Wednesday, Jul. 15, 2009
Gail Wilcox will not receive severance package; her lawyer says firing was retaliation to her lawsuit
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closeCounty residents will have to wait at least nine more days before they find out the identity of the mystery person cited in the Board of Supervisors’ decision Tuesday to fire Assistant County Administrator Gail Wilcox.
In an e-mail to local media, County Counsel Warren Jensen wrote that the individual will be named when the county releases its investigative report about Wilcox, compiled by Oakland attorney Sarah Robertson, but so far not released.
The release is scheduled July 24.
Wilcox’s attorney, David Warren, said Wednesday that the supervisors’ firing of Wilcox was retaliation for her filing a lawsuit against the county.
Warren said that both the retaliation and the harassment Wilcox alleged in her suit will be explored in court.
He declined to elaborate further because this is a legal matter.
When supervisors fired Wilcox on Tuesday, they said she had “participat(ed) in a personal relationship that conflicted with her official duties.”
The rumor mill over who that could be has been grinding overtime, but those who actually know have remained mum.
However, “Assuming that the investigative report is released, that should answer your questions,” Jensen wrote. One of the questions – the one on everyone’s mind – is who the individual is.
Supervisors also have said they will redact some information in the report.
Meanwhile, Wilcox is out in the cold.
A clause in Wilcox’s contract that would have allowed her to take her old job as administrative analyst was voided because her firing was for cause, Supervisor Chairman Bruce Gibson said.
In his e-mail, Jensen also revealed that:
**Wilcox was present for part of the three-hour closed-door session that led to her dismissal.
**She is receiving no severance package. She made $180,000 a year, plus benefits.
**She will receive accrued vacation but not accrued sick leave. Those figures were not available.
When supervisors announced that they would ultimately release the report, they did so unanimously but reluctantly.
Jensen alluded to a court case, BRV vs. Superior Court, which proclaimed that “a personnel document may be subject to disclosure if it concerns a ‘public figure’ and a matter of legitimate public interest.”
“In our opinion, those criteria are met here,” Jensen wrote. “The purpose of the 10-day hold is to allow anyone who disagrees with our interpretation to go to court and seek an order blocking or restricting our disclosure.”
However, Jensen made clear in his e-mail that Wilcox or someone else could seek an injunction against its release.
Gibson agreed that the report “should be released.” However, he added, “I wish we didn’t have to do it, because it contains a fair amount of …sensitive personal information.”
The Tribune had filed a Public Records Act request seeking the Robertson report.
Gibson said the county is working up a job description for a permanent county administrative officer. He said they will fill that job before replacing Wilcox.
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