N. D. Workers’ Compensation Agency Chairman Resigns

The chairman of North Dakota’s workers’ compensation agency has resigned, less than three weeks after his Bottineau County employers requested an investigation of Robert Indvik’s use of county property.

Indvik’s resignation from the Workforce Safety and Insurance board takes effect immediately, according to a brief letter he sent to Gov. John Hoeven on Monday.

It does not mention the investigation as a reason for quitting. Indvik’s term on the 11-member board was scheduled to end in December 2010.

Indvik, who is the Bottineau County road superintendent, did not respond to telephone messages left for comment Monday night.

Don Canton, a spokesman for Hoeven, said late Monday that the governor had not yet received Indvik’s letter and declined comment. Hoeven will appoint Indvik’s successor after a business group reviews potential candidates.

The WSI board already has one vacancy, from the November resignation of another employer representative, Dennis Schneider, a former Grafton grocery store owner.

The agency has been in turmoil with the Dec. 6 firing of Sandy Blunt, its chief executive officer, felony criminal charges against Blunt and another official, investigations director Romi Leingang, that were eventually dropped; and employee requests for protection from retaliation on the job.

Jeff Beyer, chairman of the Bottineau County Commission, said neither he nor the commission asked Indvik to step down from the WSI board.

Indvik informed him of his decision to resign Monday morning, Beyer said. Indvik’s letter said he believed his resignation was “in the best interests of my employer, Bottineau County, and Workforce Safety and Insurance.”

“That was a decision that he made on his own,” Beyer said. “I think Bob made the right decision.”

Last month, the commission asked Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem to probe Indvik’s use of county property for WSI-related work. Beyer said commissioners wanted more details about Indvik’s use of a county-issued cell phone and vehicle.

Their curiosity was piqued after Chad Nodland, a Bismarck attorney and blogger who maintains a Web site called northdecoder.com, posted details of what he said was Indvik’s extensive use of a county cell phone for WSI calls.

County officials said personal use of county property is discouraged, and that Indvik had not reimbursed Bottineau County for the cost of the cell phone calls.

Beyer and Gordy Smith, a state audit manager, said they did not believe Indvik’s resignation would affect the probe. The state auditor’s office is gathering information on the attorney general’s behalf and will report to him later, Smith said.

He described the review as in its early stages. “The fact that (Indvik has) resigned from the board would have no impact, from my position, on the work I’m supposed to do,” Smith said.

“I’m trying to determine if (personal use of county property) occurred, how much did it occur, those kinds of things,” Smith said. “We would summarize our results to the attorney general’s office, and obviously the attorney general’s office has to decide whether anything further is called for.”

The Workforce Safety and Insurance board is in charge of hiring, firing and supervising the work of the agency’s chief executive officer.

Indvik is a charter member of its board, which was formed by the 1997 Legislature when it stripped the governor of power to hire the agency’s director. Indvik began his service in January 1998.

“It has been a privilege to have served in this capacity,” Indvik’s resignation letter reads. “North Dakota can be especially grateful to staff for their continued devotion to injured workers, employers, medical providers, and the citizens of North Dakota.”

Opponents of WSI’s management structure are circulating a petition for a proposal that would put the governor back in charge of WSI. They hope to put it on the ballot this year.