Park district loses game, set, and match by not playing nice in the sandbox

A recent decision from the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals (whose rulings apply to all Illinois employers) upheld a large jury verdict for a fired Chicago Park District employee. The case illustrates how the game should not be played.

Picnic

Lydia Vega, who is Hispanic, began working at the Chicago Park District in 1987. She was promoted to supervisor in 2004 and held that position until she was terminated in 2012.

In September 2011, the park district received an anonymous call accusing Vega of “theft of time”—i.e., clocking in for hours she hadn’t actually worked. In response, the park district began surveilling her.

But this was not a normal surveillance. Rather, the park district had two separate and simultaneous investigations of Vega going, and surveilled her over 252 times. On numerous occasions, the investigators even interrupted her at work in front of coworkers asking questions.

No safe harbor

Months later, in March 2012, the investigators met with Vega and her union representative. The evidence—eventually heard by a jury—showed the meeting was basically a sham. The investigators had no interest in hearing her side of the story. She and her union rep reported the park district was “pretty dead set” on the conclusion she had violated its code of conduct.

That summer, in July and August 2012, Vega received two separate corrective action meeting notices accusing her of timesheet falsification—a slightly different accusation than the anonymous tip had claimed.

Off the deep end