Theresa Gruber, who was Deputy Commissioner for Hearings Operations, has passed away at the age of 54. No cause of death is listed.
Gruber had been the subject of an article in the Washington Post on July 12 of last year. The article revealed that Gruber had displayed "significant anomalies" at work over the course of at least a year, including slurred speech in which she "appeared intoxicated,leaving meetings without notice, slouching in her chair and aggressive behavior.” Shortly thereafter, Gruber left her position.
10 comments:
According to the news, she was diabetic and seemed stressed by her job. Diabetes, when not controlled, can lead to the symptoms she appeared to have. RIP
She was ruthless, callous and uncaring long before she began displaying the impairment in recent years. The fact that OHO isn’t better off without her is an unlikely accident attributable solely to the agency’s unshakable commitment toward promoting only its most incompetent and inhumane to the executive leadership level.
Shame on the WP and shame on this forum for providing a space for speculation, hate, and vitriol. No person, and certainly not someone who devoted their entire adult life to public service, deserved the invasion of privacy that Theresa Gruber experienced here. Ms. Gruber was an exemplary leader, held herself and others to high standards, she took no prisoners when it came to holding her team accountable, and gave back though her mentorship to those coming up behind her. Anyone who worked directly with her knew that. May she rest in peace knowing she left a lasting legacy.
Is there an obituary? That link seems spammy.
Terrie was a mentor, leader, and more importantly a caring person. I and many more people at SAA will miss her.
I'm sorry she has passed, and I know a lot of people liked her but the fact is a lot of people didn't. SSA management put a lot on her shoulders and it bent her. After working with her peripherally, I was more than glad not to be in her chain of command. It would not, in my opinion, be farfetched to say SSSA was a contributor to her demise, as her personality type, the demands places on her and her general health likely played equal parts in her losing her health.
RIP Miss Gruber, you people are terrible. She is still someone's family. Whatever happened should remain private. I hope the family seeks defamation against WP and whoever leaked any health issues is a violation of HIPPA. Easy for everyone to comment when you can stay anonymous. She was a civil servant for 30 years. Thank you for your service.
I see that, in the age of anonymous internet posting, we have dispensed with the practice of not speaking ill of the dead. That's a shame.
@10:52
I agree this is neither the time or place to speak ill of the dead, but the health of an important government official is a fair subject of inquiry, especially if it is having a material impact on the agency--though I agree retired officials should be treated differently.
HIPPA does not apply to the media and employers, and if the health information was accurate, there would be no case for defamation. WP did not leak any protected health information. It was fairly clear from the article that their sources were other SSA employees that worked around Ms. Gruber. Speculation about health conditions is not protected by HIPPA--only the records themselves.
If you think disabled workers are afforded this right, you are mistaken. Very few employers would maintain employment for even long-term employees whose performance is impacted by health conditions. FMLA and the ADA provide very limited protections.
Many decent people had their lives ruined under Ms. Gruber, who did incalculable damage to labor rights at SSA, with the assistance of the witless Patrick Nagle. These people were gleeful when they drove hard working employees out of the agency, even if the employees committed suicide. That's not speaking ill of the dead. That's their resume and legacy.
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