"Burbank School District Discriminates"

By Chuck Stewart, Ph.D.

To send me email, click here - ckstewar@sbcglogal.net.
To return to the main page, click here.

Update January 13, 1993, pg. A-12, and

the Los Angeles Times January 12, 1993, pg. B5.

Dear Letters-to-the-Editor,

It has been over a year and a half since two of us gay teachers were forced out of work from Burbank Unified School District. Since that time, we have sought legal remedies to our problems. This letter is designed to inform the gay and lesbian community about our progress in filing a complaint with the Department of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE). This is important to our community since it is this governmental agency that has been given the task of defending our rights as specified in AB2601.

The most significant problem with the DLSE is that it has not been able to resolve our complaint against Burbank in a timely fashion. It has been over a year since the initial complaint, whereupon I have only heard from them in January and July of 1992. If the intent of DLSE is to quickly resolve a conflict so that a person could retain their job or obtain reinstatement, then they have failed miserably. Such long delays by the DLSE will have negative impact on gays and lesbians seeking their protection.

In my January 1992 letter to the gay community, I emphasized that the major hurdle facing anyone who is discriminated against on the job, is deciding when to file a complaint with the DLSE. Section 98.7(a) of the California Labor Code requires a person to file a complaint with the DLSE within 30-days of the alleged discrimination with extensions granted for "good cause." The "alleged discrimination" clause has been interpreted to mean when the person learns that his/her employment is in jeopardy, such as notice or threat of termination. The statute-of-limitation clock starts ticking at that moment and can only be extended if you seek help from some governmental agency. The clock is not extended if you try to work out the problem with your employer or seek help from your union, the ACLU or any gay and lesbian agency. I find this to be intolerable since the only recourse you have when you are discriminated against is to become highly aggressive and adversarial at workwhich most likely will further alienate you from all other employees, including your supporters.

The next area of concern is a very hidden problem with AB2601 and the DLSE. One of Burbank's claims as to why DLSE does not have jurisdiction in my case is that Education Code 7050 states "provision of this article supersedes all provisions . . . as in the general law of this state" with regards to employee political activities. Thus, Burbank is claiming that the DLSE cannot enforce Labor Code 1101 and 1102 since the Education Code supersedes this. Further, the Education Code 7057 prohibits discrimination. Taken together, supposedly the only recourse a gay or lesbian teacher in the State of California has is to file a civil suit at their own expense and not file a complaint with the DLSE. This is important. How many other classes of employees are not within the jurisdiction of DLSE?

AB2601 was a hollow victory for the gay and lesbian community. It only serves some of California residents and in a very limited way. A much stronger law, such as AB101, is needed. DLSE has demonstrated its inability to protect gays and lesbians and I call upon our community to be a watchdog over this governmental agency.

The real losers through this entire incident in Burbank are the kids. They have seen that it is acceptable to discriminate against gay teachers. (I have subsequently obtained a teaching job with Los Angeles Unified School District at higher pay, with excellent performance reviews and schools fighting over my services.) Likewise, the other gay and lesbian teachers dare not come out of the closet. They have seen the Burbank school administrators, all the way up to the superintendent, will not talk about the problem and will in fact use every legal avenue possible to ignore acts of aggression against gay and lesbians. Burbank should be ashamed of their school system.