Broward rehires ex-transit boss

Suspended for sexually explicit emails and fired over false time cards

A Broward County transportation superintendent who once was suspended for sharing sexually explicit joke emails and videos, and who ultimately was fired over accusations he falsified time cards, is back on the job.

Jeffrey Scott got his job back because the county reached an agreement with him that avoided a lawsuit. But county officials declined to say why they were steering clear of the lawsuit.

Scott, who oversees training programs for bus operators and supervisory workers, returned to work on Sept. 28 in his former position as superintendent of transportation with his previous salary of $93,359, according to David Kahn, Broward’s human resources director.

The settlement included him getting back his job and salary, along with one-third of back pay, which amounts to $47,500.

Scott was fired last year when the county concluded he was making time card changes for a subordinate that gave that employee thousands of dollars in extra pay.

The other worker, bus traffic controller Clifford Combs, also was fired.

Scott was unable to justify the changes he made to the time cards, according to a county report, and the 82 changes to Combs’ time card “did not match his presence at any of the Transit work locations at the time of the punch.”

Scott told the county at the time that it was a rushed investigation by the county auditor. He said all the time card adjustments were legitimate — with no theft of time and no intent to defraud the county — even though he should have documented the edits better, according to a report.

The South Florida Sun Sentinel couldn’t reach Scott for comment despite amessage left for him with his supervisor.

Scott rose through the ranks with the county through the decades. He was first hired as a bus driver for Broward County in 1996 and became a supervisor in 2000.

In 2010, he was nearly fired for participating in the regular sharing of sexually explicit joke emails and videos. Scott was often the recipient and not the instigator, but hewas a supervisor at the time, and occasionally replied with inappropriate comments.

The county considered firing him, saying the violations were so numerous and content “so severe,” it “appeared to be a pattern of improper behavior.” A document said his behavior was “unacceptable and cannot be tolerated.”

Instead, the county suspended him for five days without pay, according to a county document.

In 2013, he was promoted to the superintendent’s job, and given a $10,000 raise to earn $70,000.

In the case weeks ago, Scott got his job back before going through the county’s arbitration process.

Kahn would only say that “the decision was made to settle before itwent to arbitration” and that Scott had “filed a grievance at the time of termination and the settlement was to resolve that grievance.”

Marcus Barswell, the attorney for the union representing Scott, said the county and union were able to reach the agreement without escalating it to a lawsuit.

He declined to provide details and wouldn’t say whether they disputed the county’s findings or what was their response to the allegations, only saying “we never appeared in front of an arbitrator to present any case on any of those disputed issues.”

Transit Director Chris Walton could not be reached for comment despite amessage left at his office, and an email. County Administrator Bertha Henry could not be reached for comment on her cellphone.