Modesto parts way with supervisor it had investigated

Modesto has parted ways with a wastewater supervisor it was investigating, including allegations that he had worked at a second job while calling in sick with the city.

The city entered into a settlement agreement with Joel Lindsey in which he resigned while denying any wrongdoing and the city agreed to stop its investigations and any potential discipline.

“(T)he parties have a mutual interest in ending their employment relationship,” the settlement states.

Lindsey, 53, had worked for the city since January 2011 and his salary was $93,229.

It took Modesto about eight months to resolve its investigations of Lindsey. The Bee reported in December that the city had started looking into Lindsey’s moonlighting at Oakdale’s wastewater treatment plant.

Deputy City Manager Joe Lopez said it took time to reach a conclusion because the city was conducting several personnel investigations in the Utilities Department, which includes water and wastewater operations. Lopez said not all of the investigations involved Lindsey. The department has nearly 280 employees.

Lopez declined to reveal the allegations the city was investigating. The Bee has a California Public Records request with the city for its investigations of Lindsey. Lopez said the city’s attorneys are reviewing the request.

Lindsey initially stayed on the job as the city investigated him, but the city eventually put him on paid administrative leave. Lopez said Lindsey was on leave April 18 to Aug. 3 and was paid $26,633 over that period.

The agreement called for Lindsey to resign Sept. 1 and to use vacation and other leave time after Aug. 3 unless he found another job. Lindsey may have found other employment. Lopez said Lindsey notified Modesto on Wednesday that that would be his last day with the city.

Lindsey could not be reached for comment.

He declined to comment in December, referring questions to labor representative Kim Gillingham with Goyette & Associates, the law firm that represents the Modesto Confidential and Management Association. Lindsey belonged to the association. Gillingham said in December she was confident the investigation would show Lindsey had not violated the city’s sick leave policy.

She did not respond to voice mails and emails seeking comment for this story.

Lindsey worked part time for Oakdale from June 2014 to August 2015 while working full time for Modesto. The apparent problem is that on 12 days Lindsey took sick leave in Modesto while working for Oakdale, according to his timecards for both cities.

The timecards show he took six full and six partial days of sick leave while working one to three hours each on those days for Oakdale. The timecards show how many hours were worked on a particular day but not when they were worked.

This story was originally published August 18, 2016 at 8:20 PM with the headline "Modesto parts way with supervisor it had investigated."