Florida Data Scientist Rebekah Jones Granted Whistleblower Status

[riversedge]

Source: huff post

05/30/2021 11:46 am ET

Jones accused state health officials of pressuring her to manipulate COVID-19 numbers. State officials said she was fired for communicating with the media.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) .........................

The employee, Rebekah Jones, had raised questions about Florida’s COVID-19 data after being ousted as the data’s curator. State officials said she was fired for insubordination after being reprimanded several times, according to state records.
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A letter from Inspector General Michael J. Bennett, the Herald reported, said Jones’ complaint demonstrates “reasonable cause to suspect that an employee or agent of an agency or independent contractor has violated any federal, state or local law, rule or regulation.”

Under the state’s whistleblower rules, Jones could be reinstated or be eligible for compensation if an investigation finds her firing was in retaliation for the concerns she raised.

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Read more: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/rebekah-jones-granted-whistleblower-status_n_60b39afbe4b01de8b7840dbf?ncid=tweetlnkushpmg00000016&section=politics

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[SheltieLover]

1. K&R!

[RKP5637]

2. Hmmmmm ... on orders by DeSantis??????????????

"A letter from Inspector General Michael J. Bennett, the Herald reported, said Jones’ complaint demonstrates “reasonable cause to suspect that an employee or agent of an agency or independent contractor has violated any federal, state or local law, rule or regulation.”"

[MyOwnPeace]

3. This is BIG!!!!!!!!

She was FIRED for not lying about COVID numbers.
She was charged with things, had her house raided and had equipment seized.

The 'deniers' were trying to destroy her.

It will be interesting to see where this goes...............

[Ferrets are Cool]

6. I hope it leads to something good

[iluvtennis]

10. Ditto. n/t

[monkeyman1]

15. she is probably taking attorney's applications for employment!!!!

[LetMyPeopleVote]

4. I trust this lady compared to DeathSantos

[smb]

13. I Trust Nigerian Princes Compared To DeathSantos nt

[Evolve Dammit]

5. Will there be hearings?

[Saoirse9]

7. This is good news n/t

[liberalla]

8. Yay for her! After all the shit they put her through! I am so happy to read this news!

The raid of her home and guns held on her... She said guns were pointed at her kids...

[jaxexpat]

9. This is great stuff. She's been enduring DesSantis' bully boy tactics for almost a year.

It a crack in the Florida Reich's armor.

[catrose]

11. I'm so glad she and her family moved from Florida.

[NoMoreRepugs]

12. little governor Ronnie death sentence is not going to be happy..,

he does not tolerate anything he does being questioned or exposed to the light of day.

[Ligyron]

14. That's really great news!

I just hope she and her legal team can demonstrate the agency "has violated any federal, state or local law, rule or regulation.” by fudging the numbers or pressuring employees to do.

I mean, there must be something on the books somewhere...

[monkeyman1]

16. floriduh mini -trump might as well bend over & kiss his ass bye - bye !! clown !!

[orangecrush]

17. Good news!

[electric_blue68]

18. Alright! Good to hear this!

[TygrBright]

19. Gonna be one helluva lawsuit. You go, Grrrl! n/t

[intheflow]

20. Article doesn't mention the raid on her home, but

I'm sure it's that action that convinced Bennett to grant her status. Without that, she's just another disgruntled former employee (not in reality, but within the system). The state's extreme response to her whistleblowing gives credence to her claims. Checkmate, DeSantis.