Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation argues worker's conduct amounted to inexcusable neglect of duty

A California court recently ruled that a correctional sergeant’s due process right was violated because there was a significant difference between the misconduct alleged in the charging document and the misconduct found true during the administrative law judge’s hearing.

The plaintiff in the case of Rodgers v. State Personnel Board was a correctional sergeant employed by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. In 2018, the department served him with a notice of adverse action (NOAA), which reduced his salary by 10% for two years.

The department claimed that the plaintiff’s conduct amounted to inexcusable neglect of duty, discourteous treatment, willful disobedience, and behavior during or outside duty hours that caused discredit to his employer under section 19572 of California’s Government Code. Specifically, the NOOA alleged that he did the following:

• neglected his duties by refusing to perform the “restraint check,” which was the inspection at the start of a contraband surveillance watch shift;
• treated his subordinates in a discourteous and disrespectful manner by angrily confronting and intimidating them, using profane language, about their decision to report his neglect of duty to another sergeant;
• misused his authority by directing the officers to “pencil whip” their inspection documents and instructing them to fill in inaccurate information on...

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