Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 23, 1994 TAG: 9402230019
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LESLIE TAYLOR STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Tammy Javier, Barbara Jones and Stephanie Dickenson filed separate lawsuits in Roanoke Circuit Court on Tuesday. Each also has sued the organization for $350,000 in damages, plus interest.
Javier was fired Feb. 7 from her position as administrator of the SPCA animal shelter. Jones, assistant administrator and humane educator, and Dickenson, adoption counselor, were laid off a day later. SPCA board members said the organization could no longer afford to employ them.
But the three have claimed they were dismissed because they backed an attempt to oust board President Steve Davidson and other board incumbents at an election in December.
Their lawsuits allege the same.
Javier, Jones and Dickenson were members of the SPCA, as well as employees. As members, they were entitled to support whomever they wanted, without fear of reprisal, they say in their suits.
They also say they were dismissed without just cause, constituting a breach of contract.
The organization's policies and procedures manual stipulates that employees can be terminated only for just cause - defined as "malfeasance, inferior work, insubordination, lack of interest and frequent unexcused absences," the lawsuits say. The manual also specifies that termination will be by letter, signed by the chairman of the board's Shelter Committee, the board president and the employee.
Javier, Jones and Dickenson say that at no time did they conduct themselves in a way that gave the SPCA just cause to terminate their employment. They also say they were never presented with letters of termination.
"What the board has done is illegal," said Dennis Brumberg, a Roanoke lawyer who is representing the three former employees.
Davidson, board president, referred questions to Bayard Harris, a lawyer with the Center for Employment Law in Roanoke.
"It would be premature to make some comment about a lawsuit that's only just been filed," Harris said. "I have no knowledge of any of the details. But I can't imagine what possible complaint these former employees might have."
The three former employees allege that because of publicity and the specialized nature of their work, it will be "virtually impossible" for them to find employment in a field comparable to their work at the SPCA.
Javier also alleges in her lawsuit that a statement released by the board that gave reasons for her firing was "both inaccurate and fallacious." One such reason stemmed from an incident last summer in Franklin County in which Javier's dog was alleged to have bitten a child, the board said.
The employee dismissals have been a source of controversy for the SPCA. Two weeks ago, a faction of the SPCA membership called for the resignations of Davidson, four other board officers, the Shelter Committee chairwoman and the shelter's executive director.
The faction plans to formally protest at the board's March meeting.
by CNB