Third District Court of Appeals Grants Aaron Ralls’ Appeal of Trial Courts Ruling
Goyette & Assocaites Attorney Stephen Palazzo Prevails in Ralls Case The California Third District Court of Appeals grants Aaron Ralls’ appeal of the trial courts ruling. The appellate court orders the trial court to reverse the trial court’s (erroneous) order directing the State Personnel Board to sustain two allegations of ...Read More
Defense Against Misappropriation Allegation
Allegations of misappropriation usually arise from a police officer or other public employee taking items that belong to the public entity or other persons and keeping these items for themselves. The misconception is that just because these items are not being used, or have been sitting stagnant for long periods ...Read More
G&A lawyers Defend Failure of Good Behavior Causing Discredit to the Department
Failure of Good Behavior Causing Discredit to the Department One of the more common allegations imposed against Peace Officers, Correctional Officers and other public employees is “Failure of Good Behavior Causing Discredit to the Department.” This allegation may be the result of a simple interaction between a public employee and ...Read More
The Key to Successful Defense Against Incompetence
Successful Defense Against Incompetence A possible misconception many officer may have is that once they their basic training they will be found to be competent in all aspects of their job. In actuality and as in many other professions, training really begins when an officer begins working and gaining real ...Read More
How to Avoid a Sick Leave Abuse Allegation
Sick Leave Abuse The recent economic recession is leading to a familiar scenario: Budget cuts cause an agency to reduce its staffing levels and no new hiring occurs. The agency resorts to minimum staffing and mandatory overtime for its public safety officers. As a result the officer is ...Read More
Salary Reductions
One of the most common forms of disciplinary action taken against public safety employees is a reduction in pay for a period of months. Generally this reduction will take the form of a 5 or 10 percent reduction for however many months are imposed. There are both some key pros ...Read More
Response to Adverse Comments in Personnel File
Response to Adverse Comments in Personnel File Disciplinary action can take many forms when it comes to public safety employees. Sometimes it is not as heavy as a suspension without pay or a demotion. Often correction may come in the form of a counseling memo or a “documentation of verbal ...Read More
Removal from Specialty Pay Assignments
Many public safety employers have jobs that are “special assignments” and often require additional training or skills from the employee. To “reward” these extra demands, they will generally also be accompanied by a pay incentive which is generally around 5%. Most employees feel that being assigned to such positions is a ...Read More