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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The e-mail thread below is reproduced as I received
it and has been modified only to protect the identity of the Licensee who seeks
the leave of absence. Let this sad event cause you to ignore the constant
invitations to communicate only by telephone with BEP Administration and to
carefully preserve copies of any written correspondence, whether it be
hand-written or e-mail, with Mr. Hull or Ms. Zanger. Be aware that both of
these people have shown a tendency to fail to respond in any way after the
questions become too searching or the logic and accuracy of the
concerns expressed go beyond the point where people of honesty and
integrity would be able to merely excuse and ignore them.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Joe Sontag</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Dear Mr. Hull,<BR>This is in response to your most
recent e-mail regarding the matter of licensee’s<BR>request for leave and your
failure to answer my direct question of you regarding<BR>licensee to be
represented in any matter concerning her best interest related to<BR>her license
status.<BR>First, I restate my direct question to you, which you chose to avoid
answering.<BR>Please cite the administrative rule, MCB policy, or BEP manual
section that prohibits<BR>a licensee, in this case licensee, from being
represented in any matter concerning<BR>her best interest in her relationship
with the program? To further clarify and attempt<BR>to dispel your
confusion, please cite the administrative rule, MCB policy, or BEP<BR>manual
section that requires a licensee to communicate directly when he/she has
a<BR>designated representative advocating on his/her behalf? In other
words, would you<BR>require the same direct communication with a licensee, were
the letter and request<BR>be mmade by an attorney representative? Please
answer these questions.<BR>Further, you have referenced some need for a
power-of-attorney from a rehabilitation<BR>client of the agency, to discuss
medical matters. First, licensee is not a rehabilitation<BR>client of the
agency, and no BEP rule, MCB policy, or BEP manual requires such a<BR>document
from a licensee for representation, especially since my representation
involves<BR>a plan for the successful operation of the facility during October
and November,<BR>and any pending compliance issues related to the facility
operation. So your misguided<BR>notion of what this matter concerns
clearly misses the subject matter at hand.<BR>Further, you seem to have jumped
to the conclusion that I “solicited” to represent<BR>licensee. If you have
facts to support your assumption, please reveal your facts.<BR>In fact, licensee
contacted me, by getting my phone number from another blind
individual.<BR>Licensee contacted me, not the other way around, as you
jumped to the “solicitation”<BR>by me conclusion. Further, my
communication included an e-mail from licensee regarding<BR>her desire to have
me assist her. Frankly, what more is needed to convince you?<BR>I am truly
sorry that BEP has deteriorated to the point that licensees no longer<BR>can
muster any trust in the BEP management or promotional agents, and that is
neither<BR>of my making or the licensees. It truly is a sad environment in
which program staff<BR>and licensees must co-exist, however that is the reality,
and licensees deeply feel<BR>that their best interests must be represented by
someone more knowledgeable and without<BR>fear and intimidation of retaliation
of reprisal or license revocation. Sadly, licensees<BR>believe that
representation must come from outside the program. The environment<BR>of
fear and intimidation has become so toxic, that licensees feel they can no
longer<BR>conduct business by telephone with promotional agents and management,
instead, resorting<BR>to e-mail communication to protect their backs from
lack of support and training,<BR>lack of response to repairs needs and
equipment, being told one thing and later being<BR>told the opposite, and being
blamed for the mistakes and wrong information of BEP<BR>staff, and on and on and
on. You James, witnessed such mistrust and frustration<BR>from another
licensee you met with just yesterday. This toxic environment is
what<BR>leads to licensees taking leave of absence and decisions to leave the
program entirely<BR>because of the fear, intimidation, and stress from lack of
responsiveness and competent<BR>support.<BR>At Saturday’s Elected Operators’
Committee meeting you commended those who have decided<BR>to leave the
program. I too commend them, but I believe for entirely different
reasons.<BR>I commend them for recognizing that they are swimming in a very
unhealthy toxic environment,<BR>and they no longer can tread and survive the
lack of competent support and training,<BR>poor facilities and sales, guest
complaints about equipment down for repairs and<BR>no-show promised equipment,
and a repair policy and procedure so layered with red-tape,<BR>just to get
repairs and replacement parts, that a licensee needs a full-time tour<BR>guide
so as to not get lost and beat-up while traversing the maze for a simple
repair.<BR>Such complex procedures are not the fault of anything licensees have
or have not<BR>done to deserve such procedures, but rather fall at your feet and
responsibility,<BR>as well as<BR>Constance.<BR>If there were a truly independent
third-party exit interviewfor licensees leaving<BR>the BEP, and evaluation
by the licensees regarding promotional agent and management<BR>performance,
facility needs being met, training, and complex procedures leading to<BR>loss of
income, I am certain the results would be shocking, and not what
management<BR>at any level desires to hear or face head-on.<BR>Further,
licensees feel that the EOC cannot or will not adequately represent
their<BR>best interest, as the EOC has sold-out the licensees, through pay-offs,
favoritism,<BR>and unethical relationships that compromise the role of the EOC,
and a feeling among<BR>licensees that the EOC now exists for the benefit of the
agency and the self-serving<BR>desires and protection of those on the
Committee. This can be measured by the low<BR>turnout at the workshop and
EOC elections, lack of Committee and subcommittee participation,<BR>poor meeting
attendance and no public comment, as licensees feel it a waste of time<BR>and
energy, and falls on self-serving ears. These are not my comments, but
comments<BR>I’ve heard from those you, Constance, the promotional agents, and
EOC, whom are suppose<BR>to serve the best interests of all licensees.<BR>I say
all this to come back to your reference to Rule 35, and another major BEP
problem—failure<BR>to follow the Rules and law. As you stated
Rule 35 makes a leave of absence initially<BR>an issue vbetween a licensee and
his/her promotional agent, and absent any rule,<BR>policy, or procedure to
the contrary, the representative of his choosing. The request<BR>and
plan submitted was directed to the promotional agent, and, as of your first
email<BR>to me, he had not communicated anything over a period of six
days. So James, why<BR>are you not following Rule 35 as written, and allow
the promotional agent to do his<BR>job? I am sure your intermeddling
before the promotional agent could carry out his<BR>responsibilities per the
rules is solely a result of my representation of licensee,<BR>and her desire to
have her best interest represented, given the distrust and toxic<BR>environment
in which she is currently positioned and described above.<BR>Since the
promotional agent gave a recorded verbal approval yesterday to the
leave,<BR>licensee and I are proceeding with the plan submitted to the
promotional agent..<BR>Should you have a valid reason to not affirm promotional
agent’s decision, please<BR>comply with Rule 35 by putting your valid reasonsfor
your rejection in writing.<BR>I would also like to warn you against any action
of retaliation or reprisal by any<BR>state personnel against licensee because of
her decision to have me represent her.<BR>licensee is already under enough
stress, and any harassment of her by state personnel<BR>may result in actionable
injury.<BR>Finally, as requested previously, if there any pending compliance
issues related<BR>tolicensee or her facility, please inform me of them
immediately.<BR>Best regards,<BR>Terry Eagle<BR>On behalf of licensee<BR>From:
Hull, James (LARA) [mailto:hullj@michigan.gov]<BR>Sent: Monday, September 24,
2012 3:03 PM<BR>To: <A
href="mailto:terrydeagle@yahoo.comm">terrydeagle@yahoo.comm</A><BR>Subject: RE:
PRIORITY - Leave of Absence<BR>Mr. Eagle,<BR>I am confused by which part of the
rules you seek a citation. As BEP staff is held<BR>under confidentiality
as members of the state vocational rehabilitation agency for<BR>the blind, we
cannot discuss medical issues that may or may not be affecting one<BR>of our
licensees. Until we receive a notice that an individual has given
authorization<BR>under a form of power of attorney, it is my understanding that
we cannot discuss<BR>any such issue.<BR>Additionally,<BR>R 393.35
Leave of absence, generally.<BR> Rule 35. (1) This rule
applies to all leaves of absence.<BR> (2) To take a leave of
absence, an operator shall first apply in writing to the<BR>administrator for
the leave of absence. The leave of absence request shall include<BR>the
reason(s) the request is being made. The administrator shall approve or
deny<BR>the request in writing, identifying the applicable rule and subrule(s)
for granting<BR>or denying the leave of absence.<BR>As of this message, the
Program Manager has not approved any plan for a leave of<BR>abscense requested
from a licensee. Should an individual submit a request, We will<BR>make
every effort to review and approve or deny it as quickly as possible.
Please<BR>understand that no providison within the rules regarding a leave of
abscense requires<BR>that the licensee develop the plan alone and should you
wish to offer your advice<BR>to an individual who asks for it, it is their
decision to accept or reject it. The<BR>Commission cannot accept an
unsolicited plan for operations of a facility under the<BR>premis that it is at
the request of a licensee until we have been notified, in writing,<BR>that a
person is going to do so. As you can see above, in order for a licensee
to<BR>be granted a leave, they must be the one to request it from the
program.<BR>I hope this clarifies this situation for you. Should you have
any additional questions,<BR>you may contact me at
517/373.2064.<BR>Cordially,<BR>James Hull<BR>Assistant Business Enterprise
Program Manager<BR>Michigan Commission for the Blind<BR>From: Terry Eagle
[mailto:terrydeagle@yahoo.com]<BR>Sent: Monday, September 24, 2012 11:55
AM<BR>To: Promotional Agent<BR>Cc: Hull, James (LARA)<BR>Subject: PRIORITY -
Leave of Absence<BR>Good morning,<BR>This second communication is regarding my
representation of licensee and her proposed<BR>leave of absence.<BR>James,
on Saturday, you told the EOC, and you promotional agent, this morning,
told<BR>licensee, that you can only communicate directly with licensee without
involvement<BR>of a third-party representative of her choosing. Would you
please cite the program<BR>administrative rule, MCB policy, or BEP manual
section that requires BEP staff to<BR>communicate directly with a licensee, and
not an identified representative of his/her<BR>choosing?<BR>It was clearly
obvious from my e-mail to the two of you that licensee received a<BR>cc of my
e-mail to you, and following is her response to me from that email to
you<BR>two:<BR>-----Original Message-----<BR>From: Licensee Name and Email
Address<BR>Sent: Tuesday, September 18, 2012 10:36 PM<BR>To:<BR><A
href="mailto:terrydeagle@yahoo.com">terrydeagle@yahoo.com</A><BR>Subject: Re:
Leave of Absence<BR>I had received the email today and I deeply appreciate it
that you<BR>moved so quickly on my behalf and being a man of your word.
Everything<BR>was well said and I appreciate your help and working with me.
If<BR>anything else is needed please contact me by phone because I do
not<BR>always get a chance to read my emails. Thank you very much.<BR>Best
wishes,<BR>Licensee Name<BR>Unless and until licensee withdraws my
representation of her in the leave of absence<BR>and any pending compliance
issues, or you can provide us with the rule, policy, or<BR>manual section that
prohibits licensee from having representation in such matters,<BR>we will be
proceeding with the plan as outlinted in my previous e-mail to you two.<BR>It is
my understanding that you promotional agent communicated to Licensee this
morning<BR>verbal approval of the leave of absence. Will you please
communicate such approval<BR>in writing?<BR>Based on the verbal approval, we are
proceeding with the planned leave. As my e-mail<BR>to you two indicated,
name will be responsible for and fulfill the operation requirements<BR>of the
facility, and if you need anymore information than that, please notify me<BR>yet
this week, prior to the beginning of the leave next Monday.<BR>Finally, I
understand a letter has been, or shortly will be, transmitted by fax<BR>to you
promotional agent, from Licensee’s doctor regarding the recommended
short-term<BR>leave.<BR>Should you have any other concerns or requests, please
do not hesitate to contact<BR>me.<BR>Best regards,<BR>Terry Eagle<BR>On behalf
of Licensee Name<BR>-----Original Message-----<BR>From: Terry
Eagle<BR>[mailto:terrydeagle@yahoo.com]<BR>Sent: Tuesday, September 18, 2012
4:42 AM<BR>To: Promotional Agent Name and Email Address<BR>Cc: 'James Hull
[LARA]”'; Licensee Name and Email Address<BR>Subject: Leave of Absence<BR>Hi
Promotional Agent Name,<BR>Licensee Name has requested of me, and I have
accepted, that I arrange on her behalf,<BR>a short-term, up to 60 days, leave of
absence for personal reasons, under Vending<BR>Facility Program Rule 35.
This short-term leave shall consist of the months of October<BR>and November,
2012.<BR>In accordance with Rule 35,Licensee Is proposing and finalizing details
of a plan<BR>to continue operation of her facility in accordance with all
program requirements<BR>throughout the leave,by utilizing Name ensuring the
efficient operation of the facility.<BR>Promotional agent Name, you are well
aware of Name’s skills and ability to maintain<BR>a clean, pleasant,
well-stocked location, and a high standard of guest service, which<BR>all
contribute to Name’s outstanding operation of a BEP facility. Name’s
record<BR>of successful operation of BEP facilities should cause no concern or
barrier to approval<BR>of Licensee’s plan for continuance and efficient
operation of the facility during<BR>her short absence.<BR>Promotional Agent
Name, please do whatever you must to approve this plan and leave<BR>without
delay, and inform me with regard to the plan and leave as soon as
possible.<BR>Licensee has also informed me about some current compliance issues
involving her<BR>location, and I have also agreed to represent her in the
resolution of any such issues.<BR>So please communicate directly with me
regarding such matter, so as to not impose<BR>further stress upon licensee at
this point in time.<BR>I may be contacted at (517) 372-7552, or here by
email.<BR>I look forward to your timely response, so Licensee and I may advance
and implement<BR>her request for leave.<BR>Best regards,<BR>Terry Eagle<BR>On
behalf of Licensee Name<BR></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>