Whistleblower loses job after complaint against boss

A long-time tribal employee claims it was no coincidence that her job was eliminated three weeks after she reported her boss for allegedly misusing his tribal vehicle.

Juanita Dennison, who was an administrative service officer with the Navajo Nation's Safety of Dams Program for nine years, has been unemployed since Jan. 1.

The official reason for her termination was a reduction in force required by a federal cost-cutting review, she said.

But Dennison believes she was removed because she confronted her supervisor, program director Raymond Benally, about using the tribal vehicle he's assigned for personal purposes.

Dennison said they and other program officials were at a dam safety meeting in Denver in November when, upon leaving the hotel, she noticed a white SUV parked nearby. On the doors were large magnetic decals, also white, covering the area usually occupied by the blue Navajo Nation seals that are used to designate tribeys, she said.

"I thought, 'that looks like a tribal vehicle,'" Dennison recalled.

To make certain, she approached the vehicle and took several pictures with her cell-phone camera.

Among the photos she took was a shot of the driver's side windshield that included the vehicle's fleet number - 307313 - and one of the driver's side door with a large white decal where the tribal insignia normally would be.

Dennison then called the Fleet Management Department when she got back to Window Rock and verified that the SUV was a tribal vehicle assigned to Benally.

As soon as they returned home from Denver, Dennison said she went to Benally's office. A three-hour meeting followed in which she recounted rumors from other department employees and professional associates of Benally's about where he went while in Denver.

According to Dennison, it was a one-sided conversation. Benally, she said, remained silent the whole time, neither refuting nor acknowledging any of the rumors.

Benally, however, said he did nothing wrong. He said he did not cover the insignias on his tribey and did not use it for an unauthorized purpose.

"She is a disgruntled employee making up general items instead of doing what she was supposed to be doing, her job," Benally said in response to Dennison's allegations.

"I don't know where she is coming from with this," Benally said. "The vehicle was parked in a public area. It was used for official business purposes. I don't know why she thinks I covered (the insignia). I wasn't there when she saw it."

Following the meeting with Benally, Dennison said she went to Fleet Management and filed a formal complaint alleging a violation of chapter 3.1 of the tribal vehicle operator's manual, which specifies the location of insignias and fleet number.

Marla Billey, the Fleet Management office specialist in charge of complaint records, confirms that Dennison filed her complaint Nov. 26. The agency is still awaiting a response from Benally's supervisor, Arbin Trujillo, director of the Division of Natural Resources, Billey said.

Trujillo has until Wednesday, March 11, when the Motor Vehicle Review Board is scheduled to meet, Billey said.

If Trujillo does not respond by the meeting date, a notice will be sent for him to appear with Benally before the board at its next scheduled meeting, she said.

Trujillo did not return repeated messages from the Navajo Times requesting comment.

On Friday, Stanley Yazzie, chairman of the review board, said he had not yet seen the complaint and therefore could not comment on it.

Fleet Management Director Ben Manuelito stated that according the Motor Vehicle Operator's Handbook, chapter 2.1, the Motor Vehicle Review Board has the responsibility and authority "to the assignment of Navajo Nation vehicles. Conditions of assignments include, but are not limited to, issuance of insurance, hours of permissible use, authorized drivers, parking requirements, decals, special equipment, and take home authorization."

Manuelito has been with fleet management since July 2004 and this is the first claim he's heard that involved covering or obscuring the tribal emblem from view.

"Why anybody would cover or obscure the tribal seal is beyond me," Manuelito said. "Tribal vehicles are for official business and if we are doing official business then people would should not have to worry about whether the seal is on the doors or not."

Benally asserts that he did not obscure the insignia on his tribey. Fleet management rules specify the placement of the insignias and fleet numbers, and say any departure from that rule requires special permission from the Motor Vehicle Review Board.

When asked why she didn't peel back the plain white decal to confirm that it covered a tribal seal, Dennison said, "I thought about it but I was scared that any minute my boss would come out."

"It really shook me up," she said. "I just got back into my tribal vehicle and left. I got on the interstate and once I got down the road I pulled over to a gas station to collect myself.

"(Benally) was on travel with us," Dennison said. "He was approved to be there. Nowhere in the (tribal vehicle's operator) handbook does it say to cover up the tribal seal."

It's a sensitive point because tribal members are quick to notice - and complain about - tribal vehicles parked outside bars, strip joints, casinos, and popular shopping spots.

In response, Fleet Management has spelled out a long list of prohibitions aimed at deterring the most offensive behavior.

On Dec. 11, Dennison submitted a memorandum to Manuelito explaining what she had seen on Benally's vehicle in Denver. On Dec. 17, Dennison received a memo from her department notifying her that she was being laid off.

"The program is under federal review and they are cutting back on the non-emergency areas because of a lack of funding," Benally said in explaining the reason for Dennison's layoff.

Since losing her job, Dennison said she has been trying to find another job. She said she also plans to file a grievance with the Office of Navajo Labor Relations.

Back to top ^