State Personnel Board Claim for Damages
Transcript of 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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Whistleblower Retaliation Complaint and Sworn Declaration of Cathy Butler
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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Whistleblower Retaliation Complaint and Sworn Declaration of Cathy Butler
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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Whistleblower Retaliation Complaint and Sworn Declaration of Cathy Butler
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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Whistleblower Retaliation Complaint and Sworn Declaration of Cathy Butler
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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Whistleblower Retaliation Complaint and Sworn Declaration of Cathy Butler
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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