'Survivor' Winner In Trouble at Work

Million-dollar winner's $34,000-a-year highway job on the line.
Friday, May 26, 2006
Ted Wendling, Plain Dealer Bureau

Columbus -- Chris Daugherty, a state highway worker, survived 39 days on the volcanic South Pacific island of Vanuatu in 2004, walking away with $1 million for winning the CBS reality show.

But it looks like he may not weather an Ohio Department of Transportation investigation into the unauthorized leave of absence he took last fall to join past "Survivor" winners for a European tour.

An ODOT hearing officer ruled Thursday that Daugherty, 35, was guilty of taking the unauthorized leave and of dishonesty for falsely claiming that he needed time off work because he was under stress and suffering from depression.

ODOT investigators concluded that, after being denied a leave because he had used all but 29 hours of his vacation, sick leave and personal leave, Daugherty submitted a bogus excuse from a doctor in London, Ohio, that said he needed to take off a month because he was suffering from anxiety and depression.

Daugherty later admitted to an ODOT investigator that he cured his depression by attending the CBS-sponsored "Survivor" tour.
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My Take
I admire him for not quitting his job after winning the million dollars, but did he really expect to get away with lying in order to go to Europe? The excuse about the trip curing his depression also sounds questionable. Good luck with all of that, Chris.