Opinion ID: 202423
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Nilda Pérez-Montalvo

Text: 19
20 Pérez obtained a bachelor's degree in economics and a master's degree in business administration, specializing in human resources. She worked in government for about nine years before leaving to raise her children. At the time she left, she served as an economist at the Statistics Bureau in the Department of Labor. After her children matured, she decided to return to work. 21 She returned to work first in the private sector at a temporary employment services company, Top Notch. Top Notch told her to apply for a vacant secretarial position in the CDA administrator's office, which she obtained. While working in the administrator's office, Pérez applied for and obtained a career position in the CDA's human resources office. 5 22 Pérez stated that her first task in her position in the human resources department was to update the time cards of all CDA employees, which had fallen behind since her predecessor's departure in December 1999. She was supposed to check the time cards, the weekly time cards, that all the employees had to punch and check to see if they had worked every day, if they had not worked every day. See if they had taken leave . . . . In other words, I was supposed to record their attendance on a weekly basis. Pérez testified that she performed this work, at least initially, on an adding machine, which her predecessor had done, despite her knowledge of computer programs and usage. Subsequently, she began to use a computer to do her work. She stated that the attendance records were current up to December 2000 at the time of her termination. 23 As a probationary employee, Pérez was subject to periodic evaluations of her performance during the probationary period, which spanned from July 15, 2000 to January 15, 2001. She was evaluated three times prior to Santiago's appointment as head of the CDA for the following time periods: (1) July 15, 2000 to September 15, 2000; September 18, 2000 to November 15, 2000; and (3) November 16, 2000 to December 31, 2000. These prior evaluations, all of which were positive, were signed by Margarita Martinez, who was the director of the human resources department for this period (and replaced by Jiménez when the administration changed). However, Pérez understood that Hernández, not Martinez, was her immediate supervisor, although Pérez was never officially told this. 24
25 Pérez stated that her final evaluation for her position in the human resources department covered the period from January 1, 2001 to January 15, 2001, the final day of her probationary period. She was evaluated by Hernández, her superior in the human resources office. However, Pérez also stated that, during those fifteen days, she and Hernández were actually in the office at the same time for only six and a half days because of weekends and holidays. On this final written evaluation, Hernández had written that Pérez was not receptive to instructions, unreliable, and rarely willing to collaborate. 26 No one reviewed Pérez's final evaluation with her. Also, Pérez never received any verbal admonishment or reprimand for the various mistakes reported on the final evaluation. The written evaluation was handed to her on her final day at the CDA, which was January 12, 2001. 6 27 On cross-examination, defense counsel questioned Pérez's testimony that she had never been verbally reprimanded for errors she committed in her work. Defense counsel also asked about the details of those instances of error. Pérez claimed that she had no recollection of having committed any errors. Defense counsel also questioned Pérez regarding the necessity of using a computer to complete the tasks assigned to her. Pérez contended that a computer was necessary to perform her tasks efficiently. 28
29 Pérez testified that she was affiliated with the NPP and had been since she was a teenager. During election years, she had attended party meetings. Although Pérez testified that she knew Hernández's political affiliation, she never explicitly identified that affiliation for the court. As to Santiago, Pérez knew that he was the new appointee for Administrator of the CDA for the incoming PDP administration. 30 Regarding Defendants' knowledge of her political affiliation, Pérez stated that her affiliation with the NPP was widely known at the CDA. Politics was openly discussed at the office, particularly during the 2000 election year, and she was very open about [her] affiliation .... When [she] obtained the position in the human resources office [she] spoke with [her] fellow co-workers there about [her] political affiliation. Just before the 2000 elections, she stated that she had left to attend an NPP meeting during her lunch hour and all of her co-workers saw her leave. While Pérez never directly discussed politics with Hernández, she believed that Hernández knew her political affiliation because there were only six people in her office at the CDA. In her prior position in the CDA administrator's office, all of the employees were affiliated with the NPP, and she didn't hide [her affiliation] because [she] didn't have reason to.