Protecting Public Employees from Illegal Actions by Overbearing Superiors

After scoring an arbitration victory, the City of Concord ultimately agreed to pay over $200,000 to settle a related lawsuit filed by Rains, Lucia & Stern.

Introduction

Kevin Park worked for the City of Concord (ìthe Cityî) for over 20 years in various capacities. He received promotions, raises, and commendations. He was a valued member of the team and enjoyed the reputation of being a diligent, dependable employee.
Kevin started his career working at the Concord Pavilion concert venue. The City administration noticed his work ethic and attention to detail and moved him into a supervisory position with the maintenance department.

Kevin’s troubles began with the arrival of Alton Baxley as the Director of Public Works. Prior to the new boss’s arrival, Kevin had been a model worker. Baxley managed by intimidation and fostered an atmosphere of suspicion and division.
Baxley eventually orchestrated the termination of this long-time tenured employee. Nevertheless, this case is not about Alton Baxley; it is about Kevin Park.

In short, the City did not have cause to fire Kevin. None of the reasons proffered constituted major misconduct. In fact, Kevin’s errors were minor and would have easily been addressed with positive instruction and coaching rather than levying the economic equivalent of capital punishment (particularly in these dire economic times).

Arbitrator’s Decision

After a contentious and lengthy hearing comprised of seven days of testimony, Arbitrator Paul Staudohar returned Kevin to work, finding that the City did not have cause to fire him. The arbitrator rejected many of the City’s charges and found that Kevin was ìa capable employee. He may need some work on his interpersonal skills but he demonstrated the motivation and commitment to do a high-quality job. For most of his twenty years as a City employee, there was little if anything to find fault with and much to praise.î

The Battle Continues

Nevertheless, the City balked at returning Kevin to his rightful place among the City’s workforce. The City initially paid some of the back-pay awarded by the Arbitrator but then claimed that Kevin’s position had been ìeliminated. î This cut seemed to be something more than a coincidence and certainly raised the inference of a pre-textual decision aimed at retaliating against Kevin for appealing his case. Accordingly, we filed suit on Kevin’s behalf and were prepared to litigate the matter. The case continued to ramp up toward the trial, with various settlement proposals falling by the wayside. Fortunately, cooler heads eventually prevailed and after a marathon mediation session, we negotiated a very favorable settlement on behalf of Kevin Park. Kevin received an additional $200,000 over and beyond the amount he already received. Significantly, Kevin was also able to accrue seniority and return to the City payroll until such time as he is eligible for retirement, which includes medical benefits for his family.

Although the struggle was long and hotly contested, it was extremely gratifying to be able to achieve this great result for Kevin Park and his family. Unfortunately, this case represents the idea that sometimes ìbinding arbitrationî is just the beginning of the fight.