EMPLOYER DISCRIMINATION; ADVERSE ACTIONS – Warning Letters, Reprimands, Evaluations

Single Topic for Decision 2458E

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A summary of meeting memorandum given to a charging party after the District’s investigatory interview of charging party was not an adverse action because it did not accuse charging party of misconduct, did not discipline or threaten to discipline her, and there was no evidence it was placed in her personnel file, or would otherwise be used to support any future disciplinary action. The District’s removal of negative evaluations and warning letter from charging party’s personnel files did not cure those adverse actions, because it was not an honestly given retraction. The District did not remove the challenged documents until several months after it issued them, and was not made in a manner that completely nullified the coercive effects of the earlier action. Although the District notified charging party that the offending documents would be removed from District files, the District then replaced the retracted documents with a new adverse action, viz., notification of a consecutive annual evaluation. The fact that a District official stated that the investigation has revealed no evidence of a violation of policy also fails the required factor that the retraction be unambiguous and specific in nature to the coercive conduct. Moreover, these documents were removed only after charging party filed a complaint with the District over her evaluations and following discussions with union’s attorney. This fact, coupled with the fact that the District imposed a new adverse action and insisted that it engaged in no wrongdoing, suggests that the District was motivated solely by a desire to avoid further litigation over the issue, rather than by a sincere effort to retract a coercive statement or action. Consecutive annual evaluations of a permanent teacher constitute an adverse action.