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Young v. Gannon2/27/2002
Ordered published March 28, 2002.
JOHN D. YOUNG, PLAINTIFF AND APPELLANT
v.
RICHARD GANNON, DEFENDANT AND RESPONDENT, DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS, REAL PARTY IN INTEREST
APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Dzintra Janavs, Judge. Affirmed. (Super. Ct. No. BS061675)
Spiro Moss Barness & Harrison and Dennis F. Moss for Plaintiff and Appellant. John M. Rea, Chief Counsel, Vanessa L. Holton, Assistant Chief Counsel, and Frank Nelson Adkins and Sarah L. Cohen, Counsel, for Defendant and Respondent and Real Part in Interest.
The opinion of the court was delivered by: Spencer, P.J.
CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION
INTRODUCTION
John D. Young appeals from a judgment denying his petition for writ of mandate. We affirm the judgment.
STATEMENT OF FACTS
Appellant's Termination as a Workers' Compensation Judge
Appellant was appointed to be a Workers' Compensation Judge (WCJ) for the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB). In June 1994, he attended new judges' training, which included presentations on the timeliness of decisions. Thereafter, in at least two quarterly trainings, he received instruction on the 90-day rule. Under this rule, a WCJ may not receive his or her salary while any cause remains pending and undetermined for 90 days after submission. At the end of a pay period, a WCJ must sign and submit an affidavit under penalty of perjury, that to the best of his or her belief, no cause remains pending and undetermined that was submitted 90 days prior to the first day of the next pay period.
In the fall of 1997, appellant's supervisor, Presiding WCJ Barbara Burke (Burke), met with him after reviewing a statistical report showing that he had been delinquent in completing his decisions. They discussed the term "filed in the record" within the context of the 90-day rule. Appellant expressed his belief that giving his secretary a handwritten decision met the requirement that the decision be "filed in the record." Burke explained that he was incorrect; a decision was not "filed in the record" until it was typed, signed and officially filed in the record. Appellant responded that there was a difference of opinion. Burke reminded him of the correct meaning of the term and told him he would be held accountable for acting in accord with his belief.
Appellant's practice was to maintain a log in which he entered the date on which he wrote a handwritten decision and the date he signed a typed decision. To him, a decision was "filed in the record" when he wrote the handwritten decision, attached it to the case file and gave the decision and file to his secretary.
During the time period at issue herein, appellant executed eight affidavits stating under penalty of perjury that he had no causes pending and undetermined older than 90 days when, in fact, he had causes older than 90 days, in which no decision had been "filed in the record."
Appellant also engaged in inappropriate conduct toward two female attorneys who appeared before him. State Compensation Insurance Fund Attorney Nona Rentzer (Rentzer) appeared in WCAB cases before appellant from July through September 1996. Appellant was interested in pursuing a relationship with her. In July 1996, he asked Rentzer to come into his chambers during a conference. For 30 to 40 minutes, while the other attorneys involved in the conference waited, he engaged her in a personal conversation. As she was leaving his chambers, he gave her a card wi
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