Baker Denies Allegations in Auditor's Report

Tuesday, April 2, 2019 | 0

The former head of the California Department of Industrial Relations refuted allegations that she engaged in nepotism and retaliated against whistleblowers, according to media reports.

Christine Baker

Christine Baker, who abruptly resigned without explanation in March 2018, told the San Francisco Chronicle that most of the report Auditor Elaine Howle's office released last week is untrue. Recent reforms to the state's workers' compensation system necessarily created detractors, Baker said, adding that she was "railroaded" into the audit.

"There is a band that wanted to make me look very bad, take me down," she said. "It's complicated."

Baker made similar allegations about being targeted by a cabal in what the Los Angeles Times describes as a lengthy rebuttal sent to her supporters. Baker said the auditor was "misled by a band of people that organized to take me down," according to the Times.

Baker in the letter called the auditor's report one-sided and written by people who didn't understand what she was trying to do.

"The staff members who prepared the auditor's report clearly do not understand the distinction between retaliation and settling the record straight on personally damaging misinformation," Baker reportedly wrote.

The auditor's report alleges Baker as director of the DIR skirted state civil service rules to hire and arrange promotions for her daughter. The auditor also said there was one period from 2015 to 2017 during which Baker's daughter apparently produced no substantive work despite submitting time sheets reporting 40-hour weeks.

The auditor is recommending the state try to recover $129,000 in pay Baker's daughter collected while she was reportedly working remotely for the DIR's information and technology department. Baker's brother, James Culbeaux, was chief information officer at the time.

The auditor's report alleges that Baker attempted to identify whistleblowers once she learned of the investigation despite being told not to engage in behavior that could be considered retaliatory.

Baker said she has not heard from the administration of the new governor regarding her appointment to the Fraud Assessment Commission. Former Gov. Jerry Brown in January named Baker as a representative for organized labor on the commission that advises the insurance commissioner on fraud-fighting grants for district attorneys.

"The Brown administration was fully aware of the report when they appointed me," Baker reportedly said.

Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has "severe reservations" about Baker's capacity to serve on the commission, given the seriousness of the allegations, according to a spokesperson. Lara has no authority to appoint or remove members from the commission, however.

The former governor in January also appointed former Labor Secretary David Lanier to serve as chairman of the board for the State Compensation Insurance Fund. The auditor's report accuses Lanier of illegally sharing with Baker information about the ongoing investigation into the whistleblower complaints.