Local News in Brief : Ex-Employee Files Suit

Former Rancho Palos Verdes city employee Teri L. Hershberg has charged in a lawsuit that she was unlawfully deprived of her job a year ago during a staff reorganization.

Hershberg was assistant to the city manager and to the city treasurer when she was told in a letter she received Jan. 19, 1987, that her job was being eliminated, according to the suit filed in Torrance Superior Court.

City Finance Director Kevin N. Smith said Hershberg’s job was one of two that were eliminated to save money. The other employee was Tom Bandy, community services director, who, Smith said, has taken no legal action against the city. The two employees’ duties were transferred to other municipal workers.

“It had nothing to do with job performance,” Smith said. “We felt we could do a better job and save money in the process.” He added that about $80,000, including fringe benefits, was saved by doing away with the two jobs.

In the suit, Hershberg alleges that the action against her violated city personnel rules because her position was not terminated for lack of work or shortage of funds. She contends she was not allowed to exercise her rights to be reassigned to another job in the city, and says that her performance reviews had been “outstanding.”

City Atty. Steve Dorsey declined to comment on Hershberg’s suit. Her attorney, Richard J. Silber of Huntington Beach, did not return calls from The Times.