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Victor Maccharoli - Shawn Terris and her attorney James Cordes spoke to the Media yesterday.

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Former county employee files wrongful termination suit

By ERIC LINDBERG — Oct. 28, 2009

A former employee filed a lengthy lawsuit against the County of Santa Barbara yesterday alleging a string of misdeeds by top county management including wrongful termination, retaliation for attempts to organize county managers, defamation and sexual discrimination.

Shawn Terris, a former business program leader paid through County CEO Mike Brown’s office, said her work with the county’s retirement board and her efforts to unionize county managers resulted in an ongoing campaign of harassment that ultimately ended in her layoff last month.

“I’m stunned, I’m disappointed and I’m hurt that the county chose to terminate me,” she said during a press conference on the steps of the County Administration Building in Santa Barbara yesterday.

 “I want one thing, just one thing,” she added later. “I want justice.”

County attorneys declined to comment at length about the merits of the lawsuit, citing a policy against commenting on pending litigation, but said the issues being raised by Terris appear to be similar to those brought up in previous hearings.

“The county defended the layoff and it was upheld,” said Steve Underwood, chief assistant county counsel, referring to an earlier ruling by the county’s Civil Service Commission that found that the county did not violate its layoff procedures when eliminating Terris’ position.

He declined to address any of the specific allegations in the complaint and said the county will take up those issues in its legal response to the lawsuit.

“They are only allegations and they have to be proved by facts and evidence,” Underwood said, adding later, “We’ll let our response and the litigation play out.”

Asked whether it was the county’s position that Terris had been laid off for economic reasons linked to the recession, Underwood said, “It was a financial decision that the ?Board of Supervisors made to eliminate a certain position in the CEO’s office.”

Terris, however, contended that she has been harassed since she campaigned for a spot on the county’s retirement board in 1999 and subsequently sought to inform county employees about their retirement benefits.

She said county management is attempting to blame the retirement board for the county’s fiscal woes in order to swap out the current benefits package for a less costly option.

“They want the costs to skyrocket so they can lay off people and get rid of their retirement benefits,” Terris said in an interview several months ago, adding that she has sought to keep retirement costs as low as possible to lessen the blow on county coffers while still protecting employee benefits.

When she started sending newsletters to county employees explaining their retirement benefits — something she said was never done in the past by retirement board trustees — Terris said Brown fired off a letter to the board asking them to discipline her for speaking with her constituents.

That request that was ultimately denied, she said, but is indicative of the repeated efforts to thwart her role on the retirement board.

She said she became an even bigger thorn in the side of county management last year when she started contacting county managers in an attempt to organize a union.

Terris alleges Sheriff Bill Brown unlawfully issued a series of formal and informal orders demanding she stop her organizing efforts. The sheriff reportedly launched an internal affairs investigation after she used her county email account to send several short messages related to union activity.

That investigation resulted in a five-day suspension without pay, Terris said, which she challenged before the Civil Service Commission. The commission overturned the suspension this month after determining that the county allows employees to send the occasional personal email, and that the sheriff unlawfully discriminated against Terris by disciplining her for similar activity.

Reached yesterday, Bill Brown declined to discuss the pending litigation, explaining that he has been advised by county counsel not to comment on the lawsuit. Underwood acknowledged that Terris had prevailed on the five-day suspension and said she would be entitled to any pay docked by the county.

A second internal investigation launched in May 2009 — on what Terris described as a “trumped-up charge” that she threatened an employee — resulted in her being placed on administrative leave and locked out of her office.

She said that prevented her from carrying out her constitutionally protected duties related to her retirement board work, as she had no access to her retirement files.

In July of this year, she was told she was being laid off due to fiscal constraints. Through a somewhat complicated system of seniority, Terris decided to “bump” into another manager position in the CEO’s office.

She said county officials responded by tagging that position with a “special skills designation,” meaning she couldn’t replace the current employee. The Civil Service Commission determined that practice was within the county’s layoff procedures, but made no finding on the merits of the layoff itself.

Asked what efforts she had made to resolve any issues with county management before resorting to a lawsuit, Terris said she had signed several settlement agreements with the county throughout the years in an attempt to work things out.

“I was kind of hoping that, maybe naively, that they would start doing the right thing,” she said. “Once they terminated me, they left me no choice but to file a lawsuit.”

Her attorney, James Cordes, said the lawsuit seeks reinstatement or monetary damages. The complaint itself includes a handful of specific allegations, including defamation, discrimination on the basis of Terris’ sexual orientation, breach of contract, violation of labor laws and violations of constitutional rights.

Terris said the ongoing struggle with county management has had a toll on her personal life, causing emotional distress and breaking up her marriage. She is seeking both economic and non-economic damages.

“I want what was wrong to be made right,” she said.

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troublemaker : 10/28/2009

she knew exactly what would happen to her, and she kept pressing buttons. she got herself fired, no ifs ands or buts about it, and setup a nice lawsuit in the process. I guess she loves to waste tax dollars one way or another.

goleta worker

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How to choose : 10/28/2009

If the choice is between Mike Brown and Shawn Terris folks should sit it out. Brown is evil and manipulative and self-centered and has been destructive to the county while Terris is paranoidly hostile to any reasonable attempt at supervision or expectation that she complete her assigned work (despite innumerable "accommodations"). Too bad they can't duke it out mano a mano in some seedy arena--proceeds to help fund the county buy-out of Brown's extorted contract.

RHS

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Interesting... : 10/28/2009

Interesting that a reader would think that standing up for one's rights and consequently pushing buttons is a bad thing -- whether on or off the job. This is the kind of thinking that allows the bad bosses of this world to stay in power, whether in private corporations or in public institutions. We live in a democracy for a reason. It's supposed to protect our rights as citizens. Should every woman who's ever been abused in a domestic situation, for example, be told "she knew exactly what would happen to her, and she kept pressing buttons. she got herself [add in your own favorite word -- hurt, beat up, chewed out, divorced, or killed]. No dear writer of the "Troublemaker" comment ... we all have to stick up for what we believe is right in this world -- on or off the job; otherwise the system never changes, the bad bosses get to continue their bad behavior, and people have to walk on eggshells around them just to keep their jobs and stay safe.

Sometimes buttons have to be pushed when there's a serious problem

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Pattern of abuse : 10/28/2009

Any County employee who participated in the 2007 Retirement Board election and was subjected to the County's over-the-top campaign against Shawn Terris witnessed first hand County upper management's extreme hatred of Ms. Terris. From bombarding county workers with endless misleading emails claiming she was responsible for fund losses (apparently she caused the dot-com crash!) to actually mailing campaign literature to all eligible employees' homes (a violation of employee privacy), the County exposed its bias. It was so clear that 45% of workers voted (an unprecedented turnout for a trustee election), giving Ms. Terris a 73% victory. Unable to defeat her, they finally fired her. I hope the Board of Supervisors watches this case closely and, when Terris gets the justice she seeks, turn around and fire CEO Brown.

Retirement activist

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Trial by Blog : 10/28/2009

Therefore try it in the blogs, right? What's with all the face time? She couldn't file the suit without it? She detailed the reasons for most of her allegations except for the sex orientation count. Why not?

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Fire them all : 10/28/2009

I want my property tax $ back

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Comment on damages inflicted upon "Shawn". : 1/2/2010

You have to know the difference between right and wrong before you start asking for it to be made right. We all inherently know the difference between right and wrong but there will always be a thing called evil in the world. No one is exempt from practicing it. Shawn is not really gay therefore part of the allegation is false. Shawn is very intelligent and dedicated to her work.

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: 1/2/2010

Not knowing anything about the issue, it's hard to imagine that someone would make a public issue out of their circumstances and stand up for themselves if they were not operating on the truth. People that are making up stories generally don't grandstand. Her speaking out gives her credibility.

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Unbelievable. : 1/4/2010

All these people live like swine off the public trough. They are bloated parasites with their sense of entitlement and disregard for their employers. They are overpaid for their "skills", have fattened and exorbitant publicly funded pensions and have the laziest work schedule you can imagine. "How many paid vacation, sick days and holiday days do you get per year?"..... Its in the dozens, folks.

mike

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It is a sad situation! May God bless all parties. : 1/4/2010

We all should "do the right thing"...but we don't! That's life!
rockwithjan

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Your god : 1/6/2010

May your "god" crap on all parties

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I know, I know!!! : 2/15/2010

Here's an idea, Shawn. Go back in the Marines. They still need a few good men*(peeps). They may just give you your seniority back, too!! I hear President Obama won't ask anymore if you won't tell. Newsflash>NOONE cares that you're a diehard lesbian with serious issue that need to be addressed/ rectified. Cheer up!! They might even let you be a drill seargent, so you can continue barking orders at people and forcing your venomous opinions on them at the same time. :)

rockwithme

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why am I not surprised? : 4/15/2010

Sunshine is the best disinfectant. Exposing the Brown administration's arrogant behavior takes courage and does not deserve ridicule. We do not want sheep working in government; we want people with courage, and Terris is what they look like. Could those of you foaming about how all govt employees are bad and lawsuits waste tax dollars try looking past the end of your noses?

Been there

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