Agency says Mike Causey friend and donor is more than a driver, but not a top deputy [The Charlotte Observer]

The state Insurance Department’s human resources director has concluded that it obtained the wrong job classification for a temporary part-time employee who has been driving Commissioner Mike Causey on state business since 2017.

The department had classified Roger Blackwell as a Deputy Secretary/Commissioner I, making $44 an hour. In 2022, Blackwell made more than $84,000.

A letter released this week said Causey’s longtime friend and campaign contributor had far more responsibilities than chauffeuring the commissioner. But “the job duties do not encompass the scope of authority of a Deputy Secretary/Commissioner I,” it states.

“Mr. Blackwell began as a Public Safety Liaison, then was an Insurance Criminal Investigator I and finally was made a Deputy Secretary/Commissioner I because of his invaluable service to Commissioner Causey,” NCDOI Human Resources Director Jerry Daniels wrote in the letter dated Feb. 2.

The News & Observer in January reported the pay and job classifications for Blackwell, prompting the Office of State Human Resources, which oversees temporary hiring, to ask NCDOI to justify them. OSHR released Daniels’ letter at The N&O’s request.

Management questions

OSHR’s chief concern, according to its letter to the department, was that the job classification defines work performed as “managerial and administrative work managing and directing a group of divisions/programs within a small to medium size State agency.”

In June, Causey and his staff said in an interview with The N&O that Blackwell, who is 77, was one of his two part-time drivers.

Blackwell confirmed that role to The N&O in an interview. He said he oversees no department divisions nor has any employees working under him.

Blackwell, a Republican, is also an Archdale city council member, and the Randolph County Sheriff’s office in January said that he’s a part-time captain there.

Daniels’ letter to OSHR characterizes Blackwell as a high-level staffer to the commissioner. Blackwell began serving as a “public safety liaison and policy advisor” to Causey when he was hired in February 2017, the insurance department’s letter states.

“In that role, Mr. Blackwell served as a point of contact with local law enforcement and served as an ombudsman for consumer, insurance company and adjuster complaints,” Daniels wrote.

Blackwell also “works directly with investigators in the Department’s Criminal Investigations Division on complaints involving insurance fraud” and “has the authority to investigate these complaints,” the letter said.

“Over the years Mr. Blackwell’s job duties have increased where Mr. Blackwell is now a trusted and valuable adviser to Commissioner Causey,” Daniels wrote. “Mr. Blackwell is a member of the senior management staff for the agency, and works closely with Commissioner Causey and other senior staff to identify potential areas of concern or changes that need to be made.”

OSHR asked in its letter to NCDOI for documentation to show Blackwell’s work went beyond driving Causey and providing security. None so far has been provided, said Devon Freed, an OSHR spokeswoman. A search on NCDOI’s website did not turn up Blackwell as an ombudsman, investigator or senior staff member.

Blackwell’s travels

The N&O began seeking information on Blackwell in August by filing a request for his travel records. Blackwell has accompanied Causey, who has not flown to out-of-state destinations on behalf of his department, on road trips as far as New Mexico on state business. NCDOI has yet to release Blackwell’s travel records.

The N&O on Jan. 3 requested an interview with Causey about Blackwell’s job, duties and pay. The commissioner declined through a spokesman. When approached at a Council of State meeting, Causey said he was too busy for an interview. NCDOI officials have yet to provide any information to The N&O detailing Blackwell’s duties beyond driving and protecting Causey.

The N&O first reported on Causey’s hiring practices in November. Among his hires is his former campaign manager, Mendy Greenwood, as a regional director. The department produced little documentation showing the work she performed.

Ted Brown was senior policy advisor to Causey from 2017 till December 2022, when he said he was let go with little explanation. Blackwell is a “very nice man,” Brown said, but he had no office in the department’s headquarters and his only duties Brown was aware of was driving Causey and helping him plan his travels.

“I really have no knowledge of any other duties, period,” Brown said Wednesday.

Freed said in an email that there’s little the office can do if Blackwell’s work doesn’t fit the job classification and pay.

State lawmakers, in last year’s 625-page state budget, included a provision that took away OSHR’s authority over an employee’s classification and pay, she said. The agencies now have that authority, she added.

“Under the new law, OSHR can evaluate whether the employee met the minimum requirements of the classification, but the Appropriations Act has limited further corrective actions by OSHR,” Freed wrote.

Blackwell’s prior work experience met the requirements for the classification, she said.

The State Auditor would be the agency to investigate and determine whether Blackwell’s pay was commensurate with his duties, she said. The state auditor does not confirm or deny any potential audit or investigation, a spokeswoman said.

It is unclear what Blackwell’s new classification might be, and whether any change would alter his pay. OSHR redacted parts of Daniels’ letter that would make that more clear, claiming that information is not public under the state’s personnel law.

The law does allow state agencies to release personnel information to demonstrate their integrity in public matters, but Freed said that would be up to NCDOI.

NCDOI-OSHR letter on Blackwell by Dan Kane on Scribd

NCDOI letter on Blackwell by Dan Kane on Scribd

©2024 The Charlotte Observer. Visit charlotteobserver.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.