[V]ermont’s chief medical examiner is back at work after being placed on paid leave nearly a month ago.
Chief Medical Examiner Steve Shapiro returned to his regular duties Monday following a state Department of Human Resources investigation, according to the state Department of Health. He had been put on leave Jan. 9.
State officials declined further comment, calling it a personnel matter.
While those officials are tight-lipped about the nature of the inquiry, Brooks McArthur, an attorney representing Shapiro, said Tuesday that the investigation stemmed from an internal error in a process his client detected in the workplace.
Shapiro’s effort to try to address the matter with those in the office led to complaints that he was creating a hostile and intimidating work environment, McArthur said.
“The allegations that were levied against him were unsubstantiated, they were found to not have merit and he has been reinstated,” McArthur said. “It was a completely false allegation.”
McArthur declined to talk specifically about the nature of the internal error or identify who made the accusation against his client.
Shapiro was appointed deputy chief medical examiner in 2001 and became the state’s chief medical examiner in 2006. His annual salary is $192,441.
