state personnel board claim for damages

7/31/2019 State Personnel Board Claim for Damages

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Whistleblower Retaliation Complaint and Sworn Declaration of Cathy Butler

Ronald T. Vera, Esq. (State Bar No. 60138)VERA & BARBOSA223 W. Foothill Boulevard, Second FloorClaremont, CA 91711Telephone: (909) 624-1600

Facsimile: (909) 482-0421

Attorney for Claimant CATHY BUTLER

STATE of CALIFORNIA

STATE PERSONNEL BOARD

CATHY BUTLER, an individual, and asemployee of the Rio Hondo CommunityCollege District

Claimant,

In re

RIO HONDO COMMUNITY COLLEGEDISTRICT

Respondent.

))))))))))))))

IN RE

WHISTLEBLOWER RETALIATION

COMPLAINT AND SWORN

DECLARATION OF CATHY BUTLER

(Filed Pursuant to California Education

Code Section 72502, and California

Government Code Section 900 et seq.)

Claimant: CATHY BUTLER

Work Classification: Director of Student Activities, Rio Hondo Community College

Claimants work address: 2600 Workman Mill Road Whittier, California 90601

Claimants home/post office address is 10632 Lisbon Court, Whittier, California 90601.

I.

NATURE OF THE COMPLAINT

1. I, Cathy Butler, am an employee of Rio Hondo Community College, part of the RioHondo Community College District, and have been retaliated against in my


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employment as Director of Student Activities at Rio Hondo Community College, as a

result of my reporting in June 2011, to my supervisors, that an employee of the

District was engaged in improper governmental activities. Rio Hondo Community

College District (District) is a one community college district located at 3600

Workman Mill Road in the City of Whittier, County of Los Angeles. The retaliation,

as set forth in greater detail in the subsequent paragraphs below, occurred on or about

January 11, 2012 when I received a letter from the District that my contract for

employment would not be renewed for a fourteenth year. It is my good faith belief

the individuals named herein did conspire to recommend to the Board of Trustees that

my contract not be renewed and, but for the disclosure of the improper activities, I

would have stayed in my position as Director of Student Activities.

2. In addition to my complaint for damages, I am requesting the State Personnel Boardreinstate me into my position at the District until the outcome of any investigation

and, if the investigation determines that I have been retaliated against, that such

appropriate relief be granted to compensate me for the losses that I have suffered.

II.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

3. I am presently an employee of the District and on administrative leave with pay in myposition as Director of Student Activities. As of July 1, 2011 I had been in this

position for twelve (12) years. In my position, I was routinely evaluated by the

District and considered an exemplary employee. In addition, the financial matters I

was responsible to oversee were annually audited by the District and such audits were

public documents that reported no conditions warranted investigation or negligence as

to my responsibilities. In fiscal year 2010-2011 I was given a promotion in pay as a

reflection of my longstanding tenure and professional abilities. However since

September 26, 2011 I have been on administrative leave with pay as a result of the

acts complained of herein and on or about January 11, 2012 the Board of Trustees

adopted the recommendation of the President of the District that my contract and

employment at the District end on June 30, 2012.


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4. The acts complained of stemmed from initial disclosures of improper activities that Ireported on or about June 14, 15, and 16, 2011. On June 14, 2011, I reviewed various

college requisition forms that were prepared by a District employee named Hannah

Pastrano. The information on the requisition forms did not appear correct and, after

further investigation, I determined that the forms, calling for the payment of monies

to one or more various individuals, did not have the proper documentation and the

information on one or more of the requisition forms was incorrect. On June 15 2011,

I met with Hannah Pastrano, the employee who had prepared the requisition form,

and after questioning Ms. Pastrano, she confessed that the requisition form had been

falsified to generate the payment of monies to her and possibly others who may have

been employed in the District.

5. I then took this information on June 15 and 16, 2011, to my supervisors Henry Gee,Vice President for Student Services at Rio Hondo Community College District, and

Michael Munoz, Associate Dean of Student Services at the District, and they in turn

notified Yolanda Emerson, the Director of Human Resources at the District. On June

22, 2011 I was called to a meeting with Mr. Munoz, Ms. Emerson, and Ms. Pastrano,

who was present with her union representative Lisa Sandoval. The meeting was

called for the purpose of discussing the false requisition that I discovered on June 14,

2011. During the meeting Ms. Pastrano admitted that she had falsified a requisition

for payment form. At the conclusion of the meeting Ms. Emerson notified Ms.

Pastrano she was placing her on administrative leave and Ms. Emerson requested that

I escort Ms. Pastrano off campus.

6. After the meeting I was advised by Henry Gee to assume some of Ms. Pastranosresponsibilities and it was my understanding an investigation would be undertaken

into Ms. Pastranos activities. Thereafter I knew little of any of what was being

investigated or any findings of such investigation.

7. On or about August 17, 2011, I was informed that Hannah Pastrano had resigned orwould resign from employment with the District.

8. At all times prior to the reporting of the improper activities, I had been made awarethat the District had adopted a whistleblower protection policy, as set forth at

District Board Policy 7700, a copy of which is attached here as Exhibit A. I had also


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been encouraged by the District to report suspected activities of unlawful or improper

activities without fear of retaliation. District Board Policy 7700 is both specific and

broad and provides, among other items, that the District will not tolerate retaliation to

any employee who reports suspected activities.

9. In addition to Board Policy 7700, California Education Code Section 87160 to 87164provides a framework for preventing any retaliation to community college employees.

10.Notwithstanding the statutory protections to protect community college employees,the aforementioned persons undertook an unwarranted and retaliatory investigation of

me based on false and prejudicial statements made by Hannah Pastrano and Yolanda

Emerson. The aforementioned persons, and those identified in Paragraph 5 herein,

had good reason to believe that Hannah Pastrano was retaliating against me for

reporting the violations in June 2011. The aforementioned persons also had

reasonable belief to know that the accusations were false since my office had

previously been the subject of annual financial audits during the twelve (12) years in

which I held my position. My activities had never been the subject of questioning

despite these audits. Moreover, Ms. Pastrano had never brought forward any

accusations of wrongdoing against me, either directly or indirectly, prior to June 14,

2011. Reasonable persons would have ascertained that the alleged accusations were

baseless and only made in an effort to retaliate against me in violation of Board

Policy 7700 and the law of California.

11.The persons named in Paragraph 5 herein, acting on behalf of the District, neverinformed me on August 17, 2011 that I was being accused of improper activities by

Hannah Pastrano. Instead, such persons conspired to withhold pertinent information

that I was being accused of improper activity. By failing to disclose this information,

the District prevented me from defending myself and prevented me from seeking

redress through normal District grievance procedures. Moreover they and President

Ted Martinez also persuaded me, under false pretenses, to take personal and vacation

leave beginning on September 7, 2011 solely for the purpose of undertaking a

clandestine investigation of my office files and her computer files. Such investigation

was without notice and had no basis in fact for initiating such investigation. The

Districts employees did not reveal that the real motive for inducing me to take a


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vacation was to continue to wrongfully peruse my office files, all for the purpose of

intimidating, coercing, and threatening me and thereby allowing District employees to

undertake a retaliatory investigation of me without my knowledge.

12.The District had no basis in fact for undertaking this investigation other than falsestatements made by Hannah Pastrano who was found to have engaged in improper

activities in the weeks prior to these incidents. For this reason, I believe the

investigation of me was motivated, in whole or in part, by the initial whistle blowing

reporting I made in June, 2011. Despite having no reasonable basis for initiating any

investigation, on September 26, 2011 Yolanda Emerson verbally informed me that

she had determined I had committed fraud in carrying out my responsibilities. This

statement was made in the presence of other District employees. Said statement is

slander per se and made in reckless disregard of the facts then known to Ms.

Emerson. Ms. Emerson had no basis for making this statement nor was there any

reasonable basis to place me on administrative leave and remove me of my

responsibilities.

13.As result of these actions I became the continuing target of campus innuendo,ridicule, suspicion, and prejudiced my present and future ability to function in any

professional capacity at the District or at other Community College Districts. The

District and the persons named herein, by and through their engaging in the pattern

and practice of encouraging intimidation, coercion, and retaliation against me, have

violated and will continue to violate the Districts whistleblowers protection

policy, and Education Code Sections 87160 to 87164, and Government Code Section

8547.

14.As a result of engaging in the practices as alleged herein, I have suffered emotionaldistress, humiliation, and loss of reputation. In addition, my ability to continue as an

effective and productive employee for the District has been severely impacted.

15.The culmination of these wrongful acts resulted in the aforementioned personsseeking my termination at the District. Thus, on or about January 23, 2012 I received

a letter from the District evidencing the intentions of the District not to renew my

employment contract for the 2012-2013 year. The letter from the District states that a


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personnel item was listed on the public Board agenda on January 11, 2012 as a closed

session item for discussion.

16.The names of the persons causing my injuries are Yolanda Emerson, Director ofHuman Resources; Henry Gee, Vice President for Student Services; Michael Munoz,

Associate Dean of Student Services; Ted Martinez, President of the Rio Hondo

Community College District, and Does I through V who are named herein as

unknown parties who participated in the acts complained of herein.

III.

DAMAGES AND RELIEF REQUESTED

17.I am requesting that my contract for employment for 2012-2013 be approved, and thatI receive all additional merit pay increases and ancillary personal benefits including

sick leave and vacation pay I would have received, plus interest, from the date of

January 11, 2012 until the present that I would have received if my contract was

renewed.

18.In the alternative to reinstatement, I am requesting that I be given a similar positionwith comparable pay and benefits at Rio Hondo Community College for the 2012-

2013 year.

19.I am requesting that any investigation or report derived from the investigation,referenced in Section II, Paragraph 10, be expunged from all Rio Hondo District

records and files.

20.I am requesting that the January 11, 2012, Performance Appraisal provided to theBoard be expunged from all District records and files.

21.I am requesting $25,000.00 in emotional distress damages as a result of the stress,anxiety, and depression that I experienced as a result of the above-listed retaliatory

actions, and payment of attorneys fees in the amount of $10,000, or such damages

and costs according to proof.


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IV.

DISCIPLINARY ACTION REQUESTED

22.I am requesting that disciplinary action be taken again Yolanda Emerson for thereasons set forth in Section II, Paragraph 12. Ms. Emerson should be disciplined

because of the abusive and threatening manner in which she treats subordinate

employees who are trying to do their jobs. Her business address is the same as the

Districts work address.

23.I am requesting that disciplinary action be taken against Mr. Henry Gee and Mr.Michael Munoz for those reasons set forth in Section II. Mr. Gee and Mr. Munoz

should be suspended or sanctioned because they cannot be trusted to perform the

duties of a supervisor and protect employees from retaliation.

24.I am requesting that disciplinary action be taken against President Ted Martinez forthose reasons set forth in Section II. Mr. Martinez should be disciplined due to his

failure to stop the retaliatory actions that he knew were being directed at me.

V.

SWORN STATEMENT

I declare, under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the

foregoing is true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Dated: April 12, 2012 ___________/s/________________________

CATHY BUTLER

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