County Authorities Take Another Look at Fraud Charges : Investigation: Discharged Social Services employees claim they were unfairly accused of food stamp deception after the Northridge quake.

Nearly a year after Los Angeles County officials began a wide-ranging investigation of employees accused of filing bogus claims for emergency food stamps after the Northridge earthquake, the county has launched a review of its own procedures to determine if workers were disciplined unfairly.

County officials are under fire for an investigation that many workers allege was as chaotic as the aftermath of the devastating Jan. 17 temblor. They charge that management errors in administering the emergency food stamp program created problems for which employees are being unfairly penalized.

The complaints were raised before a special hearing of the county’s Civil Service Commission on Wednesday, at which officials of the Department of Public Social Services defended their actions but agreed to review individual cases with workers’ attorneys and advocates.

One hundred and forty-one Social Services workers who were discharged or suspended have filed appeals with the commission. The commissioners ordered Wednesday’s meeting in the hope of forestalling a flood of fraud cases from consuming their time.

County officials insist that many of the cases represent legitimate instances of fraud, but agreed that some disciplinary actions might have unfairly resulted from a confused investigatory process.

“We’re prepared to evaluate all of the cases in light of the concerns that have been raised,� said David Fox, the department’s human resources director.

The commission has heard three discharge cases, overturning two with the third undecided. Several members indicated that they believe many more of the disciplinary actions may be unmerited.

The commissioners voiced concern that the cases be resolved quickly if possible because many employees have been out of jobs and without incomes for months.

Many employees say they are victims of misunderstandings or miscommunications. Workers were fired for providing incorrect income estimates in cases where eligibility periods were unclear, according to documents presented by Local 600 of the Service Employees International Union, which is representing 34 discharged workers.

The union also claims that changing criteria on the extent of loss needed to qualify for benefits has been unfairly and retroactively applied to many employees.

“In some offices, nothing short of a witch hunt went on,� union representative Dan Savage said.

One worker who attended the hearing said she was fired in September for claiming $295 in emergency food stamps after the quake. Rosa Lopez, 36, a single mother of two children, was an eligibility worker for three years, working in the Norwalk welfare office.

Lopez said that in the chaotic days after the quake, workers were encouraged to apply for emergency food stamps if they suffered losses. She later was accused of fraud, she said, for having allegedly borrowed $150 that she did not report on her application.

Lopez said the money was a cash advance from her credit card that she understood did not have to be counted, but she was unable to persuade her employers of that. She has since gone on welfare.

“They have destroyed families,� Lopez said. “(My children) are ashamed that I am on welfare.�

Fox said that a preliminary review has concluded that 33 of the 141 cases warrant modifications, either having discharges or suspensions rescinded. He said those 33 cases will be reviewed again to determine if any discipline is warranted.

Driven by concern on the part of federal officials to speed assistance to ravaged earthquake victims, the emergency food stamp program generated in excess of 280,000 applications, the vast majority of which were approved.

But the haste and confusion surrounding the program, which initially required little documentation of loss, also generated reports of rampant fraud.

The concerns prompted a more stringent verification process and also a wide-ranging fraud inquiry that targeted department employees. Of 1,500 Social Services employees who applied for food stamps, 250 were deemed to warrant investigation.