Schifando Wins

 

     The California Supreme Court has ruled that public employees do not have to exhaust internal remedies before going to court. Steve Schifando, a former employee of the city of Los Angeles, had sued, claiming that he had been fired because he suffered from hypertension. The city argued that Schifando needed to first use the city's internal grievance procedures.

      This case is significant because it concerns the interpretation of "exhaustion of internal remedies" (see Spring 2003 Newsletter). As many WAGE members know, internal grievance processes in academic institutions are often time-consuming and cumbersome. Charlotte Fishman, who has represented several women in UC tenure cases, said, "They have these systems of procedure that you'd need a Ph.D. to understand."

      These internal systems may not only consume years of a grievant's time, but may have significant flaws in their design. A 1996 WAGE position paper said, "The Committee on Privilege and Tenure is ineffective in resolving complaints since it cannot investigate the facts. Members of the Committee may also be hampered by issues of collegiality which tend to exclude the grievant." See the Spring 1996 Newsletter or the WAGE Web site for the complete position paper.

 

Source: San Francisco Chronicle 12/2/03