Verdicts

A California jury found that a San Jose city employee was not entitled to compensation for being demoted while on extended leave from her position. In 1994, Karol Sytwu, then 56, was promoted to a chemist position in the city of San Jose's Environmental Services Department. From August to December 2000, Sytwu left to care for her father, who was seriously ill. She chose to take an unpaid leave of absence, rather than use her accumulated paid vacation. While she was away, the city decided to reduce the number of staff chemists, and Sytwu was demoted to lab technician. Sytwu claimed that she was not aware of the potential consequences of taking unpaid leave and that she would have used vacation time if she had been aware that a demotion could have occurred. The defense contended that Sytwu was fully informed and aware of the potential consequences when she elected to take unpaid leave. The jury determined that the plaintiff was fully aware of all of her rights and options and that she voluntarily took her leave as unpaid. Sytwu v. San Jose, No. 1-03-CV008929, Superior Court of Santa Clara County, San Jose, CA , 09-07-2006