After being reinstated, Lynda Aguon hasn't been paid, now plans to retire

She may have won her case at the civil service commission, but former State Historic Preservation Officer Lynda Aguon's lawyer tells KUAM she's being treated like a loser at the Department of Parks and Recreation

"We won at the Civil Service Commission, meaning we won full reinstatement, back pay, all of that," John Bell told KUAM News. "But after we won, DPR they really dragged their feet kicking and screaming in terms of reinstatement so she basically got to work on the next day, which was February 12, and they kind of didn't really know what to do with her. I later found out they basically stuck her in a room used for storage with a plastic folding table and nothing else."

Aguon won her case and is entitled to "meaningful reinstatement" and back pay, but Bell told us that not only has Aguon not gotten her back pay, she hasn't even gotten her regular pay.

"Since February 12 she has not gotten a single paycheck and that is completely unacceptable, blatantly violating the law and the commission's ruling," he said.

Aguon is currently on sick leave, and Bell says she has plenty of it, so there's no reason why she shouldn't be getting paid.

And while it seems like DPR doesn't want Aguon around, they will be getting their way as Aguon is now planning to retire.


426 they'll basically just make the employee so miserable to basically force them to quit and that appears to be what's happening here 434

And while Aguon was the former SHPO, the administration said Aguon would only serve as the Guam Historic Preservation Officer after she was reinstated.

Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero had appointed Aguon SHPO just months before she was fired by former DPR director Rich Ybanez. The governor at the time wrote to the National Parks service, saying Aguon's reappointment as SHPO was "a testament to her ability to continue Guam's preservation efforts."

She was replaced by current SHPO Patrick Lujan.

We asked Bell if, based on the way the administration has handled Aguon's case, he felt Lou and Josh kept their campaign promise about respecting the rights of GovGuam workers.

The administration, in its campaign platform, said it "will not undermine the rights of public sector employees. We will not tolerate a climate of fear."

"That is pretty funny," he said. "I have not heard that before, but that is pretty ironic and pretty funny under the circumstances."