Attorneys argued Wednesday whether the termination of Pat Rowe Kerr's employment with the Missouri Veterans Commission was legitimate based solely on budgetary constraints.
Kerr is suing the commission and its director, Larry Kay, for sexual harassment and sex and age discrimination.
Martin Drewel, former assistant director for budget and planning for the state, testified Wednesday there were budget withholdings in the 2009-10 fiscal year to the Missouri Veterans Commission.
Gov. Jay Nixon in his original budget for that year made cuts to the commission's budget, which were reappropriated by the House and Senate in their final budget. In late October, Kay announced they'd have to deal with $782,000 in withholdings from its budget. In November, Kerr and another employee were terminated.
One full-time equivalent position in the commission's central office was eliminated in the state budget as part of those withholdings, although a specific position within the department wasn't outlined.
"Are you aware of Nixon's effort to reduce the number of state employees (when he entered the office)?" defense co-counsel Emily Ottenson asked.
"Yes," Drewel said.
"And that was one of his first directives to your office?" she asked.
"Yes," he said.
Ottenson clarified the directive was an attempt to cut back on the number of central office staff in departments and not the people "in the trenches" who were working directly with veterans. Drewel said he considered Kerr's position to be administrative even though much of her work was directly with veterans.
Kerr's attorney, Jerome Dobson, asked Drewel if the commission could have eliminated a vacant position from the budget to save Kerr's position or if finances from other funds could have been re-appropriated to staff salaries to keep her.
Drewel indicated the commission could have made an appeal to eliminate a vacant position, and he saw no reason why the Office of Administration would have rejected that request. He said he didn't recollect Kay approaching the office to make an appeal, but it's unclear whether the request was made to someone else.
The Office of Administration also allows the commission to transfer 25 percent of expense funds to professional services, which can be used for salaries.
Ottenson asked Drewel if he was aware the commission was told it was not permitted to transfer any of its expense funds to professional services, and Drewel said he was not.
Also called to testify via video deposition was former commission chairman John Comerford, who was on the board when Kerr was terminated. In a commission meeting with Kay and other staff, Comerford said there was discussion as to why Kerr and another employee were being terminated as opposed to anyone else in the office.
Comerford's understanding was Kerr was terminated because of budget restraints, but he had notes citing potential reasons why she was among the two who were terminated.
In Comerford's notes, there's mention of Kerr "keeping copies of people's medical records, huge liability." It was noted by Comerford the medical records were explained by someone at the meeting as an ongoing problem commission staff had been trying to correct.
It was unclear whether Kerr was still making copies of medical records at the time of her termination.
Dobson clarified Kerr was authorized to make copies of medical records, and it did not violate any laws. Comerford was not aware of any context behind that statement or if it was a reason she was terminated.
He also noted during that meeting Kerr was working on veteran Eric Greitens' health claim. Comerford did not recall why that situation would be inappropriate, figuring maybe it was a conflict of interest.
Greitens, who's a Republican candidate for governor, testified via video Kerr was not helping him with a claim nor did he ask her to.
One of Comerford's final notes about the meeting was Kerr was handling state money without properly documenting it; he said he was not suggesting she was mishandling it or stealing it. Comerford could not cite what state money she was handling, though.
Testimonies from earlier in the day centered around interactions Kay had with female military officers and with Kerr.
Col. Mona Jibril previously worked under Kay as her commanding officer and cited occasions he had yelled at her and, in a separate instance, another female officer in front of their peers during a peacekeeping mission in Kosovo.
"I felt humiliated," Jibril said. "These are my peers. They like me, and here's my commanding officer yelling at me. It was demoralizing."
She also said she was replaced in her position by a male officer with less experience than her after she returned from 10-day leave to the U.S. shortly after they arrived in Kosovo. However, she couldn't confirm if it was Kay who decided to replace her.
Kerr's husband, John Kerr, testified about several times his wife received a call from Kay, who yelled at her and sometimes used "derogatory" and "sexist" language that would never have been used to talk to a man. Some of the phone conversations were on speaker, so John Kerr could hear what Kay was saying; other times, he could only hear the volume and tone of Kay's voice.
At one point, John Kerr said he talked to former executive director Hal Dulle about Kay's phone conversations with Kerr's wife.
"She was being treated differently as a woman, and she's vulnerable. And he was taking advantage of that," John Kerr recounted of his conversation to Dulle. "No man would have been treated that way, and it needs to stop."
According to John Kerr, Dulle said he would look into the situation, but said during the conversation, "That's just the way Larry (Kay) is."
Testimony in the case is expected to continue through next week.
Previous coverage:
Kerr testifies as trial continues, July 13, 2016
Kerr's harassment suit spills into court, July 12, 2016
Pat Rowe-Kerr sues Veterans Commission, Kay on several issues, July 26, 2011