Former head of Missouri's unemployment benefits agency says her dismissal was punishment
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Former head of Missouri's unemployment benefits agency says her dismissal was punishment

Date: October 29, 2013
By: Matt Kalish
State Capitol Bureau

Intro: 
The former head of the state unemployment benefits agency is the latest to accuse the Nixon administration of creating a hostile workplace.
RunTime:  0:42
OutCue:  SOC

Wrap: Not even a month after a Department of Agriculture official resigned citing a culture of fear, a high ranking Department of Labor official says complaints about the hostile environment in Governor Jay Nixon's administration led to her dismissal.

Gracia Backer was fired in March as the head of the Division of Employment Security seventeen days after she filed complaints against former labor department director Larry Rebman.

Backer says the case involving the agriculture department and its former head John Hagler were similar.

Actuality:  BACKER1.WAV
Run Time:  00:08
Description: "When I read it, it was almost like deja vu. Hostile working environment,retaliation, threats that you're going to be fired if you do something wrong."

Calls to Nixon's spokesperson were not returned.

Reporting from the state Capitol, I'm Matt Kalish.