Arkansas Lottery Sacks Legal Counsel: Former Employee Considering Grievance

Lottery Terminates Chief Legal Counsel, Potential Legal Action Looms

The Arkansas Scholarship Lottery recently made the decision to dismiss its chief legal counsel, Michael Helms, leaving him contemplating the possibility of filing a grievance against the organization. The reasons provided for his termination were simply that his services were no longer required.

Helms responded with a statement, expressing his dissatisfaction with the situation: "All I was told was that my services were no longer needed." Having been employed at the lottery since August 2016, he had received a raise from $112,386 to $115,364 just the previous month.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, upon requesting Helms' file under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act, found no specific reason for his dismissal. However, Scott Hardin, the spokesperson for the state Department of Finance and Administration, pointed out that any files relating to the termination or suspension of an employee are not required to be disclosed to the public.

Hardin further explained, "Mr. Helms has expressed his intention to request the opportunity to grieve his termination, although the final decision has not been made. The request for a grievance must be made within 5 business days of the termination date. Unless he chooses to file a grievance, the termination documentation may be released by the end of business on Monday (December 14)."

It should be noted that Helms had been one of the employees who raised concerns about the extension of the lottery's contract with Camelot Global Services. When asked whether this could be a factor in his termination, Helms was uncertain. However, Hardin firmly asserted that there was no connection between these events.

In other news, Camelot recently introduced a new proprietary remote gaming server (RGS), signaling their continued involvement in the lottery industry.

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