Demoted Black Woman Wins Back Her County Job

The highest-ranking black woman in the county Department of Human Relations--the agency charged with alleviating discrimination--won her job back Tuesday when a judge ruled that she was unfairly demoted for identifying herself as a member of “the black community” and making private statements critical of homosexuals and the Catholic Church.

Superior Court Judge Norman R. Dowds ordered Velma De Ponte reinstated with back pay to the $43,500-a-year management job she lost in October, 1984, overturning the recommendations of the county Civil Service Commission and calling the complaints against De Ponte “a tempest in a teapot.”

“I think today’s win is a win for all the women and all the minorities of Los Angeles County,” said De Ponte, 37, who broke into tears as the judge announced his decision.

The executive director of the Human Relations Commission, Eugene S. Mornell, said De Ponte had been demoted from a job as his executive assistant to a lower-paying, non-management position because of “poor performance” and her “rigid view of the role of the commission.” Mornell said that view was often at odds with his goal of promoting harmony among minorities in Los Angeles.

“We are probably the best balanced staff in terms of race and gender of any county department. We work to reduce prejudice and discrimination,” he said of De Ponte’s claim that she had suffered discrimination during her tenure with the department.

De Ponte, a 17-year county employee with a master’s degree in public administration, said her problems began in 1981, when she worked as an administrative analyst in the county’s chief administrative office.

At a time when she and other blacks were upset over the hanging death of Cal State Long Beach football star Ron Settles in the Signal Hill jail, De Ponte said she walked into her office one day to find her supervisor and another employee “laughing hysterically” over a T-shirt bearing a picture of a smoking gun and the words “If you can’t choke ‘em, smoke ‘em.”

“He (the supervisor) says, ‘Hey, Velma, what do you think of this?’ she said Tuesday in an interview. De Ponte complained about the incident in memos to several high-level county officials, and when she was denied a promotion the following year, she filed a discrimination complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Complaint Dropped

De Ponte, who subsequently transferred to the Department of Human Relations, dropped the complaint after the chief administrative office offered to upgrade her recommendation for the earlier promotion and award her the higher salary it would have brought.

But De Ponte claims the hard feelings her discrimination complaint engendered carried over into the new job at the Human Relations Department when Mornell began criticizing her performance and eventually notified her she was being demoted to a job paying just $33,000 a year--an assertion that Mornell vigorously denies.

Among the reasons given for the demotion were excessive absences. De Ponte has lupus, an debilitating tissue disease, but she claims she was absent no more than her allotted sick leave and vacation time. Also cited in a performance evaluation prepared by Mornell were several comments she made that had allegedly offended other department staff members.

In one instance, De Ponte, in a conversation with another employee during a coffee break, referred to the Catholic Church as “the beast in the Bible.” And in a private conversation with Mornell, she confided that she regarded homosexuals as “an abomination.” Also, she did not attend, allegedly because she was ill, a symposium sponsored by the department on gay and lesbian rights, according to court documents.

De Ponte was also criticized for referring to “we in the black community” during a meeting on education for minorities, a statement that Mornell said did not reflect her role as a representative of the department.

Also mentioned in her evaluation was a confrontation that occurred when De Ponte wrote, in the minutes of a commission meeting, of a plan to “man the rumor control center.” When Mornell asked her to change “man” to “staff,” she objected and expressed her objections in a memo to other department employees.

Sided With Hearing Officer

De Ponte does not dispute any of these incidents, but she questioned in her appeal whether they were grounds for demotion. As an employee with a record of seven promotions in 17 years, she should have been given a chance to correct any complaints about her performance before she was demoted, De Ponte claims.

But Deputy County Counsel Patrick Wu, representing the commission, said De Ponte’s comments and attitude had “undermined the confidence” Mornell had in his executive assistant.

“He must have a very tender confidence if it can be undermined by something like that,” Judge Dowds responded wryly.

Dowds, in overturning the Civil Service Commission’s findings that the demotion was justified, ruled that the evidence simply did not support it. In doing so, he sided with the hearing officer who initially had heard the case.

Although the issue of discrimination was not before the court--that could be raised by De Ponte later if she decides to sue the county for damages--Dowds did order that De Ponte receive the estimated $15,000 to $20,000 in back pay she lost after her demotion.

De Ponte, who has been on medical leave for much of the time since the demotion, said she will return to work as soon as she is able.

“I feel I’ve been vindicated,” she said. “Too often with women and minorities, competence doesn’t count--because there are too many other hidden agendas.”