It is illegal for Management to instruct you to refuse to be interviewed by your CAPE Representative regarding an incident in which you may have knowledge.
CAPE recently caught a County Department's Management issuing such an illegal instruction to CAPE Members when it discovered that a CAPE Business Agent was calling them to request and schedule interviews to investigate a member's pending disciplinary matter. The Department subsequently agreed that its instruction was illegal, in violation of the County's Employee Relations Ordinance, and agreed to educate its managers against taking such an action.
Although you have the right to decline to be so interviewed by a CAPE Representative, your Management cannot instruct or order for you to refuse to do so.
If you think about it, your right to be interviewed as part of an investigation CAPE is conducting is an important right. What if you were falsely accused of misconduct re-garding an incident in which Management was proposing to suspend or even discharge you and proving your innocence depended on what your coworkers who were present saw and heard during the incident? A management instruction or order to those coworkers could sufficiently intimidate them that they would not be willing to get involved.
Know your rights and if you observe management taking such an action contact CAPE as soon as possible.
CAPE is here protecting your rights and fair treatment!
If you have questions regarding this notice, please contact your CAPE representative at (626) 243-0340, or email [email protected].