Police Officer with Hayward PD was recently served with a notice of a 1 week suspension without pay in addition to a 1 pay step reduction for an entire year.  The allegations giving rise to this discipline pertained to eleven departmental reports that were alleged to have been turned in late or not properly completed.  Goyette attorney Dan Thompson conducted a detailed and lengthy Skelly hearing on behalf of the officer and went through each report and the circumstances surrounding it.  As a result, the Chief only sustained discipline on 5 reports and reduced the discipline to a 1 pay step reduction for 12 pay periods.  The reason this hearing was successful was due to the time invested to properly evaluate the facts and bring to light each detail in our client’s favor.  In addition to simply conducting the Skelly on the facts, Dan also worked with the Chief to find a method by which the officer could avoid similar problems in the future thereby working towards a long term solution for his client.

On November 10, 2009 an employee at the High Desert State Prison received some of the worst news anyone in today’s economy can receive; she was terminated effective immediately.  She contacted Goyette and Associates to help her in this time of crisis and her case was assigned to attorney Dan Thompson.  For state employees who have an appeal right to the State Personnel Board, a pre-hearing settlement conference is first required to attempt to resolve the matter.  At the settlement conference only 4 months later, Attorney Thompson was able to successfully salvage her career.  Instead of a termination, Dan negotiated a voluntary demotion to another job classification (with almost identical pay) while working with a different supervisor with whom she did not have the same conflicts.  In addition, her ability to promote in the future was not restricted, the notice of adverse action imposing the termination was withdrawn and she also received some back pay.  In today’s economy all of your appeal options must be aggressively pursued and thoroughly utilized to obtain the best possible resolution in a system that can be painfully slow.  Goyette and Associates takes full advantage of each stage of appeal to obtain the best possible result for their clients.

Correctional Officer with San Joaquin County was recently given notice of a 3 day suspension without pay for allegations of sustained misconduct involving failure to appear for a subpoena. However, after the details were carefully examined by Goyette attorney Dan Thompson, he argued at the Skelly hearing that there was more to the story. Internal failure to properly serve the subpoena along with a deputy DA with a bad attitude severely complicated the situation. After a detailed review of the mitigating factors, the discipline was reduced to a 12 hour suspension and most importantly, the charge of intentional failure to follow the orders of a supervisor was removed from the final Notice. Carefully evaluating the evidence provided by the employer in these cases is the key to success on appeal.