Terminating the Employment Relationship

If a local agency settles an appeal of discipline by an employee, the agency must report the fact of the agreement and any action taken to appoint, employ, dismiss, accept the resignation of, or otherwise affect the employment status of a public employee in closed session. Hypothetical: An employee is accused of misconduct. The employee is entitled to an appeal hearing pursuant to the terms of the negotiated agreement with the exclusive representative. The employee agrees to resign in return for $15,000 and continuation of her health benefits for six months. The agency must report out the action as follows: In closed session the Board took action to accept the resignation of [title of position] pursuant to an agreement whereby the employee will receive a payment of $15,000 and will retain health benefits to which she was entitled during her employment for six months after her resignation. A local agency must defer the reporting out of a dismissal or of the nonrenewal of an employment contract until the first public meeting following the exhaustion of administrative remedies, if any. Thus, if the employee has some form of due process challenge to the decision, the agency may only report out the decision when the challenge is complete.

LCW Practice Advisor

LCW Practice Advisor

3. D ISCLOSURE OF E XECUTED A GREEMENT

The general policy of the PRA favors disclosure and a refusal to disclose information must be justified by a specific exemption of the PRA. 380

Records pertaining to pending litigation to which the agency is a party or to claims made pursuant to the Tort Claims Act are exempt from disclosure under the PRA. The records are exempt until the pending litigation or claim has been finally adjudicated or otherwise settled. 381 Thus, documents relating to settlement negotiations or draft settlement agreements need not be disclosed.

Records are exempt from disclosure under the following conditions:

The document is specifically prepared for use in litigation 382 (includes work product of both the public entity and its attorney). 383

Terminating the Employment Relationship ©2022 (s) Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 125