Jeannine Bedard was a police officer with the City of Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). In March 2020, the City declared an emergency due to COVID-19. In August 2021, the City Council passed Ordinance 187134, which required that all City employees be vaccinated or request an exemption by October 19, 2021. The ordinance stated City employees must receive their first vaccine by September 7, 2021. Employees with medical conditions/restrictions or sincerely held religious beliefs that prevented them from receiving a COVID-19 vaccine could request an exemption.
LAPD negotiated with the Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL) over the consequences for failing to abide by the Ordinance. After negotiations failed, LAPD issued a “Last, Best and Final Offer” (LBFO). The LBFO stated the City would issue a notice to its unvaccinated, nonexempt employees, instructing each employee to either be vaccinated, or be found to be exempt from the vaccination requirement by December 18, 2021. Employees who did not timely comply would be subject to “corrective action.” An employee terminated for noncompliance could seek “reemployment”, subject to the COVID-19 vaccination requirements. Or, an employee could resign or retire, and be eligible for rehire after the vaccination order was lifted.
The mayor issued a memo directing all departments to implement the LBFO and issue a notice to every unvaccinated employee to acknowledge the LBFO deadlines. Employees were required to sign the Notice of Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination Policy Requirements (Notice), within 24 to 48 hours. Employees who refused to sign the notice were to “be placed off duty without pay,” and sworn employees were to “be subject to applicable Board of Rights proceedings.”
Bedard never submitted documentation showing she had been vaccinated or had applied for an exemption. On November 5, 2021, Bedard’s supervisor, Deputy Chief (then-Commander) Donald Graham, gave Bedard a Notice. Bedard sent an email to Graham and others, stating that she would not be vaccinated because a family member had an adverse reaction to it (not a religious or personal reason for the exemption).
LAPD served Bedard with a Complaint and Relief from Duty for failing to sign and/or comply with the Notice, pending a hearing before the LAPD Board of Rights (Board).
The Board reviewed the proposed discipline and found Bedard failed to comply, and upheld her discharge. The Board also found, however, that LAPD violated her Skelly rights by giving her only five days to respond to the Notice, as opposed to the 30 days the MOU required. The Board ordered back pay for that violation.
Bedard filed a petition for a writ of mandate in the superior court, arguing that her dismissal was excessive and disproportionate. The court found the termination justified, reasoning that either complying with the vaccine mandate or receiving an exemption was a threshold condition of employment, and having neither, Bedard could not meet the minimum requirements for her position. The court agreed with the Board’s award of back pay. Bedard appealed.
The California Court of Appeal affirmed. The Court rejected an argument that Bedard raised for the first time on appeal — that her termination was improper because it was based solely on her refusal to sign the Notice, which she claimed was an illegal contract. The Court found that her termination was based on both her failure to sign the Notice and her refusal to comply with vaccine requirements. The Court also found that the penalty of termination was within the Board’s discretion. Finally, the Court held that the appropriate remedy for the due process violation was back pay from the time she was denied sufficient time to prepare for the Skelly meeting until the time the Board heard her testimony and made its decision.
Jeannine Bedard v. City of Los Angeles, 106 Cal.App.5th 442 (2024).