OPEA seeks legal advice following release of OSDH financial report

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma State Department Health (OSDH) could face legal action following a lengthy investigation by a multicounty grand jury.

The grand jury revealed Thursday that the department was never actually in a financial crisis.

The missing $30 million was found in a slush fund that State Auditor and Inspector Gary Jones said had as much as $40 million in it at one time.

Two-hundred plus employees were laid off from the department between October and December 2017.

The Oklahoma Public Employees Association is now considering legal action on their behalf.

"We're going to be looking at what legal action, if any, we can take,” said OPEA Executive Director Sterling Zearley. “Because the health department actually followed the Reduction In Force rules, but they didn't need to do that because they didn't need to take that action."

Both Jones and the Grand Jury called for the health department to return its $30 million emergency appropriation.

Grand jurors called for the money to be used on additional audits to uncover fraud and misuse and mismanagement of taxpayer dollars by other state agencies.

Zearley will be meeting with OPEA attorneys on Tuesday.

OPEA encourages any of the former employees who lost their jobs in the RIF to contact OPEA by calling 405-525-6764 or emailing tomd@opea.org