I had a Skelly for notice of intent to discharge. The offered to reduce to a 30 day suspension of which of accepted. 3 days later they sent a letter of discharge. Can they rescind their off with out telling me?

Without seeing the documents, any attorney who responds would only be speculating. Perhaps the acceptance was not in the form the employer requested or needed. Perhaps the acceptance never reached the right hands. Perhaps the employer changed its mind and doesn't think you have what is needed to effectively oppose its actions. There may be dozens of other explanations, good or bad, for what happened.

Also, even if the employer initially agreed to the reduced penalty, it may have received new information that caused it to change its mind (or it may claim it did). If that is the case, it should have sent you a new notice of proposed termination and gone through the whole process again.

However, you may also have a case of unlawful retaliation or a violation of due process. Again, it's not possible to know without reviewing the documents and speaking with you, and perhaps speaking with witnesses.

I suggest you speak with one or more plaintiff-side (employee-side) employment law attorneys who have experience with public sector employers with whom you can discuss the details of your situation. Be sure to investigate or ask right away if the attorney represents public sector employees because not all attorneys do.

To find a plaintiffs employment attorney in California, please go to the web site of the California Employment Lawyers Association (CELA). CELA is the largest and most influential bar association in the state for attorneys who represent working people. The web site is www.cela.org. Click on "Find a CELA Member" and you can search by location and practice area. Many CELA attorneys represent clients throughout the state.

For a detailed consultation that includes a meaningful review of your documents and facts, you may need to pay hourly. Plaintiffs employment attorneys in California charge anywhere from $250 to $750 an hour depending on many factors including experience, area of law, geographic location, work load, interest in the case, difficulty of the case and more. You should expect to need at least four hours at a minimum for this kind of consultation, though seven-to-ten hours might be more realistic, depending on how involved the situation is.

I hope there is a good resolution to this situation.

posted by Marilynn Mika Spencer  |  Dec 18, 2016 3:36 PM [EST]