Opinion ID: 1288529
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Douglas's Claims

Text: Douglas contends that he was included within the AAWC civil service plan, and that he was therefore entitled to protection from termination by section 9.2 of the Manual. The reorganization plan called for the termination of the Chief of PEM position and the creation of a corresponding Senior Engineer position. The job duties of the Senior Engineer were to be either identical to or scaled down from those of the Chief of PEM, with the only new requirement being that the Senior Engineer must be a registered engineer, which Douglas was. Douglas asserts that, under section 9.2 of the Manual, he was entitled to a transfer to the Senior Engineer position in lieu of termination. Section 2.4(O) of the Manual provides, The Associate Director, department heads and Executive Secretaries are hired by and serve at the pleasure of the Executive Director. As the Chief of PEM, Douglas was a department head and served at the will of the Executive Director. As such, by the terms of the civil service plan as set forth in the Manual, Douglas was not entitled to the job protections afforded to regular civil service employees under the Manual, such as job reassignments. Instead, Douglas served at the pleasure of White and he may not now complain of his termination by White. Since Manual section 2.4(O) excluded Douglas from the civil service system, Douglas had no right to be transferred to the Senior Engineer position when his previous position was eliminated. The dissent of JUSTICE SPRINGER reaches a contrary conclusion. The dissent focuses on an issue not properly before this court on appeal, i.e., a potential claim against the AAWC for retaliatory termination. The grievance panel, however, refused to consider any issues relating to retaliatory dismissal, as did the Board in reversing the panel's decisions. Indeed, it may have been improper for the grievance panel to attempt the resolution of any controversy other than one involving the interpretation of provisions of the civil service system. Issues of retaliatory dismissal were also not addressed by the district court because they were not pled. The sole issue before the grievance panel, the Board, and the district court was whether the AAWC violated the AAWC's Manual in terminating Douglas without offering to transfer him to another position within the AAWC. Whether Douglas's termination was wrongful for any other reason is beyond the scope of our review because the issue was not specifically pleaded in the complaint filed in state district court or litigated by the parties. Cf. Idaho Resources v. Freeport-McMoran Gold, 110 Nev. 459, 874 P.2d 742 (1994). Even Douglas's counsel on appeal acknowledges that issues of retaliatory dismissal are not before this court on this appeal. The issue of retaliatory firing was specifically contained in the federal district court complaint, and the record supports the state district court's determination that the retaliatory firing issue was not properly before it. It is clear from the record that Douglas and Susan elected to litigate the retaliatory firing issue in the federal court system. Douglas's counsel on appeal also does not assert that Douglas was not a department head, and in fact, his counsel implicitly acknowledges that Douglas was a department head. Douglas has therefore not demonstrated to this court that there is any disputed issue of fact as to whether he was a department head, and the dissent's reliance on Douglas's status as a department head as a disputed issue of fact is misplaced.