Hill Hints Legal Action Against San Diego State : No Reassignment; Day Orders Her to Use Accrued Vacation

Former San Diego State Athletic Director Mary Alice Hill hinted she may take legal action after university president Thomas Day ordered her Tuesday to use her accrued vacation time through Nov. 8, which has been set as her termination date.

Tuesday, Hill was to have been briefed by Day on her new duties as assistant to the president. Day had reassigned her to that position Aug. 8, the day he fired Hill as athletic director.

Hill said she doesn’t know what “legal ramifications we have,” but she plans to discuss them with her attorney, J. Stacey Sullivan, this week.

“Up until today (Tuesday),” Hill said, “I kept thinking we could work out a compromise. I got pushed too far and have to start fighting back. This thing could go to court.

“I went in expecting to hear about the reassignment,” she said. “I didn’t think my reassignment would be that I’m taking vacation time. I’m not real pleased.

“When this all happened a month ago, I felt great disappointment, hurt and confusion. Now, I’m feeling anger. I’ve been pushed to the wall. The only thing I can do now is come out fighting. Obviously, Tom Day wants to play hard ball. I can play that way, too.”

Hill said the vacation order will cost her between $18,000 and $20,000 in lost wages. She said she already has spent $15,000 on “legal fees and different things which I had to do to protect my rights.”

Sullivan, who attended Tuesday morning’s meeting in Day’s office, said Day gave no “specific reasons” why Hill was not reassigned to his office.

“He reiterated that he hadn’t changed his attitude,” Sullivan said. “His lack of confidence still persisted.”

Sullivan said he was told by Sally Roush, SDSU director of personnel services, that Hill has 69 working days of vacation. Roush did not return phone calls Monday afternoon.

“In effect,” Sullivan said, “what they’re saying is she has to pay out of her vacation time for the 90 days which they are required to give her. My position is that Mary is entitled to 90 days pay without regard to vacation. I’m not sure he (Day) doesn’t have the power to tell her to take a vacation, but he cannot take away her 90 days termination right.”

According to the California Administrative Code, Title V, Section 42723, subsection D: “Except in the case of layoffs, the president or chancellor as appropriate shall give a management personnel plan employee notice of termination at least three months prior to the employee’s separation date or shall give a management personnel plan employee corresponding salary in lieu of notice.”

Section 42726, subsection B: “Vacation shall be taken as directed or authorized by the appointing power and shall be scheduled by mutual agreement whenever possible.”

Said Moore: “People in a management position are considered appointments at the pleasure of the president and that’s where she (Hill) is.”

Day gave Hill notice when she was fired Aug. 8. But did Day also form a contract with her by reassigning her to his office as an assistant that day?

Tuesday, Day maintained his position of not commenting on what he calls personnel matters. Day did acknowledge he met Tuesday with Hill.

“I met with Mary Alice Hill to discuss work assignments,” Day said. “At the moment, she is on vacation.”

The president would not elaborate on the length of Hill’s vacation, or say if or when the parties would meet.

When asked about Sullivan’s claims, Day said: “He is talking out of turn in my opinion. I’m not going to comment on his comments. I don’t understand why it continues to be a big topic on the sports page.”

The turmoil involving Hill seems to have quieted. Now, it may be heating up again.

Sullivan said he got pretty “hot” during Tuesday’s meeting.

“I had some slight hope that she would be reassigned to something of substance,” Sullivan said. “Then, he (Day) said I hadn’t come up with any ideas for reassignment. He was asking me, a layman in his field, to tell him what her duties should be. I don’t know anything about running a university. It seems inappropriate for me to tell him.”

After the meeting, Sullivan and Hill met. Within an hour after leaving Day’s office, Sullivan said he called Day. He gave Day five ways in which they thought Hill could be of service to the university between now and Nov. 8.

“At least we cannot be accused of not attempting to try and get something done,” Sullivan said. “These were areas which we felt were within Mary’s expertise. One suggestion was to have Mary do work relative to the implementation of Proposition 48 next January. That’s certainly an area she knows a lot about.” Proposition 48, passed by the NCAA last year, will be a means of implementing more stringent admissions requirements for freshmen athletes.

Nobody seems to be sure what their next step will be.

“We are approaching the time to make decisions in terms of what our next steps will be,” Sullivan said. “Pretty soon, we’ll have to fish or cut bait. . . . We’re not working on a specific timetable, but we’ll do something as soon as possible.”

Within the next couple of days, Day expects to get the findings of an athletic department audit that Day ordered about three weeks ago. Moore added that the president has said he will report on those findings.