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  • O'Brien, Brooks vs The Board of Trustees of the California State University et al(36) Unlimited Wrongful Termination document preview
  • O'Brien, Brooks vs The Board of Trustees of the California State University et al(36) Unlimited Wrongful Termination document preview
  • O'Brien, Brooks vs The Board of Trustees of the California State University et al(36) Unlimited Wrongful Termination document preview
  • O'Brien, Brooks vs The Board of Trustees of the California State University et al(36) Unlimited Wrongful Termination document preview
  • O'Brien, Brooks vs The Board of Trustees of the California State University et al(36) Unlimited Wrongful Termination document preview
  • O'Brien, Brooks vs The Board of Trustees of the California State University et al(36) Unlimited Wrongful Termination document preview
  • O'Brien, Brooks vs The Board of Trustees of the California State University et al(36) Unlimited Wrongful Termination document preview
  • O'Brien, Brooks vs The Board of Trustees of the California State University et al(36) Unlimited Wrongful Termination document preview
						
                                

Preview

1 A PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION 2 Derek J. Haynes, SBN 264621 Marc A. Rodriguez, SBN 329938 2/18/2021 3 350 University Avenue, Suite 200 4 Sacramento, California 95825 TEL: 916.929.1481 5 FAX: 916.927.3706 6 Attorneys for Defendants 7 THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY and CHICO STATE ENTERPRISES 8 Exempt From Filing Fees Pursuant to Government Code § 6103 9 SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF BUTTE 10 11 BROOKS O’BRIEN, Case No. 20CV01050 12 Plaintiff, DECLARATION OF DEREK J. HAYNES 13 IN SUPPORT OF OPPOSITION TO 14 v. PLAINTIFF'S MOTION TO COMPEL DEFENDANT CHICO STATE 15 THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE ENTERPRISES TO PROVIDE FURTHER CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, VERIFIED RESPONSES TO 16 CHICO STATE ENTERPRISES, and PLAINTIFF'S SPECIAL 17 DOES 1 through 10, inclusive. INTERROGATORIES, SET 2, NOS. 10, 16, 18, & 19 18 Defendants. 19 Date: March 3, 2021 Time: 9:00 a.m. 20 Dept: 6 _____________________________________/ 21 Complaint Filed: 05/20/20 22 I, Derek J. Haynes, declare: 23 1. I am an attorney duly licensed to practice before all of the courts of the State of 24 California and am a shareholder with the law firm of Porter Scott, attorneys of record for Defendants 25 THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY and CHICO STATE 26 ENTERPRISES. 27 2. Plaintiff filed her initial complaint on May 20, 2020 which she then amended on January 28 {02362559.DOCX} 1 DECLARATION OF DEREK J. HAYNES IN SUPPORT OF OPPOSITION TO PLAINTIFF'S MOTION TO COMPEL DEFENDANT CHICO STATE ENTERPRISES TO PROVIDE FURTHER VERIFIED RESPONSES TO PLAINTIFF'S SPECIAL INTERROGATORIES, SET 2, NOS. 10, 16, 18, & 19 1 5, 2021. The operative complaint alleges four causes of action: (1) Disability Discrimination under the 2 FEHA, (2) Age Discrimination under the FEHA, (3) Retaliation under the CFRA and (4) Failure to 3 prevent Discrimination under Government Code section 12940(k). (Haynes Decl. ¶ 3) 4 3. On September 2, 2020, Plaintiff served a second set of Special Interrogatories on 5 Defendant. Defendant timely served itsresponses on November 6, 2020. Nearly two months later, on 6 December 21, 2020, Plaintiff’s counsel sent a meet and confer letter seeking amended responses to 7 Special Interrogatories No. 6, 10, 12, 15, 16, 18 and 19. 8 4. Defendant responded on January 19, 2021, stating that it would be standing by its 9 objections for requests no. 10, 16, 18 and 19 but would produce amended responses for the remaining 10 requests. Notably, Defendant offered to amend its response to request no. 10 if Plaintiff agreed to 11 narrow the request. Defendant received no further communication from Plaintiff regarding request no. 12 10. Plaintiff then filed this motion to compel on January 27, 2021. 13 5. Additionally, Defendant produced the actuarial valuation report for its post-retirement 14 health benefits plan for 2019 in response to Plaintiff’s Request for Production of Documents, set two. A 15 true and correct copy of the report is attached hereto as Exhibit A. 16 I make this Declaration on my own personal knowledge except to the facts stated on information 17 and belief. As to such facts, I believe them to be true. If called upon to do so, I could and would 18 competently testify about the matters asserted herein. 19 I declare under the penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing 20 is true and correct and that this declaration was executed on this 18th day of February, 2021 at 21 Sacramento, California. 22 23 D _________________________________ Derek J. Haynes 24 25 26 27 28 {02362559.DOCX} 2 DECLARATION OF DEREK J. HAYNES IN SUPPORT OF OPPOSITION TO PLAINTIFF'S MOTION TO COMPEL DEFENDANT CHICO STATE ENTERPRISES TO PROVIDE FURTHER VERIFIED RESPONSES TO PLAINTIFF'S SPECIAL INTERROGATORIES, SET 2, NOS. 10, 16, 18, & 19 Exhibit A {02231721.DOCX} Note 11 – Postemployment Benefits Other Than Pension Benefits (OPEB) Plan Description CSE administers an endowment-funded single-employer defined benefit healthcare plan. CSE currently provides retiree health benefits to eligible employees to the extent sustainable by the provided endowment and can be terminated at any time. The postretirement health care plan is contributory with retiree contributions adjusted annually. Separate stand-alone financial statements for the plan are not prepared. Eligibility and Benefits Tier 1: Employees hired before January 1, 2006 who have attained age 55 and have completed 15 years of credited CSE service will be eligible to receive a CSE-paid medical plan contribution upon retirement. Eligibility is lost for breaks in service that exceed one year. CSE will pay up to $200 per month for those with single coverage and $400 for those with dual or family coverage. Benefits are paid for the lifetime of the retiree. As of July 1, 2017, there are 45 active employees and 2 retirees under this benefit structure. DEF 0732 CHICO STATE ENTERPRISES (Formerly The CSU, Chico Research Foundation) Notes to the Financial Statements Years Ended June 30, 2019 and 2018, as Restated Note 11 – Postemployment Benefits Other Than Pension Benefits (OPEB), continued Tier 2: Employees hired on or after January 1, 2006 who have attained age 60 and have completed 15 years of credited CSE service will be eligible to receive a CSE-paid medical plan contribution upon retirement. Eligibility is lost for breaks in service that exceed one year. CSE will pay up to $200 per month for those with single coverage and $400 for those with dual or family coverage. Benefits are paid until the retiree reaches age 65. As of July 1, 2017, there are 136 active employees under this benefit structure. As of July 1, 2017, the date of the most recent actuarial valuation, plan participation consisted of: Retirees and beneficiaries receiving benefits 2 Active employees 181 Total plan participants 183 Funding Policy CSE has the right to establish and amend the funding policy for its OPEB plan. CSE will fund the plan monthly, on a pay-as-you-go basis for members who meet the eligibility criteria. The contribution requirements of plan members and CSE are established and may be amended by CSE’s Board of Directors. For the year ended June 30, 2019, CSE contributed $13,776, which was the annual required contribution per the July 1, 2017 Actuarial Report for the OPEB. OPEB Liabilities, OPEB Expense and Deferred Outflows of Resources and Deferred Inflows of Resources Related to OEPB CSE’s Net OPEB Liability was measured as of June 30, 2019. CSEs’ annual OPEB cost (expense) is an amount actuarially determined in accordance with Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statement Number 75. The Actuarially Determined Contribution (ADC) is an amount actuarially determined by the Actuarial Standards of Practice and applicable Federal and State laws. The ADC represents a level of funding that, if paid on an ongoing basis, is projected to cover normal costs each year and amortize any unfunded actuarial liabilities (or funding excess) over a period not to exceed thirty (30) years. The following table shows the components of CSE’s annual OPEB cost for the year, the amount actually contributed, and the changes in CSE’s net OPEB plan position as of June 30, 2019. 2019 2018 Service cost $ 41,923 $ 44,538 Interest on net OPEB Obligation 18,930 15,854 Change of assumptions 31,900 (28,221) Annual OPEB cost (expense) 92,753 32,171 Benefit payments (13,776) (17,701) Net change in total OPEB liability 78,977 14,470 Net OPEB Obligation - Beginning of Year 529,756 515,286 Net OPEB Obligation - End of Year $ 608,733 $ 529,756 16 DEF 0733 CHICO STATE ENTERPRISES (Formerly The CSU, Chico Research Foundation) Notes to the Financial Statements Years Ended June 30, 2019 and 2018, as Restated Note 11 – Postemployment Benefits Other Than Pension Benefits (OPEB), continued The Net OPEB liability of $608,733 is presented as a non-current liability on CSE’s statement of net position. Actual Employer Percentage Net Ending OPEB Years Ended June 30 Annual OPEB Cost Contributions Contributed Obligation 2019 $ 92,753 $ 13,776 14.85% $ 608,733 2018 $ 32,171 $ 17,701 55.02% $ 529,756 2017 $ 55,214 $ 22,967 41.60% $ 598,646 2016 $ 54,096 $ 58,427 108.01% $ 566,399 (NOTE: The schedule above is intended to show information for the previous ten (10) years. Since 2018 was the first year for the presentation of this information, only data from 2016 and forward is available.) Funded Status and Funding Progress The most recent actuarial valuation report for CSE’s OPEB plan was prepared as of July 1, 2017. As of June 30, 2019, the actuarial accrued liability for benefits was $608,733 and the fair value of other assets held at the University Foundation was $515,421. The annual covered payroll was $8,647,112 and the ratioof the unfunded actuarial accrued liability to covered payroll was 7%. Actuarial valuations of an ongoing plan involve estimates of the value of reported amounts and assumptions about the probability of occurrence of events far into the future. Examples include assumptions about future employment, mortality, and healthcare cost trend. Amounts determined regarding the funded status of the plan and the annual required contributions of the employer are subject to continual revision as actual results are compared with past expectations and new estimates are made about the future. The schedule of funding progress, presented as required supplementary information following the notes to the financial statements, presents multi-year trend information about whether the actuarial value of plan assets is increasing or decreasing over time relative to the actuarial accrued liabilities for benefits. Actuarial Methods and Assumptions The total OPEB liability was determined using the following actuarial assumptions, applied to all periods included in the measurement, unless otherwise specified: Salary increases 3.00 percent Healthcare cost trend rate 5.00 percent for 2018; 5.00 percent for 2019; and 5.00 percent for 2020 and later years Cap increases None Pre-retirement mortality rates were based on the RP-2014 Employee Mortality Table for Males or Females, as appropriate, without projection. Post-retirement mortality rates were based on the RP-2014 Health Annuitant Mortality Table for Males or Females, as appropriate, without projection. Retirement and termination assumptions used were based on a review of plan experience and our best estimate of future plan experience. GASB 75 requires a discount rate that reflects the following: a) The long-term expected rate of return on OPEB plan investments – to the extent that the OPEB plan’s fiduciary net position (if any) is projected to be sufficient to make projected benefit payments and assets are expected to be invested using a strategy to achieve that return; 17 DEF 0734 CHICO STATE ENTERPRISES arch Foundation) Notes to the Financial Statements Years Ended June 30, 2019 and 2018, as Restated Note 11 – Postemployment Benefits Other Than Pension Benefits (OPEB), continued b) A yield or index rate for 20-year, tax-exempt general obligation municipal bonds with an average rating of AA/Aa or higher – to the extent that the conditions in (a) are not met. To determine a resulting single (blended) rate, the amount of the plan’s projected fiduciary net position (if any) and the amount of projected benefit payments is compared in each period of projected benefit payments. The discount rate used to measure CSE’s Total OPEB liability is based on these requirements and the following information: Sensitivity of the Net OPEB Liability to Changes in the Discount Rate The following presents the net OPEB liability, as well as what the net OPEB liability would be if it were calculated using a discount rate that is 1 percentage point lower (2.13%) or 1 percentage point higher (4.13%) than the current discount rate: 1% Decrease Discount Rate 1% Increase (2.13%) (3.13%) (4.13%) Net OPEB liability $ 680,391 $ 608,733 $ 545,694 Sensitivity of the Net OPEB Liability to Changes in the Trend Rate The following presents the net OPEB liability, as well as what the net OPEB liability would be if it were calculated using healthcare cost trend rates that are 1 percentage point lower (4.00%) or 1 percentage point higher (6.00%) than the current healthcare cost trend rate of 5%: Net OPEB liability $ 602,362 $ 608,733 $ 613,161 18 DEF 0735 Brooks O’Brien v. The Board of Trustees of the California State University, et al. 1 Butte County Superior Court Case No. 20CV01050 2 PROOF OF SERVICE 3 At the time of service, I was over 18 years of age and not a party to this action. My business 4 address is 350 University Avenue, Suite 200, Sacramento, California 95825. 5 On the date below, I served the following document: DECLARATION OF DEREK J. 6 HAYNES IN SUPPORT OF OPPOSITION TO PLAINTIFF'S MOTION TO COMPEL DEFENDANT CHICO STATE ENTERPRISES TO PROVIDE FURTHER VERIFIED 7 RESPONSES TO PLAINTIFF'S SPECIAL INTERROGATORIES, SET 2, NOS. 10, 16, 18, & 19 8  BY MAIL: I placed the envelope for collection and mailing, following our ordinary business practices. I am readily familiar with this business’ practice for collecting and processing correspondence for 9 mailing. On the same day that correspondence is placed for collection and mailing, it is deposited in the 10 ordinary course of business with the United States Postal Service, in a sealed envelope with postage fully prepaid. 11 BY PERSONAL SERVICE: I caused such document to be personally delivered to the person(s) addressed below. 12 BY OVERNIGHT DELIVERY: I enclosed the documents in an envelope or package provided by an overnight delivery carrier and addressed to the person(s) listed below. I placed the envelope or package 13 for collection and overnight delivery at my office or a regularly utilized drop box of the overnight 14 delivery carrier.  BY ELECTRONIC SERVICE: By e-mailing the document(s) to the persons at the e-mail address(es) 15 listed. Due to a shelter-in-place order issued on account of the Covid-19 pandemic, this office will be primarily working remotely, unable to send or receive physical mail as usual, and is therefore using only 16 electronic mail. No electronic message or other indication that the transmission was unsuccessful was received within a reasonable time after the transmission.” 17 18 Jill P. Telfer TELFER LAW 19 331 J Street, Suite 200 Sacramento, CA 95814 20 jtelfer@telferlaw.com 21 jchau@telferlaw.com mguevara@telferlaw.com 22 cmurphy@telferlaw.com 23 I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing is 24 true and correct. Executed at Sacramento, California on February 18, 2021. 25 ___________________________________ 26 Cindy A. Grandinetti 27 28 {02362559.DOCX} 3 DECLARATION OF DEREK J. HAYNES IN SUPPORT OF OPPOSITION TO PLAINTIFF'S MOTION TO COMPEL DEFENDANT CHICO STATE ENTERPRISES TO PROVIDE FURTHER VERIFIED RESPONSES TO PLAINTIFF'S SPECIAL INTERROGATORIES, SET 2, NOS. 10, 16, 18, & 19