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Alameida v. State Personnel Board6/30/2004
CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION
Edward S. Alameida, Jr., as director of the California Department of Corrections (CDC), appeals from a judgment denying a petition for writ of administrative mandate (Code Civ. Proc., § 1094.5).
CDC sought to dismiss an employee, real party in interest Nathan A. Lomeli, for immorality, discourteous treatment of the public, failure of good behavior, and dishonesty during interviews investigating these charges. (Gov. Code, § 19572. ) The State Personnel Board (SPB) ordered CDC to reinstate Lomeli. The trial court rejected CDC's attempt to reverse SPB's decision. On appeal, CDC argues SPB did not have jurisdiction to consider Lomeli's claim of violation of a statute of limitations contained in the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act (§ 3300 et seq. (the Act)), because the trial court has exclusive initial jurisdiction over any such claim under section 3309.5. CDC alternatively argues that, although the statute of limitations may bar disciplinary action against Lomeli for the underlying incidents of immorality, discourteous treatment and failure of good behavior, CDC should be entitled to pursue timely action for Lomeli's alleged dishonesty in denying the underlying charges during investigative interviews.
We shall affirm the judgment.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
On October 28, 2002, CDC filed in the trial court a petition for writ of administrative mandamus, alleging as follows:
On December 1, 2000, CDC dismissed Lomeli from his position as correctional officer at a correctional facility in Soledad, for alleged misconduct under section 19572--dishonesty, immorality, discourteous treatment of the public or other employees, and other failure of good behavior during or outside of duty hours, of a nature to cause discredit to the appointing authority or the person's employment. Records attached to the petition reflected the alleged misconduct was that Lomeli allegedly committed sexual offenses in Santa Cruz on September 18, 1998, and lied about them by falsely denying them (the dishonesty charge) in an interview conducted by CDC on July 12, 2000 (after the District Attorney dropped the criminal charges for lack of evidence).
Lomeli opposed the adverse employment action, and an administrative hearing was held. Without reaching the merits, the administrative law judge (ALJ) proposed revocation of the discipline and dismissal of the charges on the ground that the November 15, 2000, Notice of Adverse Action was not timely served within the one-year limitations period of section 3304, subdivision (d), of the Act (as extended by pendency of the criminal case). Despite noting CDC had not challenged jurisdiction, the ALJ determined SPB had jurisdiction over allegations of violations of the Act. Although the November 15, 2000, Notice of Adverse Action was served less than one year after Lomeli's alleged dishonesty in denying the sex offenses during the investigatory interview on July 12, 2000, the ALJ determined the dishonesty charge could not survive as a separate basis for discipline, because it flowed directly from the investigation of the September 1998 sex offenses, and it would defeat the purpose of the Act to allow the employer to circumvent the one-year limitations period by allowing the agency to prove the underlying charges in order to demonstrate the employee was dishonest in denying the charges.
SPB adopted the ALJ's decision in October 2001.
CDC's petition for administrative mandamus alleged SPB's decision was invalid because SPB had no jurisdiction to rule on violations of the Act because section 3309.5 allegedly placed initial jurisdiction in
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