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■ Riverside Sheriffs' Ass'n v. County of Riverside , No. E045792

 This action arises from the County of Riverside terminating Leisha Fauth’s employment as a senior deputy attorney investigator and thereafter refusing to engage in appeal proceedings provided under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) covering Fauth’s employment.  The County of Riverside and its board of supervisors, district attorney, and executive officer (collectively, the county) appeal from a judgment entered after the trial court granted the first cause of action of Fauth’s petition for a writ of mandamus, seeking an MOU appeal hearing.

            Plaintiffs Fauth and the Riverside Sheriffs’ Association (plaintiffs) cross-appeal the trial court’s denial of the second cause of action of their writ petition, seeking relief under the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act (POBRA) (Gov. Code, § 3300 et seq.[1]).

            The county contends the trial court erred granting the writ petition as to the second cause of action and ordering an MOU appeal hearing.  The county argues that Article XII of the MOU, relating to disciplinary appeals, is inapplicable because disciplinary action was not taken against Fauth.  Rather, the county applied for involuntary disability retirement for Fauth. 

We conclude Fauth was entitled to an MOU appeal hearing on her employment termination.  Even though, over eight months after Fauth was terminated, the county applied for involuntary disability retirement, Fauth was nevertheless entitled to an MOU appeal hearing because at the time of the trial court’s ruling on Fauth’s writ petition, the county had not reinstated her and thus her employment relationship with the county remained severed. 

As to Fauth’s cross-appeal, we conclude the trial court erred in denying Fauth’s second cause of action for POBRA relief.  Under POBRA, employment termination is per se punitive.  Therefore POBRA applies.  The judgment is affirmed as to the first and third causes of action and reversed as to the second cause of action, with directions that the trial court determine whether Fauth is entitled to POBRA relief under section 3309.5, subdivision (e).[2]

■ Held:

In an employment termination action, trial court judgment is affirmed in part and reversed and remanded in part where: 1) the trial court properly ruled plaintiff was entitled to an memorandum of understanding appeal hearing on her employment termination, as plaintiff was terminated for cause and defendant's application for involuntary disability retirement is a separate and distinct employment action; and 2) trial court erred in denying plaintiff's action seeking relief under the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act as plaintiff's employment termination was per se punitive and therefore POBRA applied.
Riverside Sheriffs’ Asso. v. Cty. of Riverside -E045792- 5/18/09 CA4/2
Riverside Sheriffs’ Asso. v. Cty. of Riverside -E045792- 5/18/09 CA4/2

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