Discipline Considered For Officials Whose Children Got State Jobs

Pre-disciplinary hearings have been scheduled Oct. 13 for two high-ranking information-technology officials in the state Department of Education, whose children got temporary jobs during the past year as computer support personnel at the agency.

A department spokeswoman said that Commissioner of Education Dianna Wentzell is expected to attend the two hearings at which potential disciplinary action will be discussed concerning James Mindek, the department's chief information officer and IT bureau chief, and David Skoczylas, who works for Mindek.

An internal investigation this past summer concluded that both officials had improper involvement in a recruitment process that resulted in the hiring of Mindek's son, Joshua Mindek, 26, and Skoczylas' daughter, Emily Skoczylas, 25.

Next week's "Loudermill" hearings – named for a U.S. Supreme Court case in the mid-1980s on due-process protections for government employees – mark the start of what's often a slow process under which any sanctions for misconduct are imposed only after an employee has a fair chance to defend himself. The employee generally is told what he's being accused of and what discipline is being considered, and he can try to correct information he believes is incorrect.

Read more: http://www.courant.com/politics/hc-lender-hirings-20161006-story.html