Retaliatory layoff

[littlewing77]

California

I received a layoff notice yesterday after 5 years with my department and 10 with the organization. They told me my classification is being eliminated and a new title will perform my functions. Others in my situation are being reclassified to the new title and I haven't heard of anyone else being laid off. My performance reviews have always been good and I've never been formally disciplined in in any way. I have 30 days to find a new job in order to stay with the organization and retain my retirement plan (if I have a break in service I lose my current plan which is much better than what they offer new employees).

In October 2015 I filed a complaint against the VP for retaliation for taking a protected leave, disability discrimination and sexual harassment. Since I work in HR, I filed the complaint through the office of ethics and compliance. They didn't find the complaint to "rise to the level of improper governmental activity" and it was dropped. They did say that the issues would be addressed with the VP since the behavior was not appropriate for the VP of HR in a large organization (you think?). His behavior changed markedly towards me after he was spoken to. He stopped addressing me unless absolutely necessary and would do this fake nice thing that was really transparent. I think the moment his boss spoke with him is when he started devising a plan to get rid of me.

I spoke to an attorney yesterday who thinks I have a case but is concerned about the passage of time between the complaint and the layoff. These people know what they are doing and waited patiently to avoid the appearance of retaliation. They were also able to take advantage of some restructuring resulting from a recent audit. These are the perfect opportunities to get rid of people you don't like.

I have preferential rehire rights but only for the same classification and the same department which does me no good since they are eliminating that classification. I was thinking of appealing for a longer notice period and preferential rehire for the whole organization, not just my department. I plan to actively start applying to positions on Monday.

Is there anything else I should be aware of?

 

[commentator]

File immediately as soon as you are no longer working for unemployment benefits. That's what a lay off gets you, and they've given you a simple downsizing reason to leave, and you should have no trouble collecting unemployment benefits for any week that you are out of work through no fault of your own.

Any kind of complaint you might think you have, or an attorney might think you would have (for the life of me, I can't really see one in this) but anyhow, anything of this nature is going to take a long time to work out, and any week you are out of work through no fault of your own is a week you can be collecting unemployment benefits as well as seeking other jobs and pursing any other type of claim you might have.

We assume you work for a governmental agency, correct? State or federal? This means this could be an employer where whistleblowing is protected and you were laid off after filing a complaint, though it's hard to for me to see where when it has been determined that there was no misconduct on the part of your supervisor and then you were laid off due to changes in departmental structure, not fired, a good while later.

 

[cbg]

FWIW, I agree with the attorney. I am also suspicious that the only person who got laid off is the same person who filed a complaint. But I think you're going to have a very difficult time proving it, given the passage of time.

 

[littlewing77]

Thanks to both of you.

I found out yesterday that three positions with my title are being eliminated and "repurposed". My department has over 200 people. One of the positions is vacant and the other woman will probably just slide into the new job (she's had to re-apply to her job before and the boss loves her). So, it does feel like I've been targeted. They had to include the other two positions to make it look like I wasn't being targeted. They told me I am "welcome to apply" to any of the three positions but it's highly unlikely they will choose me. I should probably apply for leverage though. If they don't give me any of the three jobs when I am perfectly qualified, it will look bad for them. Obviously, I am most qualified for the job I'm already doing so that one will be harder for them to deny me. It hasn't been posted yet, but I'm sure they will throw in some qualifications that they know I don't have. I may sound paranoid, but this is how they operate. The other two positions are posted.

I think the first thing I will do is appeal to have my notice period extended. The hiring process is very slow where I work and 30 days just isn't enough to find a new job without a break in service. I have identified a job outside of my department that look good, but there's no guarantee I'll get it. The preferential rehire helps. I want to stay with my organization and if I have a break in service my retirement will be affected. I'm going to focus all my efforts into finding a new job for now and will resort to legal action if I need to. The lawyers in my org are very good, so that concerns me.