Opinion ID: 809864
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Acevedo's Replacement

Text: In February 2007, 34-year-old Mariely Rivera (Rivera) was hired to replace Acevedo as Maintenance and Engineering Manager. Just as Acevedo had before her, Rivera reported directly 3 Although he was HR Manager at the time, José Pabellón (Pabellón) could not explain why Acevedo did not receive prior notice of his termination through a letter of dismissal. He also did not remember whether Acevedo was placed on a progressive discipline program prior to his termination. Pabellón testified that he and Ceinos did not discuss Acevedo's dismissal, nor did Pabellón recommend it. -11- to Ceinos. Ceinos testified that Rivera's interview took place before December of 2006, prior to Acevedo's dismissal. In October of 2007, an internal audit of Rivera's department was conducted, which revealed persistent violations of Ex-Lax's SOPs. These violations included the department's failure to: follow proper documentation practices, conduct certain procedures relating to the purified water system, complete cleaning and sanitation in certain areas with the required frequency, and complete certain pest control procedures on the required monthly basis. Many of the same deficiencies would also be recorded in a subsequent internal audit report dated May 2008. In addition, Ex-Lax's records reveal a July 2007 unplanned deviation report indicating that an increase in mold and yeast counts had been detected in the packaging area. One of the root causes identified for this deviation was improper area cleaning and sanitation. Notwithstanding these incidents, Rivera received an appraisal of fully met . . . expectations in her 2007 annual performance evaluation, signed by Ceinos. The evaluation did not reference any of the aforementioned infractions relating to facilities management. In 2008, a string of incidents occurred in which animals, including numerous insects, a lizard, and rats, entered the plant. These were documented by investigation teams in at least four separate unplanned deviation reports. The reports concluded that -12- the entrance of the animals was caused by a major construction project that was being conducted in the manufacturing area. Ceinos admitted that he had knowledge of these incidents at the time. Nonetheless, Rivera's testimony reflects that Ceinos did not comment on the incidents in her performance evaluations that year, and that no employee was held responsible for the same. Ceinos awarded Rivera an overall manager appraisal equivalent to fully met expectations in her 2008 annual performance review.