 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Employee Leasing Services in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Cundy-Harris v. State Department of Veterans' Affairs12/3/1999
Susan Cundy-Harris appeals from a summary judgment dismissal of her 42 U.S.C. sec. 1983 claims against her former employer. Cundy-Harris claimed that she was forced to resign in retaliation for exercising her First Amendment right to speak freely. We hold that Cundy- Harris' speech was not protected under the First Amendment as the State's interest in preventing disruption and having high-level officials who retain the confidence of their superiors outweighs Cundy-Harris' interest in expressing herself. Thus, we affirm.
FACTS
In 1993, the Washington State Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) hired Susan Cundy-Harris as Human Resources Manager. In that capacity, Cundy-Harris was responsible for making recommendations on personnel issues to the DVA's director.
During Cundy-Harris' tenure at DVA, allegations of sexual harassment at the Retsil facility, a veterans' hospital, surfaced. The primary subject of the allegations was Harry Wedington, superintendent at Retsil. DVA director, A. J. "Beau" Bergeron, hired Wedington in February 1994. Cundy-Harris had been in charge of some background research necessary to finalize Wedington's hire, including reviewing his appropriate licensing and contacting former employers.
In late 1994, Cundy-Harris took charge of investigating the first of what would be many allegations of sexual misconduct against Wedington. After interviewing the complainant employee and other staff members, Cundy- Harris determined the allegations could not be substantiated. On December 2, 1994, she wrote a letter to Bergeron detailing her findings, Conclusions, and recommendations. Bergeron followed her recommendations.
In August 1996, additional allegations of sexual harassment were made against Wedington. John Lee, DVA deputy director, was placed in charge of investigating the new allegations. Cundy-Harris assisted in the inquiry. After the investigation, Lee concluded that the allegations could not be substantiated and recommended that Wedington be "fully exonerated."
Following Lee's report, Bergeron wrote letters to some of the employees who raised the complaints. Many of the recipients viewed the letters as a threat of retaliation for bringing the allegations.
Because of these fears and continued allegations of improprieties at Retsil, the Governor's Office requested the Department of Personnel (DOP) to oversee an outside investigation into the allegations. Through the recommendation of Dennis Karras, the DOP's director, Jan Salisbury was hired to investigate. Following a lengthy inquiry, Salisbury issued a report (Salisbury Report) to the DOP on April 30, 1997. Based largely upon the report, Wedington was fired and Bergeron resigned as DVA director. John King was appointed as Bergeron's replacement on May 6, 1997.
Also on May 6, 1997, the Salisbury Report was made public, as required by law. Cundy-Harris' name was among those that figured prominently in the report, which detailed the four prior investigations into improprieties at Retsil. Cundy-Harris' first opportunity to review the report occurred that afternoon, and she claims to have discovered upon her review that day that the report contained factual and time line inaccuracies, interview summaries inconsistent with prior written witness statements, and deficient follow-up information.
The following day, Cundy-Harris met with Karras, who had arranged the meeting to "debrief her concerning the full contents of the report and the challenges of making positive changes within the agency." Clerk's Papers at 81.
According to Cundy-Harris, Karras "moved right in to asking me how I felt about the report. I to
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 Washington Employee Leasing Services
Employee Leasing Services
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Employee Leasing Services in your area.
|
|