Michael Rodgers will receive two-years salary in two lump sums in return for dropping his claims of mistreatment.
BY JACOB PALMER | DIGITAL NEWS EDITOR
The man who released former Gov. John Kitzhaber’s emails to the press has reached an agreement with the state.
Michael Rodgers will receive two-years salary in two lump sums — in addition to $12,000 for legal fees, 300 days of vacation and health insurance through 2015 — in return for dropping his claims of mistreatment.
In his attorney’s July notice sent to then-acting DAS Director George Naughton, Rodgers alleged the state and DAS published false reports about him and retaliated against him for disclosing information he believed had been handled improperly.
In February, Rodgers handed over 6,000 of Kitzhaber’s personal account emails to a reporter at the Willamette Week. He said he believed the emails were subject to disclosure under public records law and that they would be illegally mishandled after an assistant from Kitzhaber’s office made a request to remove personal emails from state servers.
(SOURCE: Associated Press)
Rodgers had previously been on paid administrative leave since February.
Rodgers, who has been stationed at home on paid leave for 210 days, says he’s glad for closure.
“I came to the decision that it was time to close this chapter in my life and move on,” Rodgers told WW in a statement. “I want to thank all of those that have supported me in these past seven months.”
(SOURCE: Willamette Week)
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