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Whistleblower Accuses DA, County of Crimes and Civil Wrongs Against Vets

Veteran Prosecutor Charges that Los Angeles County and its District Attorney, Steve Cooley, Wronged Military Reservists by Illegally Withholding Pay and Benefits.

In a class-action lawsuit filed last week, Deputy District Attorney Anthony Colannino charges that Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley and the County of Los Angeles committed crimes and civil wrongs against thousands of military reservists working for them.

Under the California Military and Veteran's Code section 395.01, public agencies are required to allow military reservists who work for them up to 30 days of paid military leave for active-duty deployment. They are entitled to an additional 30 days of paid leave for emergency active duty. In his lawsuit, Colannino, a 22-year veteran of the District Attorney's Office, claims that his office refused to honor the requirements of that law.

In addition to being a criminal prosecutor, Colannino is also a JAG Captain in the California State Military Reserve (CSMR): the reserve component of the California Army and Air National Guard. In July of last year, Colannino received a paycheck for $271.98: far below his usual salary. When he inquired, he was told that he had been docked 11 days pay because he exceeded the amount of time his office would authorize for military leave.

In the suit, Colannino says that he only requested 24 days of military leave and 6 days of emergency military leave during the 2007-08 fiscal year. What Colannino didn't know was that the District Attorney's Office added an additional 11 days of unrequested weekends and holidays to his leave total and then claimed that he actually received 41 days of military leave.

In addition to inflating his leave, the District Attorney refused to give Colannino full credit for days in which he was required to work more than 8 hours. This policy forced Colannino to give up an additional 8 hours of vacation and overtime for his military leave. Colannino soon discovered that every other military reservist was being treated the same way.

"This is outrageous!" said Association of Deputy District Attorneys (ADDA) Director, John Harrold: himself, a JAG officer with the CSMR. "Steve Cooley has the halls of his administrative offices festooned with life-sized portraits of our military reservists, yet he's cheating those same people out of their military leave during a time of war. The hypocrisy is palpable."

Steve Ipsen, president of ADDA, made the position of the organization's board clear: "We're behind Mr. Colannino 100 percent. We think every member of the military should receive the benefits to which they are entitled by law, regardless of who employs them."

"This is more than disappointing," offered ADDA Director, Mark Debbaudt. "The Military and Veterans Code is very clear. It is a crime for anyone to prejudice or harm a military employee in any manner in his or her employment, position or status because of military service. You'd think the District Attorney would be the first one to obey a criminal statute."

"Mr. Colannino did everything he was supposed to," added Harrold. "First he spoke to his immediate supervisor to correct the situation. When that didn't work, he filed an internal grievance with the office. He included a 10-page memo so that the administration would know what was happening and what the law required them to do. He then filed a request for a Civil Service Commission Hearing so that if the District Attorney felt he couldn't fix the problem internally, he could at least stand with Mr. Colannino at the hearing and ask the County to obey the law. Instead the District Attorney's response was, 'So sue us.' I guess Mr. Colannino accepted their invitation."

When asked for comment, Colannino said, "I just want the problem fixed. As a JAG, I'm a rear-echelon guy. My role is to support the men and women of the military who do the heavy lifting. That's all I'm trying to do with this suit."
Jay M. Coggan of the Century City law firm of Coggan and Tarlow is representing Colannino in his suite. Coggan is also a JAG with the CSMR.

The case is Colannino v County of Los Angeles, BC413089 (L.A. Superior Court, filed May 4, 2009.) A copy of that filing is attached for your convenience. CLICK HERE

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