The Rudolph Davis Affair
Employee at will
Posted January 21, 2010
11:15 am
By Stew Lilker
LAKE CITY, FL – In the United States, employees without a written
employment contract generally can be fired for good
cause, bad cause, or no cause at all. Florida is an
"employment at will" state. This means an employee in
Florida can be fired – "because." In Florida it is
established law that no reason has to be given. An
employee can be fired because his employer just "feels
like it."
19 1/2 year veteran Police Capt. Rudolph Davis addressed
the City Counsel and waited for a reason for his
termination. He is still waiting.
There are three general exceptions to at will
employment: 1. A public policy exception. This would
violate a public policy of the State, such as a "The
Policeman's Bill of Rights." 2. An implied contract
exception, such as an employee handbook. 3. A covenant
of good faith and fair dealing. This means that
termination made in bad faith or motivated by malice are
prohibited [Shane and Rosenthal, Employment Law Deskbook,
§ 16.03[8]].
Some or all of the three exceptions to at will
employment are recognized by forty six states. Three of
the Jim Crow states, Florida, Georgia, and Louisiana, as
well as the Rhode Island don't recognize any of the
exemptions.
Straight talking City Manager Wendell Johnson listened
to Capt. Davis and the public. He
wasn't talking.
The Rudolph Davis affair has brought to the forefront
the fact that almost any employee that works for Lake
City, or Columbia County, can be fired at anytime for no
reason. This does not include some contract employees,
such as the county manager, city manager and city police
chief.
Tuesday's January 19th City Council meeting may very
well be the last public expression of the angst suffered
on both sides of the Captain Davis Affair, as once again
the supporters of Captain Davis and those of the City
Council and Chief Gilmore came out to voice their
opinions.
Mayor Witt invites speakers to the microphone as City
Clerk, Audrey Sikes, keeps the minutes of the meeting.
Mayor Steve Witt is always polite and always willing
to have the city council listen to the public, which is
a far cry from the antics of Florida's homeless Columbia
County Commission.
Mayor Witt allowed anyone who wished to speak
to come to the microphone and say their piece, without
interruption and without the hostile rudeness for which
the Columbia County Commission is known.
Capt. Davis addressed the City Council and told them
that he had never questioned Chief Gilmore's credentials
to be the Chief of Police and once again asked for an
explanation for his dismissal.
Capt. Davis told the Council that it was well known
that he had filed discrimination complaints against the
City and that even though Florida was as an "at will"
state, that didn't give the City the right to fire him
in retaliation, after nineteen and a half years, without
an explanation.
Capt. Davis told the Council, "I need to hear the
reasons why I was terminated."
James
Scofield was next to address the Council and presented
them with a petition and a letter calling for the
resignation of Chief Gilmore because as he said in the
letter, "We believe she carried out an act of
retaliation against Captain Rudolph Davis when she
decided to terminate him immediately on November 16,
2009" without a reason.
Resident
Julia May Page addressed the Council: "I'd like to know
why Ms. Gilmore fired Mr. Davis, because Mr. Davis did a
real good job.. You could always call Mr. Davis and he
would be there on time for you and he would solve the
problem... he does a good job ... and God bless you
all."
The final speaker was former sixteen year veteran
City Councilman and district director for Congress Woman
Corrine Brown, Glenel Bowden. Mr. Bowden explained that
the City Charter gave the City Manager and his
Administrative Officer the right to hire and fire if he
thought it was in the best interest of the city.
Mr.
Bowden hit the nail on the head when he said, "If in
fact there was a violation there are other avenues where
this could take place. EEOC is one. The Courts is one.
The Office of Civil Rights is one. I think that if any
City Council goes down the slippery slope of getting
involved in personnel matters, it's a dangerous slope.
Once you start down, you never come back."
Since the Davis Affair began, there has been talk on
the street about a conspiracy to fire Captain Davis.
Mr. Bowden addressed this directly. After a few brief
comments about the career of Chief Gilmore, he said: "I
find it very difficult to believe that a Christian woman
would come to this town and through some conspiracy,
somebody called her in Tallahassee [and somebody told
her] your job when you get here, Ms., is to tell a black
woman to fire a black man, and she's going to come and
do it. I don't believe that."
Councilman Jake Hill asked the tough question.
Where it stands now.
Everyone has been given the opportunity to speak.
To the dismay of many, the City Council cannot speak
about personnel matters and it has remained silent.
This does not mean Councilmenbers cannot ask questions.
City Councilman Jake Hill, during the December 21st
City Council meeting, asked Chief Gilmore the question
which needed to be asked.
Councilman Hill to Chief Davis: "Could you tell me
why you terminated Captain Davis?"
Chief Gilmore ponders her answer.
The room fell silent and strained forward to hear the
Chief. She explained that she had to make tough calls
and make decisions that are in the best interest of the
department and the city.
Her answer appeared to satisfy no one.
Over six hundred residents signed a petition calling
for the resignation of Chief Gilmore. At the very bottom
it asked for the reinstatement of Captain Davis.
In December, your reporter had a conversation with
Captain Davis and others regarding this petition.
The Observer's conclusions from many conversations
are these: The resignation part is really
representative of the frustration of the way in which
the Davis Affair was handled. The community supports the
Chief, thinks she was a good choice to lead the
department and is looking forward to the Lake City
Police Department moving forward under her command.
Neither Captain Davis, the NAACP, the PBA nor anyone
has ever asked that a cloak of secrecy shroud the
reasons for Captain Davis' termination.
At every opportunity, person after person,
including Captain Davis, has asked the reason(s).
The City could have and should have answered.
Captain Davis told the Observer that is he talking to
an attorney out of Jacksonville and is exploring his
options.
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