Gavilan College is facing allegations from a former vice
president that she was wrongfully fired in retaliation for exposing
labor and financial violations.
Gavilan College is facing allegations from a former vice president that she was wrongfully fired in retaliation for exposing labor and financial violations.
Adrienne Akinsete, a former vice president of instructional services, submitted a claim in September alleging her termination came in response to attempts she made to right illegal practices at the college. Akinsete – the college’s fifth vice president of instructional services in five years – said the administration was aware of the illegal practices and that she should be compensated with more than $25,000 for her wrongful dismissal.
Akinsete alleges that the college was unlawfully collecting money for labs that were not properly staffed.
Community college regulations require that, in order for a college to claim and be reimbursed for student course attendance, an employee of the district that has credentials up to standards set by the community college Board of Governors must be present.
Gavilan, however, was claiming and being reimbursed for student attendance monitored by a classified employee, Akinsete said. The classified employee did not meet the minimum standards and therefore the college was collecting undeserved money, she added.
In addition, the college was not paying overtime to employees that worked more than 40 hours in a week or eight hours in a day, according to the claim. This is a violation of the state Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Orders and the California Labor Code, it continued. The code requires excess hours to be compensated at 1.5 times the hourly wage or higher.
In March, Akinsete brought the violations to the attention of President Steve Kinsella and vice presidents Joe Keeler and John Pruitt, the claim continued.
A month later, Kinsella told Akinsete she would be terminated after the academic year ended in May. Akinsete was fired in July.
State and federal whistleblower laws prohibit businesses or public institutions from firing or punishing employees that expose violations.
College administrators and trustees did not return multiple phone calls Tuesday. However, they said in earlier interviews that they were not familiar with Akinsete’s work and could not comment on claims against the college.
In an August interview regarding turnover at the vice president position, Kinsella said that Akinsete was terminated because she was not a team player. He said she did not effectively define and explain problems to fellow staff members and therefore did not fit in with the “participatory” style of governance at the college.
However, he would not expand further on Akinsete’s performance or why she was terminated.
Also in an August interview, trustee Mark Dover said he understood from conversations with college administrators that Akinsete was “not interested in working” at the college – an assertion Akinsete denied.
As for the high turnover in vice presidents, “You have to find the right person that fits in with the culture of the campus and that has not happened,” he said. “That’s the flat-out truth.”
Dover did not elaborate on why Akinsete was not the right fit.
Employees at Evergreen Valley College, Akinsete’s previous employer to Gavilan, were not available for comment.
