Attorneys adding claim of wrongful termination to pregnancy-discrimination lawsuit against La Cañada Unified
Attorneys for former La Cañada Unified principal Christine Castillo, who filed a lawsuit against the school district in December for pregnancy discrimination, said Wednesday they’re amending their suit to include wrongful termination, after an employment document declared Castillo had been terminated.
Further, attorneys plan to update the suit to reflect retaliatory comments they claim LCUSD Supt. Wendy Sinnette made after the Dec. 28 filing at a gathering of the La Cañada High School Boosters Club — at which Castillo’s husband, LCHS Principal Ian McFeat, was present — encouraging parents and staff to side with the district in the dispute.
Ben Meiselas, an attorney representing the former La Cañada Elementary School principal through Los Angeles-based firm Geragos & Geragos, said his client recently requested tax documents and received a form sent by a district secretary declaring her status as terminated.
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“It’s possible Supt. Sinnette didn’t even know the secretary had sent the document,” said Meiselas, whose understanding was Castillo was on indefinite leave.
A statement issued Wednesday by school board member Ellen Multari, acting as a spokesperson for the LCUSD Governing Board, said Castillo and McFeat requested tax documents on March 24.
Due to the urgency of the request and the temporary unavailability of copies of their previously sent W-2 forms, 2016 earnings reports printed from the Los Angeles County Office of Education’s payroll system were sent instead, according to the statement.
“The LACOE payroll system shows Ms. Castillo as ‘terminated,’ since she is no longer in a paid status, i.e. she is ‘inactive’ on the payroll system,” the LCUSD statement said. “Ms. Castillo was not terminated by the District, and has not been terminated by the District. She remains on the LCUSD certificated 39-month rehire list, eligible to return at any point during that time to a teaching position for which she is credentialed and qualified.”
Castillo’s attorneys say they also plan to either amend their previous suit or file a new document through the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing to address the occasion at which Sinnette allegedly addressed the LCHS Boosters Club and “unfairly prejudiced” stakeholders by speaking against the former principal in the wake of the suit.
“She read a written statement to the Boosters Club and — this is the audacious part — in front of Christine’s husband,” Meiselas said.
Meiselas said his client would not be returning to La Cañada Unified, which he described as an “intolerable work environment,” and that the legal team would continue to push for a jury trial.
“I’ve been contacted by multiple other teachers, in this school district and others who worked under Wendy Sinnette, who have made claims against Ms. Sinnette for almost identical conduct,” he said. “I’m prepared to present those witnesses in our case.”
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Sara Cardine, sara.cardine@latimes.com
Twitter: @SaraCardine
