A former examiner for the state Division of Motor Vehicles claims in a lawsuit filed today that he was fired for raising concerns about drivers licenses being issued to people who may be here illegally, or who would be given driving privileges long after their visas expire.
Jeffrey M. Brown, 34, of Jones County worked for the DMV from July 2006 until early April, when he said the division made up reasons to fire him, reports Dan Kane.
According to the lawsuit, DMV officials said he had unnecessarily detained a customer over concerns the man may have been in the United States illegally, that Brown had become “loud and argumentative” when his request to leave early one day per week to coach his daughter’s soccer team was turned down, and that he had made inappropriate comments regarding someone of Middle Eastern descent.
Brown could not be reached for comment, but his attorney, Michael Byrne of Raleigh, said Brown should be praised for his efforts to make sure that driver’s licenses do not go to illegal immigrants, or that people in the United States on visas do not get licenses that last beyond their sanctioned stays.
Instead, Byrne said Brown was punished by supervisors who did not like his raising questions about the residency status of customers.
Read more after the jump.
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Brown is filing under the state's whistleblower act, which prevents state employees from being fired for reporting wrongdoing on the job.
“I see this case as being a small example of a large problem that they have refused to address,” Byrne said.
In the case of the man that Brown had detained, a U.S. State Department official praised Brown for his actions in a letter. The detained man was in the country legally, but his visa initially did not match with state department files.
DMV officials could not be reached for comment.
In recent years, the DMV has come under fire for making it easy for non-residents to obtain licenses or registrations. Last year, lawmakers ended the practice of allowing licenses to be issued to people who do not have a valid Social Security number.
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