Justice for Toby Flanderson

This week the MA Cannabis Control Commission continues to try to stay more relevant than Travis Kelcie and Taylor Swift in a purple convertible by releasing a lengthy response to the MA Lawmakers’ request for oversight. Does anyone else think it’s weird we keep getting Google Drive Drops from our local politicians? Anyways, the Commissioners answered the Lawmakers’ questions... in their own way. You could definitely tell their feelings were hurt by what the Lawmakers said in their letter and I will just leave it at that. They did give us, however, insight into Chair Shannon O’Brien’s suspension and highlight the importance of Human Resources! I know guys, I was excited too.

“The Commission is committed to maintaining its status as a positive place to work. The Commission has policies in place to ensure a workplace free from abusive or harassing behavior. Employees are held to high ethical standards, which can be found in the agency’s Employee Handbook and its Enhanced Code of Ethics. Employees, or individuals acting on their behalf, may not improperly disclose confidential information and/or state or federal information learned during the course of their employment. Individuals found to be in violation of these policies will be held appropriately accountable”

Now I don’t want to make this about me (or do I? of course, I do this is MY blog) but in July, when Chair Shannon O’Brien announced Shawn Collins’ Medical Leave for the birth of his child during a Zoom Public Meeting, my little Human Resources heart exploded with panic and anxiety. The head of a department that is already in known turmoil, discussing an employee’s confidential medical information in a meeting, let alone a public one, would surely lead to a lawsuit from Mr. Collins and most likely cost Chair O’Brien her job. That is an HR nightmare. Actually, just like a general nightmare for all parties involved.

 I’m not going to drop screenshots in a blog because I’m not that petty(I will DM on request) but I sent texts as that meeting played out that Chair O’Brien made a huge mistake and I thought she’d be suspended that week and inevitably terminated for it.  

We know that didn’t happen though. At least not right away. Instead, time passed, we can only imagine that problems continued to escalate in a less than positive manner, and coincidentally when the regulations needed to be written last week, that’s when this was decided to be dealt with. As an HR nerd, I know there would need to be an investigation. So sure, an internal affairs investigation could take 2 months - we know how thorough the CCC investigations can be – but they shouldn’t. At most, it shouldn’t take more than 2 weeks especially given this was a recorded incident with many witnesses and pretty clear policies in their Employee Handbook that would support termination. So, the timing is questionable.

Whatever the timing, it was certainly a suspend-able offense. Which brings me back to why we are here. Human Resources! No, wait, don’t close the tab! I promise it’s interesting. The Cannabis Control Commission has had a lot of problems in their seven years but what finally broke the straw and caused the biggest fire of all? A simple breach of their Employee Handbook Code of Ethics. Now I could go on about why HR matters but I literally made a website about it so I think you get it.

At this point, all eyes are on Treasurer Deb Goldberg. I personally would not want to be in her shoes right now.

“For questions regarding the appointment status of individual Commissioners, we recommend consulting with the relevant Constitutional Officer(s) by whom they are appointed. Under Chapter 55 of the Acts of 2017, the Governor, Attorney General, and State Treasurer have sole authority over appointments to the Commission. Questions regarding the status of the Chair should be directed to the Office of the State Treasurer. At its September 18, 2023 public meeting, the Commission voted 4-0 to designate Commissioner Ava Callender Concepcion, the agency’s public safety appointee named by then-Attorney General Maura Healey in 2021, as Acting Chair, as provided by M.G.L. c. 94G §4(a). The Commission affirmed this vote on September 21, 2023, and designated Commissioner Concepcion to serve as Acting Chair through November 9, 2023, which correlates to the Commission’s ongoing regulatory review process”

It is interesting, as I do wonder who would be responsible for investigating this incident. Is it Deb Goldberg’s office or is it the Human Resources Department at the CCC. I believe the CCC is still working with an Interim Director of Human Resources so that would be a lot for that person to tackle but it should be their HR department.

However this plays out, it seems to be that we will get to hear about it. Some get Twitter wars. We get public Google Doc Letter Wars.