Abilene State School Accused of Abuse of Power
By: Tyler Edwards
Updated: April 2, 2009
We've heard about the investigation into abuse of residents at state school facilities across the state. A former employee of the Abilene State School claims he was fired for reporting resident abuse.Derek Shumake, a former employee who worked at the school for 4 months, claims the school is abusing a 6 month employee probationary period to fire people for no reason.
The a note the school gave to Shumake states, "this letter is to give you written notice of my determination that you are not suited for your assigned position," but Shumake believes he was good employee that tried his hardest.
Shumake says reporting patient abuse will get you fired, but Laura Albrecht, a spokeperson for the school says they actually encourage people to report abuse because that is legally what an employee witnessing an act of abuse is suppose to do.
Albrecht also says the six month probation period for new employees is there for a reason because some people are not actually fit to do a job.
Shumake does plan to take action and rally outside of the state school for what he believes as a wrongful firing...
