The head of Colorado’s Office of Emergency Management received a three-day suspension without pay, has been stripped of work-related travel, and must go through a stress-management program following a state investigation of allegations he intimidated two female employees during meetings this spring.
Mike Willis, who has led the department since 2017, must serve his suspension before June 15, according to a disciplinary memo obtained Wednesday by The Denver Post through a public records request.
“This instance and others demonstrate a pattern of inappropriate behavior that must be corrected immediately,” Kevin Klein, the director of Colorado’s Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, wrote in the memo dated Friday.
Klein, in the memo, said, “I consider this the last time that sanctions other than termination will be applied for any similar misconduct by you.”
Willis could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday. He declined to comment last month when reached by phone and asked about the investigation.
Willis was placed on administrative leave for two weeks in late March after an unnamed employee told state investigators that the director angrily threw an object during a meeting, stared her down and yelled, “What the hell am I supposed to do?,” according to an investigation report obtained by The Post.
A second woman said Willis, at a different meeting two days later, “slammed down” on the table and yelled after receiving what he perceived to be conflicting information.
Both women told investigators that his actions were intimidating and unprofessional. Willis returned to work April 11.
On top of the suspension, Willis must meet with the two women and brief Klein monthly — or more frequently — when he experiences “process frustrations.”
He will also not be allowed to travel out of state or out of the country for work purposes. Klein already canceled a planned National Guard training program in Jordan that Willis was supposed to attend.
“Your behavior and performance of the critical duties outlined above must improve before travel privileges will be considered for reinstatement,” Klein wrote.
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