Postal Official Denies Retaliation Claim : Courts: Testifying in federal civil court, the county postmaster says his demotion of an employee had nothing to do with her involvement in a highly-publicized women’s conference.

Orange County Postmaster Hector G. Godinez defended himself Thursday against allegations that he illegally demoted an employee who reportedly had embarrassed the Postal Service by staging a feminist conference in 1982.

Testifying on the second and final day of a civil trial in U.S. District Court, Godinez denied any retaliation against Rachael V. Santos and insisted that the women’s conference, featuring feminist Gloria Steinem, and the splash it made in the news media, caused a stir at the highest levels of the U.S. Postal Service in Washington.

Santos, of Hacienda Heights, arranged the September, 1982, conference as part of her duties in a temporary assignment as women’s program coordinator in Santa Ana. Godinez approved the gathering, including the selection of Steinem as featured speaker.

Steinem garnered press coverage when she urged the 850 conference attendees to agitate for their rights and “get together in troublemaking meetings.”

Almost immediately, Santos’ supervisors told her that top postal officials in Washington were “up in arms” about the publicity surrounding the conference and demanded to see a videotape of Steinem’s speech, Santos said in court papers.

Within three weeks of Steinem’s speech, Santos had been informed that her temporary assignment in Santa Ana was being terminated and she was returned to a lower-paying post in the Alhambra station, where she had been working before.

When the women’s program coordinator post became vacant again in 1984, Santos applied for the job but did not get it.

Santos wants U.S. District Judge Terry J. Hatter Jr. to declare that she was the victim of retaliatory discrimination in 1982 because of the publicity surrounding the conference and in 1984 because she had filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She wants back pay and reinstatement to a similar-level post.

Hatter took the case under submission, giving no indication of when he would rule.

Testifying for two hours Thursday, Godinez said Santos was removed from her position in 1982 because Lettie Critchfield, who was woman’s program coordinator before, was returning from a leave. Santos did not get the post in 1984 because she lacked leadership qualities and because she had delayed in turning over paperwork from the conference when she left the post in 1982.

“She’s a good person, but she didn’t have the administrative abilities I wanted,” Godinez testified.

“Do you retaliate against people who file (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) complaints?” asked Assistant U.S. Atty. Donna Everett.

“No,” Godinez replied.

Santos’ attorney, James O. Foster, attacked Godinez’s contentions, pointing out that Critchfield never did return, and that the woman ultimately chosen for the job was hired from a post 10 levels below Santos’.

An administrative law judge ruled in March, 1988, that Santos had been illegally retaliated against, but the Postal Service appealed that finding and won. Santos filed her lawsuit in federal court in 1989.

Godinez, a 45-year postal veteran who supervises postal operations for all of Orange County and parts of Riverside and Los Angeles counties, has been investigated by the Postal Service several times since 1983, but without any finding of wrongdoing.

The allegations against him included mishandling of worker’s compensation cases and possible conflicts of interest in referring worker injuries to a medical-referral company.