STATE OF WASHINGTON

DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES
PO BOX 88450
Steilacoom, WA 98388-0646

September 20, 2012

CONFIDENTIAL

CERTIFIED/REGULAR MAIL

RCW 42.56.250(3)

SUBJECT:

Notice of Dismissal

Dear Mr. Neely:
In accordance with the provisions of the Master Agreement (MA) between the State of
Washington and the Washington Federation of State Employees, this is official notification of
your dismissal from your position as a Residential Rehabilitation Counselor 2 (RRC 2) with the
Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) at the Special Commitment Center (SeC)
effective September 221 2012. This action is a result of your personal use of the state's
computer system; specifically your use of your assigned computer and the internet for your own
personal use including accessing pornographic web sites.

Basis for Potential Discipline
On March 8, 2012, the SCC IT department provided Mark Davis, Administrative Services Chief,
a Computer Exam Report of the computer assigned to you, in the Cedar Unit. The report listed
103 unauthorized and non~work related sites visited by you during February and March 2012.
On March 13, 2012, Mr. Davis assigned Darold Weeks, Chief Investigator, to investigate the
103 unauthorized visits. Mr. Weeks was given a copy of the Computer Exam Report of the 103
unauthorized visits made by you using your assigned computer, number A530467. On April 12,
2012, Mr. Weeks scheduled a meeting with you regarding the alleged misuse of the state's
computer systems.

Investigative Meeting
On April 20, 2012, Mr. Weeks met with you. The interview was originally scheduled for 8:00
a.m. and was rescheduled at your request to the earlier time of 7:00 a.m. Prior to the interview,
you asked Mr. Weeks if you needed Union Representation, and you were informed that it was
your choice. You were asked if you wanted to reschedule to seek representation, and you
indicated that you did not need representation.
During the interview you admitted to using your assigned state computer for the following:
•

To create a password for your Skype account for your cellular telephone so you CQuld
contact your son in Afghanistan.

•
•

You checked your bank account a couple times.
You checked military sites trying to locate your son.

During the meeting, Mr. Weeks provided you time to review the Computer Exam Report of the
Cedar Unit compute'r assigned to you, number A530467. This report listed 103 entries
attributed to your User Profile (Neelysj) for your assigned computer use during February and
March 2012.
Of those entries, there were 35 or more identified as associated with "Livejasmin". You were
asked to review the documentation and mark the entries that were job related. At the
conclusion of your review, you said, "This Livejasmin, I don't know what this is. Honest to god I
have no clue what that is. Nothing I'm seeing here is job related. f have no idea what
Livejasmin is,
/I

You were provided with a copy of the screen shot of the site listed as "Livejasmin". The site is
advertised as "The World's #1 Most Visited Video Chat Community-Free Live Sex Video
Chat."
After reviewing the document you commented "that must be a pop-up. I've only gone to those
sites I told you about. I've never left the computer when I was logged on and I've never gone to
an adult site." You were asked if you had an account with Livejasmin and you responded "No I
don't. I've never visited that site,"
On May 3,2012, Heather Sacha, ITAS6, was asked if the site listed as "Uvejasmin" in the Neely
report could have been "pop-ups."
Ms. Sacha conducted a Google search of the site Livejasmin.com on March 8,2012, and
learned the site is a Live Sex and Chat Room website. Ms. Sacha reported that since the site
is live it is impossible to recreate what was viewed by you. She also reported that no video popups were encountered during her visit to the site.
Ms. Sacha conducted a Field Search examination of your Internet use and during a review of
the Internet history data learned the following:
•
•
•
•

You conducted several page visits within the site Livejasmin.com.
Several swf files (video files) loaded during your visit to the Livejasmin.com site on
February 14, 2012.
The initial Livejasmin.com page loaded and then 4 minutes later another page with
different graphics loaded along with free.chat.css.
Members.Livejasmin.com, a webpage for paying members only, was also visited by you,
using your assigned state computer, on October 10, 2008.

On May 10, 2012, Mr. Weeks received a Summary Report from Heather Sacha clarifying your
computer usage which included the above information:
As part of the fact finding, Mark Davis, Administrative Services Chief, instructed Jill Swick,
Administrative Assistant 3 (AA3) , to research the website "Livejasmin.com", Ms. Swick
accessed the sites homepage, clicked on the category titled "coup!es" and a screen with

approximately 15-20 live video streams of various nude couples and women engaging in sexual
activity appeared.
Next to each video was a "Free Chat" button. Ms. Swick reported she clicked on the button for
the 151 video and immediately a live broadcast loaded revealing a couple performing sexual acts
on one another. After approximately 45 seconds, Ms. Swick exited the site and was routed
back to the screen with the 15-20 live pornographic videos:
Ms. Sacha reported that the "test site visit" conducted by Jill Swick revealed findings similar to
the findings on your computer as listed in the Computer Exam Report. It displayed:
• The same SWF (video flash files)
• sowriter.swf (#9),
• memberchat346.swf (#10)
• freechat.css (#18)
On April 24, 2012, you gave a hand written note to Mr. Weeks. In the note, you wrote, "I am
writing this statement in regards to the meeting that took place on 4-20-12. At that time all of my
internet usage was gone over. I stated then and I am stating now, that I did not knowingly or
willingly visit or log into any web sites that are Adult or Immoral in nature."

Policies and Procedures Implicated
As a DSHS employee, you are required to complete the Employee Annual Review Checklist
process, which includes your review and adherence to all agency policies included on the
checklist. On January 13, 2011 and October 29,2011, you acknowledged you had read,
understood and would comply with Administrative Policy (AP) 18.64 "Standards of Ethical
Conduct for Employees" and AP 15.15 "Electronic Messaging System and the Internet."
DSHS Administrative Policy 18.64, "Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees" states in
relevant part:
A.

Required Standards of Behavior and Conduct
All DSHS employees, contractors, and volunteers are required to perform their duties
and responsibilities in a manner that maintains standards of behavior promoting public
trust, faith, and confidence as described below:
2.

Promote an environment of public trust free from fraud, abuse of authority, and
misuse of public property.

3.

Strengthen public confidence in the integrity of state government by
demonstrating the highest standards of personal integrity, fairness, honesty, and
compliance with law, rules, regulations, and DSHS poiicies.

6.

Comply with the requirements of this policy. Failure to comply with requirements
of this policy may result in disciplinary action up to and including discharge from
employment.

DSHS Administrative Policy 15.15 "Electronic Messaging System and the Internet" states in
relevant part:

C. Employee Use of Electronic Messaging Systems and the Internet
1. Permitted Business Use - Employees may use department provided electronic
messaging systems and Internet access to conduct business that is reasonably related
to official state duties, to include electronic recruiting and Employee Self Service.
Employees represent DSHS when using electronic messaging systems and accessing
the Internet to conduct state business. Employees must use these tools in accordance
with Administrative Policy 18.64, Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees.
2. Permitted Personal Use - Personal use of department electronic messaging systems
and the Internet must conform to WAC 292-110-010, Use of State Resources, which
states that employees may make occasional and limited personal use of state resources,
such as electronic messaging systems and the Internet, if the use conforms to all of the
following ethical standards:
a.

There is little or no cost to the state;

b.

The use does not interfere with the performance of the employee's official
duties;

c, The use is brief in duration and frequency. Employees are expected to
exercise good judgment in both duration and frequency;
d.

The use does not disrupt other state employees and does not obligate them
to make personal use of state resources; and

e.

The use does not compromise the .security or integrity of state information or
software.

Prior to engaging in limited personal use of state resources, employees are encouraged
to seek guidance from their supervisor as to whether the intended usage is considered
to be de minimis.
.
3. Prohibited Uses - Employees are prohibited from using state-provided electronic
messaging systems and the Internet in any of the following ways:
a. Personal use of state-provided electronic messaging systems or Internet
access that does not meet the conditions found in C.2.a-e above is prohibited.
d. Employees must not use state-provided electronic messaging systems,
faxing, scanning, or Internet access to create, access, post, send, or print any
pornographic material unless the material is necessary for the performance of
the employee's job-related duties (e.g., when necessary for conducting an
investigation). If such use is necessary for the performance of job-related
duties, employees must get written permission from their supervisor
authorizing such use.
e.

Department employees must not use state-provided Internet sites, faxing,
scanning, or copying to create, transmit, or store electronic messages that

contain or promote:
7) Any activity that is prohibited by federal, state, or local law, or department
policy.

f.

In addition, employees may not use state-provided Internet access, to:
3) Participate in non-work related Instant Messaging, chat groups, listservs,
blogs, or newsgroups;
7) Link DSHS web sites to other Internet sites in violation of
Administrative Policy 15.18;

h. Employees must not establish an Internet connection (e.g., AOL, MSN, etc.)
to or from a computer connected to the department network that bypasses
the Washington State Department of Information System (DIS) firewall.

j.

Using instant messaging provided by an external vendor is prohibited. This
includes instant messaging solutions offered by vendors such as Microsoft,
AOL, and Yahoo.

While using the Internet, if at any time an employee inadvertently accesses an
inappropriate site, the employee should immediately close the page and notify his or her
supervisor.
A. Disciplinary Action for Noncompliance

A. Violations of this policy may result in disciplinary action, up to and including
termination from state employment. In addition, there may also be separate actions
against an employee for violation of the state's ethics laws such as letters of
reprimand, fines, civil actions, and criminal prosecution.

B. Pornographic Materials: DSHS has a zero tolerance regarding pornographic
material in the workplace. If, after an investigation, it is found that an employee used
state resources to create, access, post, transmit, print, or store pornographic
materials not appropriate for the workplace, the most stringent disciplinary action will
be taken.
C. Sexually Explicit Materials: If, after an investigation, it is found that an employee
used state resources to create, access, post, transmit, print, or store sexually explicit
materials not appropriate for the workplace, appropriate disciplinary action will taken,
up to and including termination from DSHS employment. The administrations
highest-level appointing authority will consult with the Senior Director of DSHS
Human Resources to determine the level of disciplinary .action taken.
An All Staff Memo sent by Cathi Harris, Associate Superintendent, dated October 2, 2008,
which states in relevant part:
The IT department h;3S diagnosed and reported to me several network bandwidth
problems that are resulting in lack of resources. You are directed to stop these types of

computer uses as well as any other uses that violate SCC Policy 926 and DSHS Policy
15,15, Further violation of these policies may result in disciplinary action.
Additionally, on February 8, 2010, Kelly Cunningham sent a memo to all staff titled "Computer
and Electronics Usage Directive" to remind all staff assigned to the SCC to comply with agency
policies regarding appropriate computer usage and, which included the following bullets:
•

Please remember to follow guidelines and policies on internet use. Please note there is
ZERO TOLERANCE of any employee accessing pornographic material.

•

In addition ... Employees who violate these policies may be subject to disciplinary
action, up to and including dismissal from employment as well as separate actions from
state ethics law violations, possible criminal or civil prosecution.

Pre-disciplinary Meeting
A pre-disCiplinary meeting was scheduled with you on Thursday, August 16, 2012 at 2:30 p.m.
in the administrative office in Steilacoom. In attendance at the meeting were you, Steve
Chenoweth, Council Representative; Mark Davis, Administrative Services Chief; and Walter
Bracy, Human Resource Manager. During this meeting you admitted that you had used the
computer for personal reasons to use Skype to attempt to contact your child overseas. You
then stated you were on resident EF watch around 6:00 a.m. on the date in question, February
14, 2012. Mr. Chenoweth then stated that the times listed on the computerreport did not
correspond to times that you were on shift. Mr. Davis committed to doing some additional
research and sharing that information with Mr. Chenoweth after the meeting. You clearly stated
you had never accessed pornographic materials at work. Mr. Davis responded to the follow-up
items via email to Mr. Chenoweth on August 27, 2012. The two items for follow-up were whether
Mr. Neely was at work at the times in question on February 14, 2012 and what time Mr. Neely
was on EF watch on February 14, 2012.
Mr. Davis confirmed the access to the pornographic site "Live Jasmine Live Sex" occurred
between 1:25 a.m. and 1:50 a.m. local time on February 14, 2012. These times were
determined based on Access times on the report. The access times reflect when the website
was last visited by the logged in user. The date and time is provided by the web server that is .
hosting that website, and it is given in Universal Coordinated Time, also referred to as "UTe
Time." SCC reports use website server URL - UTC time to prevent data manipulation because a
local user cannot manipulate the Server URL information which includes the UTe time and date
of visit. UTC time is based on the Prime Meridian (Greenwich England) date/time when the web
site was accessed. This event occurred on February 14, 2012, so standard time applies to the
conversion of UTC time to Local Time because in this year daylight savings time did not begin
until March 11th. To convert UTe time to Pacific Standard Time for February 14, 2012, we must
subtract 8 hours from the stated UTC time/Date on the IT computer report. In subtracting the 8
hours from the UTC time, it appears that most of the alleged computer misuse, including Mr.
Neely's admitted visits to Skype and his visils to Live Jasmine Live Sex web site, occurred
sometime between 1:25 a.m. and 1:50 a.m. on the morning of February 14, 2012.
Mr. Davis also reviewed the EF watch record for February 14, 2012 and Mr. Neely was not on
EF watch from 1:25am to 1 :50am.
Mr. Davis also reviewed Mr. Neely's attendance record on February 14, 2012 and verified Mr.
Neely was at work from the hours of 12am to 8am.

Determination
In determining the appropriate level of discipline, I have carefully reviewed and considered all
the facts regarding the incidents listed above and have reviewed your personnel file and your 5
year employment history. DSHS Administrative Policy 15.15 is very clear regarding disciplinary
action for noncompliance, "Pornographic Materials: DSHS has a zero tolerance regarding
pornographic material in the workplace. If, after an investigation, it is found that an employee
used state resources to create, access, post, transmit, print, or store pornographic materials not
appropriafe fodne workplace, the most stringent disciplinary action will be taken."
The investigation SUbstantiated that you were on duty at the times reflected in the computer
report. You were not at any other location. I do not find your responses credible and your
behavior as outlined above is unacceptable. I believe that retention of your employment with
the SCC would be a demonstration of poor judgment on my part in the stewardship of the
public's trust placed in me as the appointing authority over an institution that cares for and
ensures security of civilly-committed adult, violent sexual predators. I have determined I have
no other recourse than to dismiss you from employment.
Please make arrangements with your supervisor to return all State issued equipment that may
be in your possession, including your identification badge and uniforms.
I have attached an EAP pamphlet as a resource for you. Their services are free to state
employees and they may be reached in Olympia at 360-753-3260. For additional information
you may go to their website at www.dop.wa.gov/EAP.
Pursuant to Article 29 of the above referenced Collective Bargaining Agreement, you may
grieve this action.
Sincerely,

Don Gauntz
Interim CEO
Special Commitment Center
cc:

Cathi Harris, Residential and Security Operations Chief
Melissa Lovell, PA 1 Manager
Margaret Maddox, Chief, HR Operations
Sue Thomas, .Human Resource Administrator
Steve Chenoweth, WFSE Council Representative
Personnel File

Sammie Neely
Acknowledgement of Receipt

Date