Okla. Veteran's Affairs Executive Director Disputes Firing By Veterans Commission

The former Executive Director of the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs is disputing his termination by Oklahoma Veterans Commission.

On Friday, The Commission voted 5-1 to terminate Kintsel. In a letter to the Director of Human Resources, Joel Kintsel stated that he was disputing the decision by the commission to fire him, calling the actions illegal.

"These so-called personnel actions taken by the group holding themselves out to be the Oklahoma Veterans Commission were illegal. Of nine seats on the commission, only three have been legally appointed and legally seated. There was no quorum present. There was no legal authority to call this meeting nor to take any action of any kind," wrote Kintsel.

Kintsel asks that he and Deputy Director Sarah J. Lane be placed on leave until the dispute is resolved.

Current Attorney General Gentner Drummond has also said three of Stitt's Veteran Commission appointments were unlawful. Drummond said the state required the commission to have nine members, including representatives from six specific veterans groups. But Drummond said Stitt did not adhere to that process when appointing commissioners.

See Kintsel's full message below:

Jennifer Shockley

Director of Human Resources

OK Dept of Veterans Affairs

Dear Ms. Shockley,

Good morning. Deputy Director Sarah J. Lane and I respectfully dispute the legality of the attempted actions of terminating our employment on Friday, March 10, 2023, as Executive Director and Deputy Executive Director of the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs.

These so-called personnel actions taken by the group holding themselves out to be the Oklahoma Veterans Commission were illegal. Of nine seats on the commission, only three have been legally appointed and legally seated. There was no quorum present. There was no legal authority to call this meeting nor to take any action of any kind.

On behalf of both myself and Deputy Lane, please place us both in a leave status until this matter is resolved through whatever legal action may be required to mitigate the illegal actions of this group holding themselves out to the be the Oklahoma Veterans Commission. I request annual leave for me and compensatory time, followed by annual leave for Deputy Lane.

Also, please request restoration of network access for both of us as OMES has unlawfully removed our access to our network and e-mail accounts. Furthermore, please request that our entrance badges be reactivated as OMES has deactivated our badges, thus preventing us from entering ODVA, Central Office, our lawful place of employment.

Finally, it is being reported in the news media that Deputy Lane rescinded her resignation of January 27, 2023, when she returned to employment on February 13, 2023. This did not occur. Deputy Lane did not rescind her resignation. She was rehired. Prior to last Friday’s illegal vote, we were made aware that a WorkDay personnel transaction had been initiated from outside of ODVA by OMES attempting to recharacterize Deputy Lane’s resignation and reinstatement as a rescission rather than a rehire.

In fact, Deputy Lane was rehired after the Attorney General publicly affirmed that the Governor had not followed the law in appointing the group holding itself out to be the Oklahoma Veterans Commission.

Please confirm that OMES has not fraudulently removed her resignation letter from the WorkDay system in an apparent effort to hide the reason for Deputy Lane’s resignation, namely that Robert Allen and Sid Ellington insisted that Deputy Lane participate in an Open Meetings Act violation. Please confirm that Deputy Lane's resignation letter still resides in Deputy Lane's official personnel file. Deputy Director Sarah Lane is a whistleblower and the Governor, Robert Allen and Sid Ellington are desperate to direct attention away from the genuine reason for her resignation.

Please acknowledge receiving this communication upon receipt and please confirm by the end of the day that the requested actions have been taken on our behalf.

Thank you,

Joel Kintsel