Decision 1469E – Los Angeles Unified School District
LA-CE-4066-E
Decision Date: November 29, 2001
Decision Type: PERB Decision
Description: The Board found that the employer violated the EERA by causing an employee of LA’s BEST, an afterschool enrichment program for certain students, to be terminated from her employment with LA’s BEST because of her protected activities. There was a dissent.
Disposition: Violation found. The Board found evidence of disparate treatment of the charging party; proximity of time between protected activities and harm; inconsistent, contradictory or vague employer explanations; and departure from established procedures or standards.
Perc Vol: 26
Perc Index: 33023
Decision Headnotes
504.02000 – Disparate Treatment
Report of employee's activities at staff meeting at request of supervisor consisted of trivial complaints which would not be noticed or reported unless requested by supervisor and amounted to spying which was not an established personnel practice. District's failure to nominate teacher for mentor teacher status in the face of uncontested evidence to contrary shows employee treated in a disparate manner. District's failure to give teacher an opportunity to improve program shows teacher treated in a disparate manner.
504.03000 – Departure from Past Practices or Procedures
Report of employee's activities at staff meeting at request of supervisor consisted of trivial complaints which would not be noticed or reported unless requested by supervisor and amounted to spying which was not an established personnel practice.
504.04000 – Timing of Action
Teacher's return to campus following principal's aborted attempt to get rid of teacher closely followed by adverse action. Return to an unblemished evaluation after resignation of union site chapter chair supports nexus between protected activity and the receipt of improved evaluation.
504.05000 – Union Activity of Discriminatee
Employees tenure as union site's chapter chair, filing of previous unfair practice charge and various discussions with principal on behalf of fellow teachers sufficient to establish protected activity.
504.07000 – No reason or Inconsistent Reasons Given; Shifting Justifications
District's failure to give teacher an opportunity to improve program shows teacher treated in a disparate manner. Purported justification of "anonymous complaints, safety considerations and [school's] low test scores" unsupported by any other evidence and found not credible therefore support an inference of unlawful motivation. Even if afterschool program was deficient in some manner, terminating program coordinator fifty-seven days after first putting her on notice of such deficiencies, clearly supports a conclusion District's actions were not the result of a routine, arms-length personnel decision.
1107.16000 – Disqualification or Bias of Board Agent
Opinions of ALJ regarding evidence arrived at after hearing testimony insufficient to establish bias of ALJ. Contacting settlement ALJ without notice to parties to ascertain availability to continue settlement discussions insufficient to establish bias of ALJ. Suggesting it was in one parties interest "primarily" to settle in the context of informing all parties to settle insufficient to establish bias of ALJ.
1201.01000 – In General
Board's statutory authority includes the authority to award front pay - a monetary award for loss of anticipated future earnings had the employee not been subject to unlawful discrimination - when an order of reinstatement is not appropriate. Award of front pay includes a duty to mitigate damages.
1201.03000 – Back Pay; Interest
Board's statutory authority includes the authority to award front pay - a monetary award for loss of anticipated future earnings had the employee not been subject to unlawful discrimination - when an order of reinstatement is not appropriate. Award of front pay includes a duty to mitigate damages.
1201.06000 – Prior Reinstatement Offers
District witness testimony combined with documentary evidence regarding termination insufficient to establish an offer of employment was made by District.
1201.08000 – Other
Board's statutory authority includes the authority to award front pay - a monetary award for loss of anticipated future earnings had the employee not been subject to unlawful discrimination - when an order of reinstatement is not appropriate. Award of front pay includes a duty to mitigate damages.
1205.03000 – Notices; Posting, Reading, and Mailing
Despite only one affected employee, unit wide posting appropriate as other unit employees and District personnel would naturally be concerned to know that the District's actions at issue have been found unlawful; posting provides guidance and can prevent the recurrence of prohibited conduct on a unit wide basis.
1400.02000 – Employer Responsibility
The District is liable for its agent's acts which caused the termination of an employee from her employment outside of the District based upon the employees' protected activities.