The Employee Matters

Talking about what matters to Employees

LVBH clients featured in Berkeleyside article

A screenshot of the Berkeleyside website

Berkeleyside published an article discussing a lawsuit filed by LVBH on behalf of three women against their employer, Berkeley Unified School District. In the lawsuit, the female custodians allege claims of sexual harassment, gender discrimination, and retaliation, as well as failure to prevent harassment and discrimination. As the article notes, this is the second lawsuit in three years regarding inappropriate and unlawful behavior within the Berkeley High School custodial department.

LVBH attorney Jean Hyams was interviewed for the article, saying “It does seem as though there is this small cadre of cronies in that department, who are all male, and have been running the place for quite some time, and they’re protecting each other.”

Wendy Musell interviewed on pay disparities

Law.com interviewed LVBH attorney Wendy Musell about the persistence of pay disparities despite concerted efforts to close them. The article highlights the fact that equal pay for equal work is just one of many actions that can be taken to ensure that women and people of color attain pay equity.

Other factors to be considered are hiring and promotion practices as well as transparency about how employers determine pay for different jobs. Additionally, non-salary compensation such as stock grants, stock options, and discretionary bonuses should be evaluated, especially in high-wage industries. In Silicon Valley “there’s not transparency regarding what those (compensation) packages are, why they are, who they’re offered to, what the value is, how they’re vested, whether folks end up getting discretionary bonuses, a vesting faster, or other tranches,” Ms. Musell said.

LVBH honored with Distinguished Service Award by the Alameda County Bar Association

LVBH at ACBA Awards dinner — From left, Elly Oxman, Katherine Smith, Sharon Vinick, Leslie Levy, Jean Hyams, Wendy Musell, and Letty Chavez attended the event. Photo by Christopher Che

The Alameda County Bar Association presented Levy Vinick Burrell Hyams with the Distinguished Service Law Firm Award during the annual meeting and Installation of the 2022 Board of Directors on April 7, 2022. The event took place at Tilden Park’s beautiful Brazilian Room.

ACBA President Pamela Ross introduced the firm as “a leader for equity and inclusion from the makeup of their firm to the way they interact with their clients, each other, and the legal community.” Leslie Levy accepted the honor and recognition on behalf of LVBH. She focused her acceptance speech on the on-going need for civil rights attorneys, saying,

discriminatory attitudes and discrimination are not dead. They were most recently on full display at the highest levels of government in the employment interviews of Ketanji Jackson Brown. While it brings a smile to our face that she was confirmed, unfortunately it is not evidence of a new and more just society. At least, not yet.

Noting that LVBH is now in its thirteenth year as a firm, Ms. Levy commented “We owe our success to our internal collaborative process and our belief that we can make positive change in the world through our passionate representation of our clients.”

Everyone at LVBH is honored by this recognition, including all of the LVBH attorneys, paralegals and staff.

Special Agent with over 25 years of experience in law enforcement sues California Department of Justice, alleging gender discrimination and retaliation at California Bureau of Investigation

April 15, 2022 – Special Agent in Charge R. Capello, one of the two highest-ranking women within California Department of Justice’s Bureau of Investigation, has filed a lawsuit against the DOJ alleging a persistent pattern of gender discrimination and retaliation. Capello, who has worked for the agency since 1999, alleges that her male superiors have repeatedly passed her over for promotion to Assistant Director positions, including when she was the highest ranking candidate. She claims the DOJ began to retaliate against her after she complained about inappropriate comments from her superior, threats from a co-worker and blew the whistle regarding mishandling of evidence at the Fresno Regional Office of the Bureau of Investigation.

The complaint filed by Capello this week in Sacramento Superior Court (R. Capello v. California Department of Justice, Case No. 34-2022-00318069) paints a disturbing picture of a “good ol’ boys club,” where favoritism and gender discrimination has resulted in a dearth of women in management positions. Since 2015, the Bureau has not had any women in sworn peace officer positions above the level of Special Agent in Charge, the position held by Capello. Currently, of the 110 Special Agents employed by the Bureau, only 12 are women, and of the 28 Special Agent Supervisors at the Bureau, only one is a woman.

Before filing a civil lawsuit, Capello reported the alleged discrimination and retaliation internally. In February 2018, after the Bureau of Investigation received her complaints, the agency removed Capello from her chain of command and assigned her to report to a civilian contract employee. The Bureau restored her to the regular command structure only after Capello took on the investigations of the high-profile police shooting of Stephon Clark, who was killed by Sacramento Police officers while Mr. Clark was standing in his grandmother’s backyard and holding a cell phone.

Capello, who holds a Masters’ degree in Criminology, joined the DOJ in 1999, as an agent. In 2010, she attained the rank of Special Agent in Charge and began to lead the Fresno Regional Office of the Bureau. In 2015, Capello raised concerns that she and the only other female SAC were treated less favorably than their male colleagues. She also reported serious mishandling of evidence and unprofessional behavior by an evidence specialist rumored to have close personal ties to the interim Chief of Department of Law Enforcement Agency. She alleges that in retaliation for her raising these issues, the Bureau stripped her of managerial duties and excluded her from management meetings. While the Bureau eventually restored some of Capello’s management duties, she claims in the lawsuit that the Bureau repeatedly passed her over for promotions in favor of men with lesser experience and qualifications and ignored or violated established procedures to do so.

Capello says that after spending seven years trying to internally address the problems at the Bureau, she concluded that a lawsuit was the only way to bring about change. “I love my job, but the way that I have been treated has been completely demoralizing and has made me miserable, and the repeated investigations into my conduct has been devastating,” said Capello. She added, “Absent a change in the culture at the Bureau and within the Office of the Chief, women will continue to be sidelined and the number of women in management positions will remain miniscule.”

Capello is represented by Sharon Vinick and Wendy Musell of Levy Vinick Burrell Hyams, a boutique law firm in Oakland representing plaintiffs in employment litigation. “Our firm has represented many women in nontraditional careers, yet I’m constantly surprised by the lengths that organizations will go to in order to keep these women from advancing. I would have hoped that the California Department of Justice would be an exception. It looks from the evidence we’ve reviewed in this case that even in a state as progressive as California, we still have a lot of work to do,” stated Sharon Vinick, attorney for Capello and managing partner of Levy Vinick Burrell Hyams LLP. “It is critical that discrimination not be allowed to flourish, especially in the highest reaches of law enforcement in California. We need more brave law enforcement officers and investigators, like Ms. Capello, who are willing to come forward to expose mishandling of evidence and discriminatory practices. It makes all of us safer,” says attorney for Ms. Capello, Wendy Musell.

LVBH proudly announces Leticia Chavez as an associate of the firm

Levy Vinick Burrell Hyams LLP, a boutique worker’s rights firm, has expanded its ranks by adding Leticia (Letty) Chavez as an associate attorney.

Letty, the proud daughter of hard-working immigrants, developed a passion for fighting injustice when she witnessed her father being exploited at his job as a landscaper. Between college and law school, she went to work for Local 721 of the progressive Service Employees International Union, where she led organizing campaigns to improve working conditions in health care, education, and the public sector, and represented workers in grievances and contract negotiations.

Excellence defined Letty’s academic career. After attending the University of California, San Diego as a Gates Millennium Scholar, Letty’s undergraduate accomplishments earned her the Dean’s Scholarship to Golden Gate University Law School. In law school, Letty served on Law Review and her academic performance earned her many awards. She is a seven-time recipient of the prestigious Witkin Award for Academic Excellence, awarded to the top student in a class, for her achievement in Evidence, Contracts, Legal Writing and Research, Property, Business Associations, and the Women’s Employment Rights Seminar.

While in law school, she externed for Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. To further hone her skills as an advocate, Letty represented low-wage workers before the California Labor Commissioner through the GGU Women’s Employment Rights Clinic and defended workers facing retaliation for their union activity as summer law clerk for the Communication Workers of America in Washington, DC.

Before joining Levy Vinick Burrell Hyams LLP, Letty served as the Workplace Justice Fellow at Feinberg, Jackson, Worthman & Wasow LLP, a Bay Area civil rights law firm where she contributed to legislation and litigation advancing civil and workers’ rights.

Letty is fluent in Spanish and is passionate about helping all workers, including low-wage, immigrant, and Spanish-speaking workers achieve fairness in the workplace.

When she is not working, Letty enjoys spending time in nature, reading historical fiction novels, and enjoying the company of her dog, Luka.

Daily Journal turns the spotlight on LVBH

Hilary Hammell discusses employer vaccine mandates in KPFA Radio interview

LVBH Attorney Hilary Hammell sat down with Jeannine Etter of KPFA Radio to discuss employer vaccine mandates. Ms. Hammell pointed out that employers have a duty to maintain a safe workplace and to keep employees safe from known hazards, and she discussed how employers should handle requests for exemptions from vaccine requirements.

The interview was aired on October 15, 2021 and an archive is available on the KPFA Radio website.