P H I L I P OR N EE S Q.

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SanFrancisco, 94111 CA 4 1 5 . 8 7 4 .9 8 0 0 ATTORNEYFORPETITIONER-APPELLANT(SEAN)GILLISEMT.P EMPLOYEE SHEEHAN

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CITY OF OAKLAND CNIL SERVICEBOARD

SHEEHAN GILLIS, Petitioner-Appellant,

VS.

\ VERIFIED ) atnEal oF DISCIPLINARYACTION

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) CaseNumber: )

FIREDEPARTMENT THE CITY OF OF OAKLAND,

Respondent.

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NOTICE (Sean)Gillis EMT-P givesnoticeof his appeal the By this filing, EmployeeSheehan of suspension orderedby employing department Fire Departmentof the City of Oakland(Oakland Fire hereinafter).

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INTRODUCTION OscarGrant died on January1't,2009 because was shot in the back at point-blank he rangeand because first responderOaklandFire failed to apply basic wound treatmentto Grant. For five-and-a-half(5 %) hours,Grant struggledto survive againstOaklandFire's negligence or intentionalmisconduct. Acting Oakland Fire EmergencyMedical Service(EMS) ManagerNina Morris moved quickly to cover up OaklandFire's involvementin Grant's death. Morris removedthe paper Grant file and deletedthe "undeletable"'computerarchive of the PatientCare Reportfor Grant. Morris suppressed mandatorycall review (call review is mandatoryin the seminaleventswhere mistakesare made) and OaklandFire Medical Director Howard Michaels, MD's order for a call review (eventhough Michaelstechnically"out-ranked" Morris). Only two (2) peoplespokeout and they spokeout together-Dr. Michaels.MD and EMS Coordinatorand (Sean)Gillis (EMT-P). Morris retaliatedagainstboth. Morris stopped Paramedic Sheehan payroll from issuingpaychecks Dr. Michaels,MD and claimedMichaels neverhad a contract to with Oakland. Dr. Michaels worked for six (6) months "for free" and offered Paramedic Gillis continueworkine "for free" to protectGillis from retaliation. OaklandFire hired William Sugiyamaas the replacement Morris in Summer2009. for public sectoremploymenthistory includeda recentcover up and scandal.Alameda Sugiyama's

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' Policy and procedurerequiresthe archivebe undeletable.Practicedoesnot follow policy or procedure

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County employedSugiyamaand Michael King in the Alameda County EmergencyMedical ServiceDistrict until whistleblowerJohn Vonhoff reportedto the Board of Supervisors that King and accomplices were acceptinggifts (luxury sport utility vehicles)from ambulance provider American Medical Response, Inc. (AMR hereinafter)in lieu of penaltiesAMR owed the County for slow service. The Board of Supervisors was able to keep this scandalout of the press. Many

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taxpayers wonderedwhy AMR's forty (40) year monopoly contractsuddenlyended. Media reportedAlameda County switchedambulance providers(to Paramedics Plus) because AMR's contractended. Immediately after Sugiyamaleft his AlamedaCounty position in the wake of that AMR scandal, Sugiyamawas conspiringwith AMR to use his position at OaklandFire to benefitAMR in exchange kickbacks from AMR. At the time, OaklandFire operateda joint venture for EmergencyMedical Technician(EMT) training programwith Merritt College. Menitt College, in general,and the EMT program,in particular,was createdto seryeat-risk youths,traditionally disadvantaged people-including racial and ethnic minorities,and women. AMR offeredto pay Sugiyamaif he dumped Menitt College and transferred Merritt College's assets (half of the joint venture)to AMR (dba National College of TechnicalInstruction |NCTII). NCTI is an expensive for-profit collegethat serveswealthier,white, male students. AMR offered and Sugiyama agreedto kickbackstotaling 40%;o the tuition paid by NCTI students of (federalstudentloans)for dumping Menitt College. Onepersonstood in the way-already-Oakland-Fire-disfavored employeeSheehan Gillis. After yearsof volunteeringwith the Merritt College program,Gillis had beenhired by Merritt college to run the joint venturein his (oakland Fire) off hours. Sugiyama and Morris entered into an agreement "get rid of'Gillis. This suspension to is just the latestin their relentlesscampaignof harassment retaliation. Said campaignis and painstakinglydetailedbelow in the Affirmative Defenses and Exhibit One hereto-Cg4gp[ggp.f

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(whichisincorporatedbythisreferenceasiffully setforthherein).

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC Because this involves importantpublic interests and in spite of Gillis' right to privacy in personnel matters,Gillis requests this proceeding and all filings and evidencebe opento the publicand a public record.

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RECORDS REQUESTS AND ISSUESANCTIONS Abouttwo weeksbeforethis filing Gillis requested publicrecords from theCity of Oakland useasevidence this hearing.Gillis requests: Thatthe hearing setfar enough to in l) be outto allow Gillis to enforce records his request, 2) the City's failureto timelyprovide or documents deemed be conclusive proofin Gillis'favoron all contentions related therequests. to

OPPOSITIONAND OBJECTIONTO NOTICE OF SUSPENSION OBJECTIONTO LETTER OF INTENT, OBJECTIONTO SKELLY REPORT

I. INTRODUCTION Paramedic Sheehan(Sean) Gillis, EMT-? Paramedic Sheehan Gillis, EMT-P providesthe highestievel of service. Absolutely nothingin the Letterof Intent,Skelly Findings, Notice of Suspension or supports any discipline. The "best' OaklandFire can "come up with" is that Gillis cameback late from lunch a coupleof times (though OaklandFire apparentlydoesnot know when or possess any evidence)and the storage areaGillis shareswith a dozenpeoplewas "disarrayed"one day (OaklandFire has

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photographs that, but the photos are not relevant-they were taken on anotherday). The of Letter, Findings,and Notice are empty hyperbole.

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2. LAW Civil Service EmployeesMay Only Be Disciplinedfor Good Couse,' Discriminat ory, Retal iatory (including Whistleblower Retaliatory), or Corrupt Motivesfor Discipline Are Proscribed The California systemof civil serviceemploymenthas its roots in the Constitutionof the Stateof California,Article XXIV, Sectionl, Subdivision (Systemshall be based merit (b) on and the tenureof every permanentemployeemay only be separated good cause.).Punitive for actionthat is not for good causeviolates Due Process and Equal Protectionguarantees provided by the Fifth and FourteenthAmendmentsto the United StatesConstitutionand Article I $$ 7, l5 (MOU) providesthat the of the stateConstitution. The relevantMemorandumof Understanding City of Oaklandshall make employmentdecisionsonly for suchcausethat will promotethe efficiency of government. Self-dealingand embezzlement, nepotism,cronyism, favoritism, racism,sexism,homophobia,and retaliationand whistleblowerretaliationare proscribedby the MOU. Federal,state,and local laws prohibit discriminationbasedon (and basedon having discriminationbasedon) race,ethnicity, origin, sex, sexualorientation,andlor opposed disability. Seee.g.,Title VII (42 U.S.C.$ 2000eet seq.),FEHA (Government Code $ 12900et seq.),42 U.S.C.$ 1981et seq.,42 U.S.C.$ 1983et seq.,and similar local laws. Whistleblowing is Constitutionally-protected speech, free and an employermay not retaliateagainstan employee for whistleblowing. First Amendmentto the United StatesConstitution(enforcedthrough42 U.S.C.$ 1983);Article I $ 8 of the Constitution the Stateof California;LaborCode $ ll02 et of seq. An employermay not retaliateagainsta healthcare worker who participates the reporting in providesthat the of medicalmalpractice,and the professional ethical code for paramedics

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seq. An employermay not discriminateagainstan employeebecause that employee's of positionas a union memberor officer. 29 U.S.C.$ 158et seq.,Labor Code $$ 921 et seq.,923 et seq. An employermay not retaliateagainstan employeewho participates reportingfalse in claims. Government Code $ 12651et seq.

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3. OBJECTION TO LETTER OF INTENT: Letter of Intent Is Vague,Indefinite, or Uncertain; Fails to ldentifl Acts or Omissionswith Specificity A Letter of Intent must statethe actsor omissionsupon which the requestfor disciplinei based. The subjectLetter of Intent is two pagesand containsno actsor omissions. Rather,the Letter of Intent (datedFebruary 3'd,2011)states that the requestfor suspension basedon is receiptof l) A Performance AppraisaldatedMay l5th,2010,and 2) A written Reprimand dated Octoberl5th, 2010. No further or continuingviolations are stated. The Performance Appraisal is the first appraisalwritten by Sugiyamaand completely oppositeto all of Gillis' past Performance Appraisals. For years,Gillis was appraised "meets expectations" "exceedsexpectations."Suddenly,Sugiyamafound him "needsimprovement." or The SugiyamaPerformance Appraisal complainedthat Gillis could not transitionEmployeeDan Gerardin time to meet Sugiyama'sdeadline. However,the failure to transitionwas not caused by Gillis. The failure was causedby a third party-Gerard left early for an OaklandFire work (EMS Today Conference), assignment and culpableparty Gerardwas not punished. The Reprimandwas purportedlyfor failing to meet atarget date for moving OaklandFire "disarray" in a storageroom, and failing to transitionDaniel Gerard.2 storage,

The reprimandalso purports to be basedon leavingAV equipmentat a securedoffice in Oakland Fire but the

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"wrong" locationaccordingto Sugiyama. Again, there is no precedentfor reprimandingpersonnelfor leaving

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equipmentat secureoffices of Oakland Fire. It seemsobviousthat Sugiyamacould "reprimand" any employeefor

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STORAGE MOVING. Gillis was not paid for moving the heavy storage, moving the was a voluntarytask done on off hours and the weekend,the move was completedwithin dayso the targetdate,the move was not completedbecause orderedstorageracks had not yet arrived, and OaklandFire owes Gillis a "thank you" for doing this volunteerwork. Insteadof thanking

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Gillis, OaklandFire reprimandedGillis when he could not completethe move by the targetdate and completedit a couple of days late. A basicprinciple of MOU discipline is that it applies when the employerdoes not receivevalue, or a return, for the wagesthe employerpays. Here, the City paid nothing and got storagemoving that was only a coupleof days late. As a matterof fairnessand in order to further the City's interestin encouraging volunteering,the volunteered moving shouldnot form the basisof suspension.As a matter of public policy, the City of Oaklandcannotsanctionvolunteers. Sanctioning volunteersand volunteeringwill result in fewer volunteersand less volunteeringand higher costsfor taxpayers. There is absolutelyno recordof OaklandFire or the City of Oaklandsuspending employeesfor performing volunteer work. As a matterof Due Process and Equal Protection,there is no precedent a written for reprimandbeing issuedto anyone-employee or not-for helping the City for free. Note: This move-my-boss'-storage-for-free-on-my-off-hours is what OaklandFire refersto when task OaklandFire accuses Gillis of "failing to meet self-imposed deadlines." "DISARRAY." The reprimandaccuses Gillis of creating"disarray" in the storage room and leavinga coupleof files in the room. The reprimanddoesnot explain the term "disarray." First and foremost,"disarray" is un-Constitutionallyvague. Second,Gillis proved the disarray was caused others-it is a shared,common room. OaklandFire's evidencephotographs by are inadmissible prove disarrayin Octoberbecause to they were taken in January. Finally, the files

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this "violation" at any time. Accordingly, this allegationis un-Constitutionallyvagueand ambiguousand the

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punishmentun-Constitutionallyarbitrary and capricious.

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were left in the shared.common room because OaklandFire took away Gillis' office. Thereis no history of OaklandFire reprimandingpersonnelfor "disarray" or for leaving files in common areasafter revoking office privileges. "TRANSITIONING DAN GERARD." As statedabove,the Reprimandaccuses Gillis o failing to transitionDan Gerard,the failure occurredbecause Gerardleft for a conference, and Gerardwas not punished. Use of the failure of a third party to punish Gillis (and not the culpabl third party) is strongevidenceof Sugiyama'sbad faith. The Skelly Officer's failure to report Gillis' evidence and positionand,more generally, Skelly Officer's failureto comment the on Sugiyama'srepeated use of third party performanceissues(like not-completely-filled-in course evaluations) a basisfor discipliningGillis is indiciaof biason the part of the SkellyOfficer. as If Sugiyamais so desperatehe must look to third parties to find failings, Gillis must be doing a good job. Use of suchbad faith tacticsviolatesof Gillis' Fifth and Fourteenth AmendmentDue Processand Equal Protectionrights.

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4. OBJECTIONTO SKELLY REPORT: skelly Report Indicstes Bias; Is vague, Indefinite, and (Jncertain; qnd Fails to ldentify Acts or Omissions with Specificity The Skelly Report states, "sheehanhasa responsibilityto communicate(in a timely manner)any impedimentsto his ability to completeassignments[.]"The Skelly Reportsfails to include Sheehan's repeatedstatements that the loss of his office and the move to a storage closet in a remotetrailer impedehis ability to do his job. The Skelly Officer is requiredto be impartial and NOT RUBBER STAMP management' decisions and to statefacts with specificity (who, what, where,when). The Skelly Officer fails to be impartial or specific. The Skelly Report is a generalattackon Gillis. The Skelly Officer

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accuses Gillis of "repeatedfailuresto adhereto expectations attendance of and use of time." That's it! That is not "acts or omissions." At the sametime, the Skelly Officer fails to criticize

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oakland Fire for taking awayGillis' office, moving Gillis to a remotetrailer, convertingGillis, trailer office to a storagecloset(leaving Gillis with no office), and then, taking away Gillis, mailbox' why would oakland Fire convert Gillis' trailer office into a storagecloset? Does oakland Fire needa storageclosetso badly? Gillis hasphotographs almost-emptystorage of garages'The Skelly officer is requiredto be impartial and to criticize oakland Fire,s misconduct' oakland Fire's misconducttendsto prove that oakland Fire is interferingwith

Gillis' ability to perform and, in fact, intentionallycreating "performanceof duty,, issues. The Skelly officer accuses Gillis of taking a coupleof long lunches, fails to identify but datesor evidence,and omits the fact that oakland Fire cut Gillis' lunch break in half (to thirty

(30) minutes)' Gillis' remotetrailermakesgoing for lunch in a half-hourimpossible.

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obviously,oaklandFire is tryingto create furtherlunchtardiness issues.Finally,the Skelly officer accuses Gillis of missingstaffmeetings, failsto criticizeoaklandFire but for scheduling Gillis' teaching assignments (class instruction) the same at time asstaffmeetings shortening and Gillis' Iunchbreakwhenit knowsGillis is an officerof the union andthe unionmeets at lunchtime'It seems oaklancl Fire is deliberately preventing Gillis from attending staffandunion
meetings. The Skelly officer should be investigated bias, for for failing to be impartial, and thereby,for "failing in the performanc of hisduties.,, e Before we leave the issueof lunches,it is worth noting that oakland Fire,s accusations againstGillis-'a couple of late lunches'-is identical to that which the califomia supreme

Co u r the a rdfromtheemployerinth e le g e n d a ry c a s e @(|g 7 7 ] |5 cal' 3d 194)' The Supreme court found'a coupleof late lunches'to be insufficientto support disciplinaryaction;the discipline (termination)of a doctor for a coupleof late luncheswas held

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5. OBJECTION AND OPPOSITIONTO NOTICE OF SUSPENSION Notice of SuspensionIs Vague;Fails to ldentify Acts or Omissionswith Specificity The Notice of Suspension doesnot list any actsor omissionsupon which it is based. Instead, confirmsthat Gillis received May 2010 Appraisaland the October15th, it the 2010 Reprimand discussed above. The Notice of Suspension (March 30th, 20l l) states basisfor the the October2010 Reprimandis: l) Failure to transitionDan Gerardin Summer2010, 2) "Failure to adequatelyorganize"("Disarray" previously)a sharedstorageroom, 3) "Failure to provide leadership/management [staff]," and 4) Leaving AV equipmentat the "wrong" office. to The Notice of Suspension then statesthat "Chief [sic-Sugiyama is not a Chief although Sugiyamainsistseveryonecall him that] Sugiyamastatedthat, generally,your job performance continuedto be below standardand he had [sic] seenlittle or no progressto [sic] overcome deficiencies had beenpreviouslyidentifiedon Octoberl5th,2010." The Notice of that Suspension continues"You have continuedto have unacceptable performancein severalcritical areasof your 2010-2011Performance Plan. Specifically,thoseinvolving Use of Time; Team Work and Collaboration;Performance Management; Accountability; Adaptability and problem Solving [sic]." Thot's it! That is not "acts or omissions." Readingthat ungrammatical sentence, seemsOakland Fire is complainingaboutthe Performance it Plan. That Performance Plan was draftedby Sugiyama. Again, no acts,no omissionsby Gillis. The Notice of "You are hereby suspended Suspension concludes, without pay from Apri|27th,20l I to April

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2gth,2orr.The Notice of Suspension completelybasedon the fact that Gillis was reprimanded is in October2010. No subsequent actsor omissionsare stated. Period.

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AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE,S

1. ALLEGED FAILING CAUSED BY MISCONDUCT OF OAKLAND FIRE Performance of Duty Issues Causedby Removal of Office and Removal of Mailbox, Scheduling Conflicts Created by Managementor Condoned by Management As set forth above, OaklandFire caused allegedperformanceissues. OaklandFire the moved Gillis' office to a remote location and then converted that office to a storageclosetand removed Gillis' mailbox. OaklandFire scheduled meetings that Gillis would be lateto or so miss meetings and then disciplinedGillis for beinglateor missingmeetings.OaklandFire shortened Gillis lunch breaksand re-locatedhim to a remotelocation and then disciplinedGillis for not being ableto eat in the requiredtime. OaklandFire condonedthe early departure Dan of Gerardand then disciplined Gillis for Gerardnot being able to meet and completetransitioning. As set forth in the attacheddocument,entitled Campaignof Harassment. Discrimination.and

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Retaliation,OaklandFire's Hostile Work Environmentcausedany allegedperformance

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difficulties by making Gillis the object of a campaignof harassment that distractedGillis and
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substantially impairedhis ability to perform, and OaklandFire did not "live up to its end" by participatingin the employer-employee relationshipin good faith and with honestintentions.

2. DISCIPLINE VIOLATES DUE PROCESS AND EQUAL PROTECTION Punishingan EmployeeOver and Over Againfor the SameAllegations of Minor Misconduct Violates the Principle of ProgressiveDiscipline and Fifth and FonrteenthAmendmentDue Processand Equal Protection rights. OaklandFire useshyperboleto intimidate its employees.OaklandFire's words make it has donesomething words seemlike the employee really bad,but, in reality,thoseintimidating are hollow papertigers. Under scrutiny,the Appraisal,Reprimand,BaselinePerformance Letter, Letter of Intent, Skelly Report, and Notice of Suspension all basedon the samesingleare episode allegedfailings. Recyclingthe sameincidents over and over again,usingthemas a basi

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for disciplineafter discipline, violatesthe principle of progressive discipline and Gillis' Fifth an Fourteenth AmendmentRights. If this were "three strikes,"OaklandFire would sendSeanGilli away for life for committing a singleoffenseand then receivingthree lettersfrom OaklandFire aboutthe offense.

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3. DISCPLINE IS TINLAWFULLY DISCRIMINATORY Discipline Began Whenand Inteniified Afrer Gillis OpposedDiscriminatory Practices The attached document,entitled Campaignof Harassment, Discrimination.and Retaliation, painstakinglyshowsa hostile work environmentand a campaignof discriminatory and retaliatory(including whistleblowerretaliatory)harassment with a clear startingpoint. The campaignbeganwhen Gillis stoodup to the racist and unprofessional handling of OscarGrant and the OscarGrant cover up and the racist handling of (and disparate-impact-causing behavior toward)the Menitt College program and intensifiedwith other complaintsby Gillis. Gillis

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opposed racism (including basedon race,origin, and ethnicity) and disparateimpact discrimination,sexism,homophobia,and other forms of proscribedhate and cronyism and selfdealingand other forms of misconductas set forth in the Campaignof Harassment. Discrimination.and Retaliation. The discipline is unlawfully discriminatory.

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4, DISCPLINE IS TINLAWFULLY RETALIATORY Discipline Began l|/hen and Intensified After Gillis Opposed Unlawful Practices The attached document,entitled Campaignof Harassment. Discrimination.and painstakinglyshowsa hostile work environmentand a campaignof discriminatory Retaliation, and retaliatory(including whistleblowerretaliatory)harassment with a clear startingpoint. The campaignbeganwhen Gillis stoodup to the racist and unprofessional handling of OscarGrant

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and the OscarGrant cover up and the racist handling of (and disparate-impact-causing behavior toward)the Menitt College program and intensifiedwith other complaintsby Gillis. Gillis

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racism (including basedon race,origin, and ethnicity) and disparateopposed impact discrimination,sexism,homophobia,and other forms of proscribedhate and cronyism and selfdealingand other forms of misconductas set forth in the Campaignof Harassment. Discrimination.and Retaliation. The disciplineis unlawfully retaliatory.

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REQUESTFOR COSTS Gills incurredsubstantialcostsin bringing this Appeal. The initial filings alonerepresenl over 40 hoursof attorneybilling for research, recordsreview, drafting, editing, and filing. Gillis attorney bills him at $250.00per hour-for a total of over $10,000.00 includingpost-filing not work, review of any opposition,other filings or review, and preparationfor and work at the (Sean)Gillis, hereby,requests costsagainstOaklandFire pursuant hearinghereon. Sheehan his public benefitresultsfrom this filing to the law (includingCCP $ 1021.5fbecause significant a in that it exposes EMS failings, racism and other discrimination,retaliation,whistleblower retaliation,cronyism,and other mattersof public interest]).

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Respectfullysubmi

/s/Philio H ATTORNEYFORPETITIONER-APPE,LLANT(SEAN GILLIS.EMT-P EMPLOYEE SHEEHAN

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VERIFICATION (Sean)Gillis, reviewedthis Appealof DisciplinaryAction. It is true. I, Sheehan I make this verification under penalty of perjury underthe laws of the Stateof California. in Executed SanFrancisco this April 10th, I . 201

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(Sean)Gillis, EMT-P Sheehan

ExhibitOneto Appealof Disciplinary Action Campaign Harassment, of Discrimination, Retaliation and

CAMPAIGN OF HARASSMENT, DISCRIMINATION, AND RETALIATION

1 . SHEEHAN GILLIS. Sheehan Gillis is an EMT-P (paramedic), paramedic a

teacherand supervisorr,viththe Fire Departmentof the City of Oakland,and a Shop Stewardand Vice President Local 21 InternationalProfessional of and (IFPTE). Gillis is an activememberof his community(for Technical Engineers example,Gillis participatesin "National Night Out" every year),helpedbuild the Black community gardenat PeraltaStreetand 36tnAvenue, and helps raisemoney for charitableorganizations like RandomActs. Gillis grew up poor, in a trailer in Alaska, with a mother who only knew poverty and worked in a women's domestic violenceshelter,identifies with other disadvantaged people.and volunteersto traditionally-disadvantaged people,including"at risk" youth,peopleof help color, and people with ethnic minority background,in the hopesthat they can also hopeto climb out of poverty and oppression.

2 . HELPING KIDS. Startingon or aboutearly 2006, Gillis volunteered(without

pay) to teachclasses traditionally at black,public Merritt College. Gillis taught people, risk" youth.peopleof color, and people traditionally-disadvantaged "at with ethnic minority backgroundskills that could leadto a betterlife. Merritt Collegewas so happywith Gillis' work, Menitt CollegeofferedGillis a paidjob as Instructorand later ProgramDirector (2009). Gillis was allowed to work as a ProgramDirector on his off hours. Merritt Collegewants an active-dutyOakland Fire ProgramDirector so its students ensured"real world" training and are experience. KING AND SUGIYAMA. At the sametime that Gillis was being promotedfor his goodwork. Michael King and William Sugiyama were leavingtheir respective positionsas EMS Director and TraumaUnit Pre-HospitalCare Coordinatorwith the Alameda County EmergencyMedical ServiceDistrict in the wake of a scandal involvingAmericanMedical Response, (AMR). Inc. 4. AMR CAUGHT BRIBING KING. AMR is the nation'slargestambulance servicecorporationand owns and operates lucrative subsidiarycalledNCTI a private College of TechnicalInstruction). NCTI providesexpensive, Q'{ational educationserv'ices.Both AMR and NCTI are overrvhelminglysupported by taxpayerdollars (corporatewelfare)in the form of county payments,Medicaid payments,Medicarepayments.and,in the caseof NCTI, federalstudentgrants and loans. For forty years,AMR held a monopoly on ambulanceservicefor AlamedaCounty and most other Bay Area counties. The Alameda County monopoly endedwhen AMR was caughtbribing King to avoid penaltiesdue AlamedaCounty for late ambulances.AMR reportedly"racked up millions of dollars" in penaltiesand avoidedpaying them by buying King a coupleof luxury sportutility vehicles. AlamedaCountyexecutives the Boardof Supervisors and Campaignof Harassment, Discrimination,and Retaliation 1l

failed to report the scandalto their public. Sugiyamahad beenemployedby AMR before Alameda County, worked closely with King, and, at least,must have known about, and failed to report,the bribes. Gillis knows of this scandal because admissions Sugiyama. of of 5. SUGIYAMA MOVES TO OAKLAND. Because AlamedaCountyexecutives the and Board of Supervisors kept the scandal secret-to avoid political job in Alameda embarrassment-Sugiyamawas ableto get anotherpublic-sector County-as an EMS Supervisorwith OaklandFire. By this hire, OaklandFire madeSugiyamaGillis' boss. 6. SUGIYAMA LJN-PLINISHED. Because sufferedno punishment,Sugiyama he evenmaintains ties to and corrupt,self-serving-at-the-public's-expensehis with AMR Inc. dealings 7. AMR BzuBES SUGIYAMA. Immediately afterbeinghired by OaklandFire in 2009, Sugiyamaenleredinto a deal with AMR to transferpublic, City of Oakland and Alameda County assets AMR in exchange cashpaymentsto Sugiyama. for to The first assetto be sold to AMR? The Menitt College EMT training program run by Gillis. 8. SUGIYAMA TARGETS MERRITT COLLEGE AND GILLIS. While Sugiyama was still transitioninginto his new job with OaklandFire, Sugiyamaissueda "Letter of Caution"againstGillis by which he demanded that Gillis stophis work with Merritt College. Sugiyamaknew his use of disciplinary processin Oakland Fire to achieveendsin an AlamedaCounty programwas improper. Sugiyama deliberately calledhis demanda "Letter of Caution"because City of Oakland the Fire DepartmentMemorandumof Understanding and relatedadministrative rules and regulationsprovide that a "Letter of Caution" is a low-level processfor which an employee not allowedrepresentation. is insistedhis "Letterof Sugiyama Caution" be issuedto Gillis during off hours for Sugiyamaand Gillis. Put another way, Sugiyamapurportedto make his actions"un-official official" and enforceable againstGillis but not reviewable againstSugiyama.

FrRE FArLS s. OAKLAND GrLLrS. eu.ntr,o,rlh Giilis;;,

^ expectations" in expectations" "exceeds or employee all pastevaluations and provedhimself a valuablememberof the EMT community by volunteeringin the community with the EMT program,while Sugiyamawas a new hire with a troubling history, OaklandFire endorsed Sugiyama's"un-official official" process and the campaignof harassment that Sugiyamasoon unleashed against Gillis to force Gillis to quit Merritt College,to tarnishGillis' reputation, to retaliateagainstGillis, and. ultimately,to force Gillis out of OaklandFire.

"meets

with IFPTE, his union 10.LTNIONFAILS GILLIS. In spiteof his positions representative fails and refusesto grievethe misconductstatedherein,because the Discrimination, Retaliation Campaignof Harassment, and
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union represents very samesupervisors the and personnelofficer committing the misconduct. 11.FALSE ACCUSATION OF EMBEZZLEMENT AGAINST GILLIS. On oT purposely falselyclaimed aboutAugust 27'h,2009.Sugiyama and intentionally created Gillis accepted from a City contractor.Strangely, Sugiyama S12,000.00 the lie againstGillis aboutthe sametime Sugiyama disclosed Sugiyma's scandal-the Alameda Countv SUV bribe-to Gillis. 12.VERBAL HARASSMENT FOR NOT HAVING TWO PARENTS. When Gillis refusedto quit Merritt College,Sugiyamayelled (in front of the Battalion Chiefs), "You have a problem with authority. You needto dig back to your childhood." 13.NIXONIAN HIT LIST. Sugiyama a told Gillis he maintains "hit list" of employees will 'get rid of and that Gillis is "alreadyon the firing list." he 14.JOB OFFER WITH AMR. Eventhoughhe was trying to get Gillis to quit Merritt to College (and OaklandFire), Sugiyamaattempted recruit Gillis to AMR. On or NCTI that aboutOctober 15tn,2009, Sugiyama suggested AMR's subsidiary would "give you more" than Merritt College. threatened Gillis that,if Sugiyama 15."DICTATOR" THREAT. Paradoxically, he Gillis failed to do what Sugiyamademanded, (Sugiyama)would becomean "autocraticdictator that fGillis] will not like." 16. FALSE FLAG COVER FOR EMBEZZLEMENT. Once Gillis was "out of the picture," Sugiyama,appealingto the baseststereotypes, intentionally falsely and faculty of theft and used accused Merritt College and Merritt College students thoseaccusations bar students to and faculty from accessing suppliesand the to equipment,used the "false flag" accusations commandeer Merritt College programand its assets, to embezzled said assets, and transferred said assets AMR. other OaklandFire equipment,transferredsaid other Sugiyamaembezzled equipmentto AMR, fraudulentlypromisedand provided AMR, rent-freeoffices for and classrooms at OaklandFire, agreedto and did recruit students AMR while on the clock with the City of Oakland,and agreedto and did use City property and personnelto perform recruiting and training servicesfor AMR. Sugiyamablocked County-ownedMenitt Collegefrom using the sameequipment program. or spaceand from developingan EMT-P (paramedic) 17.RETURN OF AMR MONOPOLY. Sugiyama and AMR Inc., areworking to and createan East Bay monopoly on training for EMT and EMT-P (paramedics) jobs in the EastBay. gate keeperfor paramedic to becomethe and AMR, 18.DISPARATE IMPACT AGAINST BLACK PEOPLE. Sugiyama disparately impactslow incomeworkers,"at risk" youth, Inc.'s misconduct Discrimination,and Retaliation Campaignof Harassment,

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peopleof color, and peoplewith ethnic minority ancestrybecausethe Merritt Collegeprogram was chartered and built to help, and in fact serves, these traditionally-disadvantaged people,while the AMR programhasno suchcharter and,historically and currently, a white, "middle-class"studentpopulation. AMR chooses students basedon their ability to pay AMR's $10,000.00 tuition. OaklandFire refusesto investigateGillis' complaintsregardinghow loss of the Merritt College program will impact its Oakland'smost vulnerablepopulation. 19.OSCAR GRANT AND SHEEHAN GILLIS. Gillis otherwise advocates low for income,"at-risk," and ethnic minority people.On or aboutJanuary2009, Oakland Fire destroyedrecordsrelatedto its response 9l I calls to savethe life of Oscar to Granton January1't,2009. The MedicalDirectorof the City of Oakland demanded "call review." It is the written policy and "always" procedureof a OaklandFire to perform sucha call review in "high profile" caseslike that of OscarGrant. In spite of the order of the Medical Director, the written policy, and the "always" procedureof OaklandFire, it failed and refusedto perform the call review. Oakland Fire refusesto investigate Gillis' complaintsaboutthe 9l I call response, destructionof public property,violation of the order of the Medical Director, and refusal to perform the mandatorycall review. On or aboutMarch 30th,2011, with the collusionof Sugiyama, EMS Coordinator queriedGillis an about"what he would have done" in a hypotheticalrescuewith factsidenticalto Grant. This was designedto causeGillis to suffer embarrassment harassment and in front of his peersfor exposinginjustice and racism in OaklandFire. 20.L.A. CONFIDENTIAL. Gillis fightsa systemof racismand nepotism, cronyism, and favoritism that has changedlittle from the stereotype L.A. Confidential. of The crimesof the "good ole boys" go un-punished. For example, duringthe summerof 2009,Gillis received reports missingnarcotics of from field personnel. The suspectwas a white male EMT. Per written code and statedpolicy, Gillis the contacted Medical Director, the Medical Director orderedGillis to perform an investigation,Gillis investigated, and Gillis madewritten findings to OaklandFire "brass." Insteadof completingthe process reportingto the City Attorney (the by last step),Oakland Fire turned on Gillis and warnedhim "The City Attorney does not like your reports." No reportswere madeto the City Attomey. Gillis complainedto Oakland Fire for ayear and a half aboutthis. Finally, aftera Skelly Hearing embarrassed Department,Sugiyamainformed Gillis that he the the contacted DEA and "the union can't help anyonewhen it comesto the DEA." Amazingly, the whistlebloweris being threatened with punishmentfor the crime he reported. 2I. RELENTLESSCAMPAIGN OF HARASSMENT AGAINST GILLIS. In May 2010, Sugiyamaissueda substandard Performance Appraisal (PA) of Gillis. It was remarkablydifferent from all past PAs ("meets expectations" "exceeds or expectations") and done to retaliateagainstGillis for advocatingfor the racially-

Campaignof Harassment, Discrimination,and Retaliation

4l

inclusive program of Merritt College and complainingaboutthe racist mishandlingof the OscarGrant call and follow up. 22.BACKTO THE TRAILER PARK. On or aboutSeptember 22"d,2010, Sugiyama took away Gillis' office and moved him to a storagetrailer. Sugiyamadid so knowing that Gillis was raisedin a trailer and would experience distressfrom same. The removal was done in orderto discriminateand retaliateasainstGillis. 23. PLINISHMENTFOR VOLLTNTEERING.On or aboutSeptember 27n,2010, Sugiyama disciplinedGillis for failing to meetGillis' self-imposed goal datefor moving Oakland Fire storageand for anotherpersonnel'sfailure to transitionby goal date. The moving was a voluntary assignment performedon the weekend and during off hours and completedwithin days of the target;the transitioning failure was causedby third partiesand not the fault of Gillis. The disciplinewas doneto discriminate and retaliate against Gillis. 24. SUGIYAMA WRITES LETTER OF RESIGNATION FOR GILLIS. On or about October 4'h,2070,Sugiyamadrafteda letter of resignationfor Gillis to sign. SugiyamainsistedGillis sign the samewithout readingit. When Gillis refused, Sugiyama billed Gillis $659.95for personnel textingon companyequipment even though OaklandFire had a practiceof allowing suchpersonaltexting and no other employees havebeenrequiredto pay for personal texting. Sugiyama's misconduct,in drafting a letter of resignationfor Gillis to sign, violatesthe MOU. It is extra-MOU discipline. Sugiyama's misconduct, retaliating in against Gillis for refusingto sign the letter, violatesthe MOU. OaklandFire refusesto investigate Gillis' complaints regarding was same. Sugiyama's misconduct committedin orderto discriminate retaliate and asainstGillis. 25. MAIL BOX REMOVED. On or aboutthe sameOctober2010,Sugiyama removedGillis' mailbox. The mailbox removal was done to make it impossible for Gillis to be successful and to "set him up" for further "violations" and in order to discriminateand retaliateasainstGillis. 26. PLINISHMENTII FOR MISSED MOVE DATE. On or aboutOctober15rh, 2010,Sugiyama issued letterof disciplineto Gillis. The stated a basisof that letter was the misseddeadlinesfor which Gillis was alreadydisciplinedand new allegations that: 1) Gillis left his computerat the wrong office of OaklandFire, and2) Sharedstoragewas "disarrayed." The MOU doesnot allow a supervisor to usesameallegedviolationsas the basisfor successive discipline. Gillis "served his time" regardingthe deadlines. Gillis did not causethe disanay and "disarray" is un-Constitutionally vague. No otheremployees would havebeendisciplined for "disarray" or leaving equipmentat the wrong office once. The letter was issuedin order to discriminateand retaliateasainstGillis.

Campaignof Harassment, Discrimination,and Retaliation <l

27. IMPOSITION OF 3O-DAY FORMAL AND WEEKLY "ONE.ON-ONE" REVIEWS. On or aboutNovember2010.Sugiyama imposed30-dayformal and weekly one-on-oneperformance reviews for Gillis only. Said are nothing more and bullying sessions, than hour-long-rants and Sugiyamarepeatedlyand over objection,schedules sameon Gillis' vacationor off days. The imposition was committedto discriminateand retaliateagainstGillis. 28. OUT ON THE STREET. On or aboutNovember3'd.2070, Sugiyama ordered Gillis to vacatehis office and convert it into a storagecloset. Gillis has no office today. The order was done to discriminateand retaliateagainstGillis. 29. PURPOSELYEMBARASSING. On or aboutNovemberl0th,2010,Sugiyama madeGillis late to a meeting betweenGillis and the Fire Chief and City Attorney telling him a meetingscheduled the sameday would "only take ten (10) for minutesand then keepingGillis for over thirty (30) minutesall while knowingthe Chief and City Attorney were waiting for Gillis. III 30. PLTNISHMENT FOR MISSING MOVE DATE. On or aboutJanuary14'h, 2011 (30-dayrevier,v), Sugiyama negatively reviewedGillis for moving the storagea couple of days late in September and certificationdeadlinemissesby othersthat were not the fault of Gillis. Said review was done to discriminateand againstGillis. retaliate 31. PLTNISHMENT FOR MISSING MOVE DATE. On or aboutFebruary IV 3'd, 2011, Sugiyamaissueda Letter of Intent in which he seeksthree days suspension for Gillis fo1: 1) Receivingthe May 2010 evaluation, 2) Receiving and the October 15tn, 2010 letter. No further conductor any continuing violation were stated. As set forth above,that Letter of Intent violatesthe MOU, because does it not statethe misconductupon which the penalty is basedand the sameallegations cannotsupportsuccessive discipline. This letter is the fourth time Sugiyama usedthe September2010 voluntary-storage-move-days-late issueas a basis for discipline. The Letter of Intent was doneto discriminateand retaliateagainst Gillis. cannotfind fault with Gillis' 32. SUGIYAMA'S DESPERATION. Sugiyama performance. In desperation, faults Gillis for the conductof others. For he example,SugiyamadisciplinesGillis for the failure of othersto transitionby goal datesand for not fully completingconfidentialcourseevaluations. This is doneto discriminateand retaliateasainstGillis. Sugiyama 33. IMPOSITION OF 2417SHIFT. On or aboutFebruary26'h,2071. imposed"241J on call" statuson Gillis (for call back and return to work), an immediate-update requirement Gillis' calendar, and2417access the to for calendar. Said24/7 statuswas done in order to interferewith Gillis' representation in order to discriminateand retaliateagainstGillis. and Campaignof Harassment, Discrimination, Retaliation and

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34. CULTURE WITHIN OAKLAND FIRE-RACISM, HOMOPHOBIA, and SEXISM. Oakland Fire maintainsa hostile work environmentin which bullying and racist,homophobic,and sexiststatements toleratedand even committed are by supervisors. OaklandFire promotes thosewho will assimilate retaliates and againstthosewho challengethat culture. Personsfrom traditionally groupswho replicatethe hostile work environmentare promoted. disadvantaged Even though Sugiyamais apparentlyof Japanese American ancestry, has he clearlyassimilated into that racist,sexist,and homophobic environment and now perpetuates very culture that one day would have kept a Japanese the American out of the Department. 35. LATINOS NEED NOT APPLY. Sugiyama refused hire CarolinaGreenfor a to positionas EMS Coordinator.OaklandFire allowedSugiyama act as a one (l) to man hiring committeeand hire his 2O+-year friend over a betterqualified, bilingual, female, Latina applicant. OaklandFire refusesto investigateGillis' written complaint regardingsame. 36. LTNIFORMS FREE FOR NON-BLACKS. Sugiyama "doctors"time records. Sugiyamare-paysall but African American employees uniform expenditures for by paddingtime cardsexactly accordingto uniform receiptsand even puts copies of receiptsfor uniforms on the back of paddedtime cards. 37. COMP TIME FOR ALL EXCEPT BLACKS AND GILLIS. Sugiyama gives disallowed comp time to all but African Americanemployees. 38. SUGIYAMA'S RACIST AND HOMOPHOBIC STATEMENTS. Sugiyama jokes aboutlesbian callsNative Americanemployees'Just the reserv'ation," off ("Whatare they. . . sharinga mothersnot needingmaternity/family leave persons (bachelors divorcees) "can't baby?"),and claimsun-married and understand what team work is." Sugiyamacondones conductin meetingsand "Flips" andjoking classes that includescalling persons with Philippineancestry about"spreadingthe butt cheeksof'and anally probing certain(gay male?) patients.OaklandFire refuses investigate to regarding Gillis' complaints same. 39. CULTURE WITHIN OAKLAND FIRE-FRAUD. OaklandFire holds "Community CPR Classes" City buildings for the purposeof recruiting in students AMR CorporationEMT training. The attendance for recordsare doctored and submitted "at-risk" youth mentoringfor MeasureY money. In as fact, the attendees overwhelmingly30-to-40-something are white malesand not the "at-risk" youth MeasureY was createdto help. Similarly, though Oakland Fire collectedMeasureY funding for his teachingwork, OaklandFire failed to honor its commitment to pay instructorPascalDepazover 463 hours of wages.

Discrimination,and Retaliation Campaignof Harassment,

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40. CULTURE WITHIN OAKLAND FIRE-RETALIATION. The misconduct and the entire regardingOscar Grant is generallyknown by all paramedics management OaklandFire. No one,exceptGillis, "broke the silence," because of OaklandFire maintainsa patternand practiceof retaliatingagainstcomplainers. For example,on or about May 6tn,2010,Sugiyamaheld a meeting in which he to discussed plan to "get rid of'Employee Tim Takis (Sugiyama his referred as a "stupid dick" and "hafving]just madethe biggestmistakeof his career"and about to have "a giant lens turned on him") because Takis successfullygrieveda "needs improvement"Performance Appraisal. Sugiyamathen raised l5 other employees from "needsimorovement" to "fullv effective-"to dilute Takis' success. 41. RIGHT TO AN ATTORNEY. On or aboutMarch 8'h,201l, Sugiyam acting a, through the PersonnelOffice of OaklandFire, in writing informed Gillis it scheduled personnelmediationbetweenGillis and Sugiyamato "resolve all a havethe right issues" or aboutMarch l ltn, 2011,andthat Gillis and Sugiyama on to bring an attorneyto the mediation. When Gillis notified OaklandFire that he would appearwith an attomey, Sugiyamacancelledthe mediation. From on or aboutMarch 8tnto 24'n,2011, Sugiyamarefusedto reschedule mediation. On the or aboutMarch 24'n,2071,Sugiyama informedGillis that OaklandFire: a) Will the at re-schedule mediation if Gillis waiveshis right to be represented the mediation,and b) Is more likely to grant Sugiyama'sFebruary3'o Skelly Hearing request(to suspend Gillis for three days)if Gillis refusesto waive his rights. 42. ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLAINT. On or aboutMarch 15'h. 2011.Gillis filed a FalseClaims Act administrativecomplaintwith the City regarding misappropriation the Merritt Collegeprogramand relatedissues. On or about of a March 24n,201l, the City Attorneyissued right to sueentitled"Denial of Claim AgainstCity." 43. COERCION AGAINST EXERCISE OF RIGHT TO ATTORNEY. On or about March 24th,2011,Sugiyamainformed Gillis that OaklandFire: a) Will reat the schedule mediation if Gillis waiveshis right to be represented. the mediation,and b) Is more likely to grant Sugiyama'sFebruary3'o Skelly Hearing (to to request suspend Gillis for threedays)if Gillis refuses waive his rights. . 44. BASELINE PERFORMANCE LETTER OF MARCH 24TH.2OI1 On the same day as Sugiyamarequested Gillis waive Gillis' right to an attorney,Sugiyama a Performance Letter(BPL) against Gillis. In the BPL, Sugiyama issued Baseline (but fails to identify any missed criticizesGillis for: 1) Missing deadlines 2) deadlines), Mis-management time (but fails to identiff any specificactsor of exceptuseof allowedsick leave),3) Using an ASHI policy for storing omissions coursework(Sugiyamaexpresslyapprovedusing ASHI and identified sameas "best practices"),and 4) Finding files in a storagecabinet(when it happened, an Gillis complainedthe files were planted,requested investigation,and no investigationoccurred). Sugiyamafails to include "corrective action" other than Campaignof Harassment, Discrimination,and Retaliation

8l

'identify deficienciesand correctthem.' Said BPL was issuedto discriminateand retaliate againstGillis. 45. ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLAINT II. On or aboutMarch 28,h.201I.GiIIis complainedto the City Attorney aboutthe "quid pro quo" and un-Constitutional coercionby Sugiyamaand OaklandFire. 46. PLNISHMENT V FOR MISSED MOVE DATE. On or aboutMarch30'h. l. 201 Sugiyama and OaklandFire suspended Gillis as Sugiyama and OaklandFire promisedthey would if Gillis refusedto waive his attorney. The suspension was basedon the missedmove date. The suspension was issuedto discriminateand retaliate againstGillis. (Sean)Gillis, reviewedthis document.It is true.I make VERIFICATION: i, Sheehan this verification under penalty of perjury underthe laws of the Stateof California. Executed SanFrancisco in this Anril 10*. 201l.

lr" li /i'
(Sean) Sheehan Gillis, EMT-P

Campaignof Harassment, Discrimination,and Retaliation 9l

ExhibitTwo to Appeal Disciplinary of Action Noticeof Suspension SkellyReport and

THE ON-DUTYBATTALION CHIEF IS TO HAND DELIVER THE ATTACHED LETTERTO ON THE ADDRESSEE DUTY. THE BATTALION CHIEF IS TO WITNESS(BY SIGNATURE) THE SIGNED BY THE SIGNINGOF THIS RECEIPTOF DOCUMENT THE ADRESSEE. TO RECEIPTOF DOCUMENT FORM IS TO BE RETURNED STEVEDANZIGERAT OFD ADMINISTRATIVEOFFICE,

CITY OF OAKLANI) FIRE DEPARTMENT

RECEIPTOF DOCUMENT

TO: FROM: DATE:

Gillis Sheehan Unit OFD Personnel Marc h30, 201I

LetterDatedMarch30. 2011.HandDelivered RE: Attached

Fire a Oakland I 4rfAr,nt*" 6Az+t havereceived copyof the attached March30,20IL dated Letter Department

NAME/TiTLE

DATE

D CITYOFOAKLAN
L IO NE L J . W I LSON B U IL D IN C Ac J nr is t r at iv ' e in Offi c e s O ak land F ir e De p a rtrr-re n t . 1 5 0 FR A N K H . OC A W A P LA ZA . S U ITE i 3-5-l . OA K LA N D, ( - A q161, ) ,5 I f lI 2. 1U- - l8; 6 F\X i 1, 11, 2. 13- : r l2'1 Tt)D ,;10 l3B- ll5- 1

March30,2017

HAND DELIVERED AND RECEIPT SIGI{ED Mr. Sheehan Gillis 6525BuenaVenturaAvenue Oa kla n dCA .94605 . Re: Notice of Suspensionfor Three (3) Days DearMr. Gillis: your This letter is to advise you that the Oakland Fire Department(OFD) is suspending (EMS) Coordinatorfor three(3) work days. employment an EmergencyMedical Services as The suspension basedon the following actsor omissions: is 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Violation Civil ServiceRule 10:Performance Duty; of Performance Appraisal May 1,2009 - April 30,2010 and Skill Enhancement Plan dated May 13,2010; Valuesand Work Habits SectionI, #2 Performance AppraisalPlan, Organizational #6 Use of Time; #5 - Accountablhty: - Adaptabilityand ProblemSolving; Prior (progressive)discipline received: Baseline PerformanceLetter & Written Reprimand datedOctober15,2010; Letter datedJanuary74,2011; Baseline Performance

in You werehired as an EMS Coordinator the OaklandFire Department September on 26,2005. positionyou developor modifu medicaltrainingprograms In this and curriculafor the Oakland and curriculain response specific Fire Department. This includesdevelopment programs of to programs.You also facilitate or presentmedical training and mandated medical training programs staff and the community, provide lead directionto part-time EMS instructors, to assess conference rooms,and relatedfacilities,equipment, trainingfacilities,includingclassrooms, and support services; managelogistics,and draft andrevisepoliciesto comply with Alameda County'sEmergency Medical ServicePolicy. and Baseline On October15,2010,you were issueda writtenreprimand Performance Improvement Letter. The reprimandwas for your failure to transitionAdvance Life Support (ALS) Coordinator functionsto anotherEMS Coordinator, Daniel Gerard,by an agreed upon failure to adequatelyorganizethe new EMS Training facility at it's new location, deadline, failureto provide leadership/management the part time EMS Training Staff and for failing to to a computerbeforeleavingfor a conference Dallas. It was notedthat secure newly purchased in previouslydiscussed addressed deficiencies were similar to issues that had been these and with a

meetings with EMS Chief William Plan datedMay 13,2010and numerous Skill Enhancement you wereprovidedwith a MicrosoftOutlook Sugiyama.Additionally,on November2,2009 guide "And Outlook" by David Allen and you were sentto a ManagingMultiple organizational a ProjectSeminaron July 20,2010,to address major areaof performance Priorityand
rlvrrwrvrrwJ. u a fi ^ i o -.rr

ImprovementLetter issuedon The Written Reprimandas well as the BaselinePerformance Appraisalfor 2009-2010 and of specificareas your Performance October15,2070,address whereyou are not meetingstandards. Plan for 2010-2011 Chief Performance Appraisal you in succeeding has seen"little or no he pointsout that in spiteof effortsto assist Sugiyama performance the progress overcome deficiencies".Specifically, areas concernare of to - Use of Time; #5 - Accountability;and#6 Valuesand Work Habits Sectionl,#2 Organization progress to Adaptability and ProblemSolving. A formal 60 day review was scheduled evaluate of fully effectivein all aspects your position. madetowardbecoming up The formal 60 Day review was held on January14,2071, and evaluatedyour performance to Performance Letter and stated that a 15,2010. Chief Sugiyamaissued Baseline December and yourjob performance continued be beiow standard he had seenlittle or no to generaliy, progress overcome deficiencies that had beenpreviouslyidentifiedon October15,2010. This to attempts meetwith you and developstrategies to for hasoccurred spiteof Chief Sugiyama's in your performance deficiencies. addressing performance several in critical areas your 2010of to You havecontinued have unacceptable thoseinvolving Use of Time; Team Work and Plan. Specifically, 201I Performance Adaptabilityand problemSolving. Management; Accountability; Collaboration; Performance job performanceis supported the documentation by included as part of the Your unacceptable BaselinePerformance Letter. On February3,2011, a letter was given to you that advisedof the disciplinerecommendation and you were given the opportunityto respondeither orally, in writing or both. You choseto You met with BattalionChief Darin White on a respond personr,vith Local 2l representative. in to 1 February 8, 201I , so you could respond the factsupon which the disciplinewas based.In his reportdatedMarch 16, 2011, Skelly Officer BattalionChief White, statedin part that "Although trainingas a measure supportand corrective with time management Bill hasprovidedSheehan of action,it appears that this has yielded very little benefit or improvementas evidenced the by (self-imposed Sheehan imposedby Bill)." He furtherstated or repeated by misseddeadlines that a "...failure to follow through demonstrated lack of concernfor the EMS programand eithera failure to understand duties as outlined or a willful neglectto accomplishasslgnments the as required."BattalionChief White concludedthat he was recommending uphold the three(3) to to day suspension "..repeatedfailuresto adhere expectations..." for In reviewing all the documents reiating to the suspensionrecommendation including the "Oppositionto February3'd, 2011 Letter of Intent" you submittedto Battalion Chief White, I You are thereforesuspended havedecided sustainthe three (3) day suspension. to without pay for three(3) daysfrom Aprii 2'7 ,201i to April 29,2011. You areto reportbackto work on May you 2,2011. During the three day suspension are prohibitedfrom performingany and ali duties

you office and relatedto your employment as an EMS Coordinator. This includesaccessing relatedto your employment. doingany business You are herebynotified that pursuantto the Memorandumof Understandingbetweenthe City of regardingthis action. Alternatively, Oaklandand Local 2l,you may file a grievance you may submit your appealdirectly to the Civil ServiceBoard in accordance with Civil ServiceRule 10.02 Appealof DisciplinaryAction. of Further,you are instructed that future occurrences this or similar incidentswill lead to more severe disciplinaryaction up to and including termination. Sincerely,

rErA@
MARK HOFFMAFTNI InterimFire Chief

Attachment: Skelly Officer Recommendation

cc:

DonnaHom, CFO/Personnel Manager William Sukiyama, EMS Division Chief EmployeeRelations IFPTE,Local2l File OFD Personnel Official Personnel File

CITY

OF

O AKLAND

MEMORANDUM

TO: FROM: DATE: SUBJECT:

lnterimFire Chief Mark Hoffmann, Darin White, SkellyOfficer Ma rch 1 6 ,2 0 1 1 in SkellyOfficerRecommendation the Matter of February3,2011, EMS CoordinatorSheehan Noticeof Intent to Suspend Proposed Gitlis

at a.m.the Skelly meeting On Friday February 18,2011 10:30 was heldin theabove (theunionrepresentative mentioned matter.Sheehan GillisandVickieCarson of Local21) andI werepresent. discipline Sheehan The charges proposed for Gillis as follows: and are . Sheehan Rule#10 by failing his Performance Gillis violated CivilService in of Duty . Performance Values Plan, Organizational andWorkHabits Appraisal Section #6 #5 l, #2 Useof Time, Accountability, Adaptability Problem and Solving . Prior(progressive) Baseline received; Performance discipline Letter and 15,2010; datedOctober Written Reprimand . Baseline 14,2011. Letter dated January Performance is on failure meetdeadlines to the action based Sheehan's In summary, proposed failure adhere the (both to to and selfimposed as set by hisSupervisor), Coordinator, his repeated and and of Officer/EMS requirements a Training additional beyond allotted time lunch breaks and the excessive of unscheduled use for a reprimand failure manage, to hour. He hasalsoreceived written organize and personnel, hisbelow and standard maintenance equipment of leadsubordinate and areas. in storage/office documents designated The Meeting: I bothindividuals outlined purpose and the of At the startof the meeting welcomed rulesandsummarized charges recommended the and set the meeting, ground bothSheehan Gillis.I thenprovided for Gillis andhisunion discipline Sheehan to withan opportunity verbally and/orin writing VickieCarson, representative, provided letterin to action.Sheehan theirresponse the proposed a submit proposed following information is discipline. The captured opposition the to during the meeting: has thatSheehan beena FullyEffective VickieCarson beganby stating employee ln 2010he received overall FullyEffective from2005-2009. an Performance problem "useof timeand rating withthe identified areas Appraisal being She that between attendance". offered the relationship Sheehan BillSugiyama and
Pq.1

that SteveDanziger has witnessed the has "goneoff the scales"and indicated "hostile" environment betweenboth persons.She furtherstatedthat Sheehan's to dutieschangedfrom EMS Coordinator evolvemore into a TrainingOfficerwhich and managerial component. a This was done now requires supervisory moveto the Training with Division VictoryCourt. at simultaneously Sheehan's According her, it isn'tclearwhat type of supportwas provided Sheehan this to to as occurred. In addition, she alleged in transition new dutiesand location that on (hereafter referred as Bill)had a to 4,2010 Chief BillSugiyama October askedfor Sheehan's with Sheehanin whichhe directly resignation. To conversation that Bill is bringing more of a privatesectormentality her,this is furtherevidence to the currentenvironment.She statesthat Bill'stone has been punitive, not Sheehanreceived writtenreprimand. the corrective.10 days afterthat meeting, alongwith weeklymeetings with a supervisor She statedthat the writtenreprimand, is in very who yells at his employee(s) makingperformance this environment is beingwrittenup and mentoring unavailable. is She difficult.Everyshortcoming hostileand as a resulta mediator statedthat meetingsare becomingincreasingly workingconditions has been securedby OFD to improve and relations betweenBill OFD for interceding this mannerin an attempt in and Sheehan. She applauded to around. She askedthat any disciplinary turn this situation actionbe held in processhas occurred. abeyance untilthe mediation nervousness aboutthe Skellymeeting. He also spoke next and admitted Sheehan statedthat Steve Danzigerassuredhim that he could providea letterfrom his legal provided) (unnamedin the document whichwouldopposethe representative to beingproposed.This letteris attached the recommendation. stated discipline He doesn'tappearto changeand he is convinced that Bill is tryingto that Bill'sbehavior "usherhim out the door". He statedthat there have beensome strange things and questioning certainlost that his position of occurring and is concerned he with. This is to documents may contribute the currentpredicament is confronted explained further in the attachedletter. from the EMS Division, Division location Sheehan Uponmovingto the Training with other co-workers easilyand the as statedthat he was unableto communicate in standardoperationsthat were previously placewere not the same as the new standards that were beingemployed. He statedthat there is not as much part-time would like,but he is willing(and has demonstrated his helpas everyone to commitment working hard) and gettingthe job done. He went on to state that Bill 4,2410 in whichhe had requested with him on October had a conversation statedthat he was warnedby Billthat he Sheehan letterof resignation. Sheehan's had 2 routesto go with this situation. He could take the route of leastresistance if if and Billwouldwrite him a letterof recommendation he resigned, he did not resignand went the "Unionpath"then Billwoulddocument everymisstep and gone in 12-14months. According Sheehan, mentioned to would be Bill Sheehan that maybehis skillsetswere a betterfit in ALCO as opposedto OFD. Sheehan thoughtabout resigningand then after considering it said that he had initially this matterwas unfairand wrong. decided thatthe way Billwas handling He citedan examplewhere Billaskedhim abouta document(s) December on 22, Officerasked him for the very same 2010,and the very next day the Compliance

document(s).This was the first time these docs had been requestedand it came well in acrossas an urgent requestbut he felt it shouldhave been communicated about the When asked specifically advanceif there was a complianceconcern. basedareas and other performance mentionedin the writtenreprimand deficiencies and the he acknowledged needto meet deadlines needingimprovement he in the communicate need for extensions a timelymanner. However, mentioned matter)he had and Bike Deployment that in one case (the Bike Bag inventory policyto Bill in June 2010,and didn'tunderstand provided draftBike Deployment a withouthavinga policyin placefor those could be effective how a Bike Deployment at as bike Paramedics events. He cited concernswith radiocall membersserving He and otherfactorsthat hadn'tbeen implemented. admitsthat he signs,dispatch shouldhave addressedthese concernswith Bill priorto agreeingto self imposed but for deadlines inventorying, felt thattryingto discussthis with Billwouldonly discussion.ln a separate instance, he resultin anotherhostileor uncomfortable as that he didn'tmeetthe deadline expected.ln this case,he againacknowledged documents and information to hadn'tprovidedDanielGerardwith the necessary transitioninto ALS Coordinator.Accordingto Sheehan,he providedthe needed to information the last day that it was due, but it wasn'tconsidered have met the on deadlinebecauseDanielGerardwas out of town. Sheehanstatedthat most missedmeetingswere a resultof staff meetingsbeing members.When askedabout was training scheduled duringtimeswhen Sheehan his failureto securethe EMS answerkeys and tests in the storagearea at the trainingdivision,he statedthat he doesn'thave an officeand that the itemswere in a folderon top of the desk or file cabinet. He statedthat Bill openedthe folderto take photographs the tests and answerkeys. He said that only specifiedpersons of haveaccessto the storageclosetand cabinet.Those personsinclude Training and EMS Directors,himselfand the 4 instructors.So theoretically, room is secure the personnel enterfor itemsrelated unlesssomeoneis allowedby training division to to CORE or some othersimilarreason. Sheehanclosed by statingthat to his knowledge there have been no previous TrainingOfficersfor the EMS Division and he had receivedonly an informal to discussion aboutwhat he wouldbe required do. He didn'trecallreceiving any writtendocuments whichoutlined new dutiesand therewas nothing anyoneto his or providehim with directionfor operatingin this new role. He offeredthat Victor Velasquez(an EMS Instructor employedby OFD who also works for San Jose Fire well in his new Dept.)may have heardBill statethat if Sheehandidn'tperform capacityhe would be fired. He said that his statements and reference the M.O.U. to languageare being taken out of context. One examplecited by Bill involving the use of detailing membersfor training had been mentioned a concern.Sheehan as notedthat the M.O.U.language hasn'tchanged(except with reference PSP's), to to nor the numberof membersableto be detailed trainingin an 8 hourperiod. Vickieand Sheehanproposedthe following: . Sheehanshouldreceive abouthow to developintothe lead sometraining Training Officeras his dutiesnow require . Billmust immediately stoptreating Sheehanas if he is an unwanted short , term employee(both verballyand with writtendisciplinary threats) o Stepsbe takento immediately improve work environment the Pg.3