesaid that one of the complaints was dated March 21, 2012, and was addressed toCarlos Lacasa, Chairman of the Board. She said that this was an anonymous two pageletter that was sent to the OIA in accordance with Citizens Policy Number 102. Shesaid that the report on this complaint was dated June 22, 2012, and was issued by OIA.She said that this report was titled Mismanagement of Purchasing and HumanResources Functions. She said that another complaint was received on March 30,2012, regarding the mishandling of investigations, discipline, and Citizens funds andbecame CPIC-12-03-0007. 28 She explained that the final report was issued by Mr.

    27 Ms. Daniels confidentiality agreement was dated February 12, 2009.

    28 Ms. Daniel said that Citizens uses IntegriLink software by Global Compliance to receive complaints.

    She explained that this software relies on key words and other filters to decide where a complaint shouldbe directed for resolution. She said that OCI has access to determine the status of complaints receivedby most organizational elements. She said that the software also assigns a case number that will beCPIC-(year)-(month)-(sequence during the month) and offered the following example: a case opened inMarch 2012 would be numbered CPIC-12-03-000x.

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    Martins, Chief of Internal Audit, on August 31, 2012. Ms. Daniel said she believes thatthis was the assignment at the heart of the alleged retaliation.

    Ms. Daniel said that, during this investigation, she and Mr. Smart conducted interviewsof Ms. Buonamici, Director of Human Resources, and Mr. Casteel, Assistant GeneralCounsel. Ms. Daniel said that she also conducted interviews of other senior officials.However, the interviews of Mr. Sumner, Ms. Murphy and Ms. Lester were conducted byMr. Martins, Mr. John Fox and Mr. Mark Connolly. Ms. Daniel said that this was donebecause Mr. Sumner had objected to being interviewed by OCI because he believedthey were biased. 29

    Ms. Daniel said that she was not really surprised by the disbanding of the OCI. Shesaid that in the last few weeks before the OCI was disbanded there were no new casesbeing assigned to OCI and they were being pushed to close open cases. Additionally,Ms. Daniel said that her requests for upcoming training were rejected. She said thatshe believed these were indicators that change was coming. She said that she believedthe causes for the changes were retaliatory in nature although she had no specificevidence.

    Ms. Daniel said that on October 11, 2012, the OCI staff met with Mr. Martins in their office suite. She said that she recalled that someone knocked on the door and Ms.Buonamici and Mr. Burk entered and told the staff that their positions were eliminatedand that they were terminated. Ms. Daniel said she believed that the staff wasdismissed and OCI dissolved because of the 73 page report they prepared. She saidthat she thought that the report was an embarrassment to Citizens.

    T.W. Smart, former 30 Director of Corporate Integrity, OCI, Citizens

    Mr. Smart stated that he began employment at Citizens on December 2, 2011. Mr.Smart initially said that he did not wish to participate in an interview. Mr. Smart said hebelieved that the decision to disband OCI had an element of retaliation although he hadno evidence.

    Mr. Smart said that in January 2012, he met with Mr. Scott Wallace, then President of Citizens 31 and following the meeting, Mr. Wallace directed that OCI report to thePresident and complaints be directed to OCI for investigation. Mr. Smart said thatPresident Wallace resigned effective April 6, 2012, and Mr. Tom Grady was appointedas the interim President on March 12, 2012. He said that President Grady moved OCI

    back under Mr. Sumner sometime in late March or early April 2012, before the changesrecommended by President Wallace could take effect.

    29 Citizens Policy Number 102 also requires that investigations of senior officials be conducted by outside

    counsel.30 Mr. Smarts confidentiality agreement is dated December 2, 2011.31 Mr. Smart said that his supervisor Mr. Daniel Sumner was not invited to this meeting and was upset.He said that he believes that this damaged his relationship with Mr. Sumner.

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    Mr. Smart stated that in late March or early April 2012, the interim Chief of OIA, Mr. Fox,asked for OCIs assistance in investigating an anonymous complaint. He said t hat Ms.Daniel was assigned as case agent and began the investigation to gather backgroundinformation. He stated that, at that time, Ms. Daniel never interviewed any subject or potential witness but she had gathered documentation and reviewed files. He said itwas this background work that resulted in the 73 page report dated July 19, 2012.

    Mr. Smart said he briefed Mr. Gilway on this investigation sometime after he wasappointed in mid-June. Mr. Smart said that he was told by Mr. Gilway that OCI wouldreport to Mr. Martins. He said that interviews were needed and a decision to reviewhard drives from certain computers was necessary to complete this investigation. Mr.Smart said that Mr. Gilway and Mr. Martins authorized the interviews of subjects and theconfiscation of the hard drives.

    Mr. Smart said that he never received a performance evaluation or any comments abouthis performance while he was at Citizens.

    Tom Burke, former interim Director of Human Resources , Citizens

    Mr. Burke confirmed that he provided advice to Mr. Gilway and Mr. Martins about thedisbanding of the OCI. He said that he advised that all members of OCI should betreated the same and that he recommended that the cleanest way was to abolish thepositions and prepare new descriptions for the tasks that Mr. Martins wished to havedone.

    Dan Sumner, General Counsel , Citizens

    Mr. Sumner stated that Mr. Martins informed him of the decision to disband OCI, but Mr.Sumner said he that he did not offer any advice because the legislation that establishedthe OIA stated that the Chief of Internal Audit is not subject to supervision by anyemployee of Citizens. Mr. Sumner said he did not want to take any action or offer anyadvice that might be interpreted as impeding the Chief of Internal Audit. For thisreason, he accepted the information relayed to him by Mr. Martins, but offered noadvice.

    Joe Martins, Chief of Internal Audit, Citizens

    According to Mr. Martins, Citizens officials informed the four employees in the OCI that

    their positions were being eliminated on October 11, 2012.

    During his interview, Mr. Martins denied that the reason for disbanding OCI wasretaliation for OCI staffs involvement in either of t he above investigations. According toMr. Martins, after he joined Citizens in June 2012, he was immediately faced with a verylarge internal investigation regarding an anonymous complaint dated March 30, 2012,that was being conducted by the OCI on behalf of the OIA. He said he read the 73-pluspage preliminary report that had been prepared by Ms. Daniel. He said that there had

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    been no witness or subject interviews but the interim report contained lots of data andprocess information including information regarding prior investigations. In looking atthe March 30, 2012, complaint and the preliminary investigative report, he said it wasclear that his first priority was to work with the OCI to bring this investigation to closure.

    On July 23, 2012, the OCI was made a part of the OIA. Mr. Martins said he had theopportunity to assess the role of audit in Citizens, where the OCI fit into that structureand how the OIA could best serve the organization going forward. According to Mr.Martins, his assessment was based upon his past experience in South Africa andChicago while employed by Zurich Insurance. He said that his assessment went aboveand beyond OCI and focused on OIA s position in the organization.

    Mr. Martins said that his report concluded that OCI focused on investigating complaintsreported to OCI by various organizational units including the Hotline and that OCI wasnot proactively seeking issues to investigate. He considered their investigationsreactive and did not support development of a proactive enterprise wide fraud riskanalysis and fraud response plan. He said he believed the majority of the OCI sworkload, while relatively large, focused on investigating issues, which, in his opinionand experience, were usually more effectively handled by line management. 32

    Mr. Martins said that based on his review, the complaint handling process was changedand no new assignments were given to OCI. He said that all new complaints arereviewed by OIA and Human Resources and given to management for action. He saidthat since this change, line managers have complimented him on the change. He saidthat although skilled in investigations, it was clear from interviews with the OCI staff thattheir exposure to the development of an enterprise wide fraud risk analysis and fraudresponse plan was limited and they had no exposure to the implementation of proactive

    fraud management processes.

    Mr. Martins said that the positions in OCI were eliminated and new positions designedfor forensic accountants were developed. He said that the change was going to costmore because Citizens not only wanted staff with investigative skills, but also staff witha very strong financial background to help with the proactive investigation of fraud in theorganization.

    According to Mr. Martins, the decision to disband the OCI was his decision. However,he said that he sought advice and counsel from others in Citizens including Mr. Gilway.

    Mr. Martins said that the purpose of his discussions with Mr. Gilway, Mr. Burke and Mr.Lynch was to gather advice and counsel, but not to seek approval. He said that he wasadvised to treat all of the employees in OCI alike and that his decision to eliminate their positions accomplished this. Mr. Martins stated that he did not have any performanceproblems with the members of OCI. He said that if he had performance concerns, he

    32 Mr. Martins provided a listing of all complaints received through IntegriLink. IntegriLink is Citizensinternal status tracking system for complaints. This listing confirmed that a majority of the matters listedwere complaints of employee misconduct which is what the office was created to do.

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    would have addressed those problems directly with the employee. He said that theOCI, as instituted, did not fit in his vision of where he wanted the OIA to go.

    Based on information provided by Mr. Martins, he presented the new organizationalstructure to Citizens Audit Committee on November 16, 2012, for approval. Mr.Martins presentation included the reasons for the change, the budget impact, and adiscussion of the investigation related to mishandling of investigations, discipline andCitizens funds. Citizens Audit Committee accepted the report and approved theorganizational change and budget request it contained.

    Mr. Martins said that he had accepted the position with Citizens in June 2012. He saidthat he had no prior experience in Florida government. He said that after he had madehis decision to disband OCI he discussed the decision with Mr. Sumner and received noadvice to the contrary.

    Barry Gilway, President, Citizens

    Mr. Gilway said that upon his arrival at Citizens, the management atmosphere wastoxic. He said that upon assuming the role of President he was uncomfortable with thefact that the OCI reported directly to the President or to one of the Presidents directreports - the General Counsel. He said he believed this was inappropriate and made adecision to move the OCI under the OIA because he believed this was an organizationalunit with more independence and reported to the Boards Audit Committee.

    Mr. Gilway pointed out that when he was briefed on the March 30, 2012, complaint andinterim report prepared by the OCI, he authorized OIA with the assistance of OCI toinvestigate the allegations and conduct interviews of senior staff, review personnel files

    and clone hard drives or other data storage devices. According to Mr. Gilway, thebriefing he received was very disturbing and, because he was relatively new to Citizens,he engaged outside counsel, Gloria Fletcher, Gloria W. Fletcher, P.A., to advise himwith respect to this investigation.

    According to Mr. Gilway, after his authorization, the investigative team conductedinterviews of senior officials, reviewed personnel files and examined the data stored oncomputers. Mr. Gilway said that three of the more senior staff to be interviewedobjected to being interviewed by the OCI staff because these persons considered OCIstaff to have a bias against them. 33 For this reason, and because the existing policyprovided that investigations of allegations against senior staff should be conducted by

    outside counsel,34

    OCI staff did not participate in the interviews of Ms. Murphy, Mr.Sumner or Ms. Lester. Mr. Gilway said that Mr. Martins, Mr. Fox, and Mr. Connollyinterviewed these senior staff members.

    33 The General Counsel put his concerns in writing. Ms. Murphy and Ms. Lester verbally expressed their concerns to the Chief of Internal Audit. 34 Citizens Policy Number 102 dated September 21, 2009, provided that, in the event a complaint isreceived against a senior manager, as defined in the Citizens Plan of Operation, any resultinginvestigation will be conducted by, or assisted by, an external third party.

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    Mr. Gilway denied that the reason for disbanding OCI was retaliation related to either of the investigations described earlier or related to any other action. He said that heexplained the decision to disband the OCI to Governor Scott in a letter dated October 17, 2012, and in a presentation to the Board on November 27, 2012.

    Mr. Gilway, in reporting to the Board in November 2012, listed a number of problemswith OCI as reasons for the decision to disband OCI. However, during his interview, hestated that these were justifications for the decision that were developed after the factand were a defensive response to what he considered unfair press coverage. The

    justifications he cited during the Board meeting included:

    Mismanagement of case loads;Unnecessary expansion of investigations;Investigations focused more on personal grievances than potential organizationalmisconduct;OCI used inappropriate investigatory methods and tactics that may haveexposed Citizens to legal liabilities and possible lawsuits;Factual inaccuracies in investigative reports;No proactive or preventive capabilities of the staff;No forensic credentials of the staff;Long lag times in completing investigations; and,No sense of urgency in facilitating investigations.

    According to Mr. Gilway, the final investigative report on the March 30, 2012, complaintidentified areas where improvements were needed. The final report clearly highlightedthese areas and identified the corrective actions needed to ensure they were not

    repeated. He said he believed the report adequately addressed the allegations withrecommendations to ensure proper corrective actions.

    On November 27, 2012, Mr. Gilway made a presentation to Citizens Board to explorestaff changes in general and to discuss the OCI change specifically. Mr. Gilwaydeveloped talking points for the presentation. In developing the talking points, he saidthat he received input from some of Citizens senior managers who had been witnessesor subjects in OCI investigations. His presentation asserted that the OCI staff hadperformance problems. Mr. Gilway admitted that the performance concerns cited in hispresentation to the Board were justifications developed after the action to disband OCIhad been taken and were a defensive response to the negative press coverage. He

    acknowledged that these performance problems were never discussed with the former members of OCI.

    Mr. Gilway stated that the justifications offered to the Board, were not the reasons for the decision to disband OCI. He said that the decision was made because OCI, asinstituted, did not fit in the vision that he and Mr. Martins had of where they wanted theOIA to go. Mr. Gilway stated that, in hindsight, Citizens mistake was one of timing inlight of the ongoing Chief Inspector General investigation of travel and other related

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    expenses. He said that he believed that he did not adequately consider how thischange would be perceived or that the two matters would be tied together by the pressand others outside Citizens.

    Mr. Lynch, Board Member and Chair of the Audit Committee , Citizens

    Mr. Lynch confirmed that he had been kept informed by Mr. Martins and Mr. Gilwayregarding the decision to disband OCI and that he sensed no element of retaliation inthe decision.

    ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSIONS

    During the review period, December 2011 to December 2012, Citizens was anorganization in leadership transition. This is illustrated by the following:

    There were three different Presidents during this period;The reporting structure for the OCI changed from reporting to the General Counselto reporting to the President to, again, reporting to the General Counsel, and mostrecently, reporting to the Chief of Internal Audit;

    A long-time Chief of Internal Audit resigned and a new Chief of Internal Audit washired;New policies and procedures relating to processing and investigating complaintswere devised, drafted and implemented;The Vice President of Corporate Administration and the Director of HumanResources resigned. A consultant was engaged to assess the Human Resources

    Program, act as interim Director of Human Resources and find a permanent Director of Human Resources; and,Mr. Gilway and Mr. Martins were new to Citizens.

    The decision to disband OCI occurred amidst these organizational transitions.

    In addition to the conditions cited above, there is a need to analyze:

    1. The decision and action to disband OCI; and,2. The justifications offered for the decision after the decision had been made.

    Based on Citizens Policy Number 102, OCI had the responsibility to investigateemployee misconduct complaints that were directed to it by Citizens managers, butCitizens did not have a statutorily prescribed process for independently handlinginvestigations of misconduct by its employees and senior managers. As such, thefunction was passed between multiple units and its reporting structure was changed tovarious tiers within the organization. Further, OCI was not authorized to independentlydecide which cases to investigate and, by policy, could not investigate senior managers.However, OCI had recently been requested by OIA to provide investigative assistance

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    during an investigation into allegations against a few senior managers including theGeneral Counsel who was in their chain of command at various times during the reviewperiod.

    The current President directed that the OCI report to the OIA and the Chief of Internal Audit analyzed this office and made recommendations to the Board about the mission of this office and the type of staff that he desired. The Chief of Internal Audit was thedecision maker who concluded that the OCI, as constituted, did not fit in his vision for the OIA . His decision followed discussions with the President and Chair of the Boards

    Audit Committee.

    Following the decision to disband the OCI, the press coverage was largely negative.Between the date the decision was reported and the date of the report to the Board,Citizens President developed additional justifications that he believed would strengthenCitizens position in the public debate about the decision to disband the office.However, we found no evidence that these justifications entered into the decision or were discussed with former employees of OCI. Neither the Chief of Internal Audit nor the General Counsel, both of whom have supervised the OCI staff at some point in thelast two years, told us that they were dissatisfied with the performance of OCI staff.

    Finally, the four former employees of OCI were not covered individuals and the conductof internal investigations is not a protected activity. 35 While the elimination of a positionappears to be an adverse action, Citizens management presented a legitimatenondiscriminatory business reason for the elimination of the positions. While the former employees believed retaliation occurred, evidence to support their belief was notpresented.

    Based solely on the evidence, the evidence did not support a conclusion that retaliationwas the reason for the decision to disband OCI.

    35 In its 2009 Crawford decision, the U.S. Supreme Court concluded that an employee who is interviewedas a possible witness to workplace discrimination or harassment is protected from later retaliation by theemployer under Title VII. In Brush v. Sear Holding Corp. in April 2012, the Eleventh Circuit Court of

    Appeals refused to extend Crawford to protect a company investigator who objected to the way theemployer was responding to an employee's sexual harassment claim.

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    RECOMMENDATION

    The statutory authority of the OIA requires it to provide a central point of coordination for coordination of and responsibility for activities that promote accountability, integrity, andefficiency to the policyholders and taxpayers of the state and to provide direction for,supervise, conduct, and coordinate audits, investigations, and management reviewsrelating to the programs and operations of the corporation. Citizens Policy Number 102appears to divide the complaint handling decision-making among a number of organizational elements and over time, may have subordinated the independenthandling of complaints. While this may not violate the statute that creates the OIA, ithas subjected complaint handling and investigation to a number of differentperspectives.

    Citizens is a unique government entity. As such, its operations encompass activitiesthat require an independent officer to serve as a central point to coordinate and promoteaccountability, integrity, and efficiency. The receipt and handling of complaints is anintegral part of this responsibility. To be effective, this officer must have the authority toinvestigate matters it deems appropriate or for cause and the ability to report tostakeholders outside Citizens to ensure transparency and accountability to those theyserve. Based on professional standards and to ensure that this office is notsubordinated to other organizational units, this position should report to the highest rankat Citizens with the power to implement corrective actions in response torecommendations for improvement. Currently, there is no statutory directive for Citizensto have such a position. Meeting this requirement will require a tailored solution thatrequires legislative action.

    At the time of this report, the Florida Legislature is creating, effective July 1, 2013, anindependent office with a statutorily mandated investigative function and a prescribedreporting structure.

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    APPENDIX I TEAM

    Melinda M. Miguel, Chief Inspector General, Executive Office of the Governor Dawn E. Case, Deputy Chief Inspector General, Executive Office of the Governor Marvin Doyal, Inspector General, Florida Agency for Persons with DisabilitiesSharon Doredant, Inspector General, Florida Department of RevenueChris Hirst, Inspector General, Florida Department of Children and Families

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    APPENDIX 2 -- TIMELINE

    DATE EVENT6/1/2008 The Office of Corporate Compliance (OCC) is established. It reports to the Vice

    President of Corporate Administration.6/1/2010 The Office of Corporate Compliance name is changed to the Office of Corporate

    Integrity (OCI). The OCI is to report to the General Counsel rather than the VicePresident of Corporate Administration.

    1/26/2012 C itizens President directs that OCI report directly to the President. He alsodirects that OCI assume responsibility for complaint intake, assignment andhandling from the Employee Relations Unit.

    3/12/12 An Interim President is named for Citizens.3/21/2012 Citizens receives an anonymous complaint about improper purchasing practices.

    3/28/12 Citizens President directs the OCI to report to the General Counsel. 3/30/2012 Citizens receives an anonymous complaint that alleges mishandling of

    investigations, discipline and funds.6/11/2012 A new Chief of Internal Audit is selected by Citizens Board.

    6/13/12 A new President is named for Citizens.6/22/2012 Report on Mismanagement of Purchasing and Human Resources Functions is

    issued by the Office of Internal Audit (OIA). The report addresses the March 21,2012 anonymous complaint to the Board.

    7/19/2012 OCI issues Report of Investigation CPIC 12-03-0007. This is a 73 page reportwith 164 exhibits.

    7/23/2012 Citizens President directs that OCI repo rt to Office of Internal Audit (OIA). TheChief of Internal Audit reports to the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors.

    8/31/2012 Investigative report on m ishandling of investigations, discipline and Citizensfunds is issued by the Office of Internal Audit. This addresses the March 30,2012 complaint.

    8/24/2012 The Director of Human Resources resigns from Citizens.8/29/2012 The Chief Administration Officer resigns.10/11/2012 Staff members of OCI are notified that their positions have been eliminated.10/16/2012 The Miami Herald posts an article entitled Citizens eliminates corporate integrity

    office. 10/17/2012 Citizens Corporate Policy Number 102 is revised. This change assigns

    responsibility for intake of complaints to the Ethics and Compliance Officer, whoreports to the General Counsel.

    10/17/2012 Citizens President defends the decision to disband OCI in a letter to theGovernor.

    11/16/2012 The Chief of Internal Audit provided a status report on the Office of Internal Auditincluding a detailed discussion of the dissolution of the OCI to Citizens Audit

    Committee.11/19/2012 The Governor asks the Chief Inspector General to review the terminations todetermine whether any of the terminations were retaliatory in nature.

    11/27/2012 Citizens President gives a detailed presentation o n the decision to do away withthe OCI to Citizens Board .

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    APPENDIX 3 -- PERSONS INTERVIEWED

    Name Position at Citizens Property Insurance CorporationGena Buonamici Citizens Director of Human Resources

    Thom Burke Former Interim Senior Director of Human CapitalManagementMichael Connolly Outside Counsel, Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLPSelisa Daniel Former employee, OCIGloria Fletcher Outside Counsel, Gloria W. Fletcher, PABarry Gilway Citizens PresidentTom Lynch Audit Committee Chair, Citizens BoardJoe Martins Chief of Internal Audit, Office of Internal AuditDan Sumner Citizens General CounselJohn Wortman Audit Committee Member, Citizens BoardMelanie Yopp Former employee, OCI

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    RESPONSE

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    Executive Office of the Governor Office of the Chief Inspector General

    The Capitol, Room 2103

    Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0001Office Phone Number (850) 717-9264

    Fax Number (850) 921-0817Whistle-blower s Hotline 800-543-5353