Opinion ID: 2971784
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Factual History Relating to Brooks

Text: Brooks was hired at SEIU in 1998 as an organizer in training and promoted to organizer in 1999. She worked out of the Detroit office of the central region. On October 23, 2001, Brooks received a permanent transfer to the Chicago office effective November 2, 2001. Brooks grieved the transfer. As a result, she received a one-month extension of time to transfer. On November 25, 2001, Brooks asked Schneider for permission to carry 30 days of 2001 vacation leave over into 2002 so that Brooks could take off work from January 2 through February 4, 2002. After learning that Brooks had just taken two weeks off, Schneider discussed the request with Brooks. Brooks said the two weeks had not been for vacation but to look for a place in Chicago. Brooks told Schneider that she had found a place ready to move into during the first week of December. On December 5, 2001, Judith McCullough, SEIU’s Operations Manager, sent a letter to Brooks stating the following: No. 03-1916 7 I am writing to confirm that you have accepted a permanent transfer to Chicago. You told SEIU that you had found permanent housing effective December 4, 2001. SEIU will make your permanent transfer to Chicago effective on that date. In fact, however, Brooks had not obtained permanent housing in Chicago. Instead, Brooks lived with a cousin in Chicago, at times sleeping on the floor. She states that she did not want to give up her house in Detroit until the arbitrator made a decision on her transfer grievance. Brooks did not correct SEIU’s understanding of her agreement to the transfer or her permanent housing situation. Brooks took two extended, paid, sick leaves and did not work in the month of December 2001. She also used the carried-over vacation days and did not work in the month of January 2002. Brooks’s Michigan physician provided a note stating that Brooks could return to work on “2/4/02 with no restrictions,” but Brooks did not report for work on February 4. On February 5, Brooks worked but said she would be out two days because she was sick. The local union organizing leader reported to Schneider that Brooks said she was commuting from Michigan and would not be able to routinely work on weekends. Brooks then provided a doctor’s note dated February 8 saying that Brooks could work only 40 hours a week (seven to eight hours a day) with two days off a week. Brooks states that she took the last two weeks of March off as earned compensation time, which was approved by Schneider. Schneider scheduled a meeting with Brooks and a union representative on April 1, 2002, and asked Brooks to bring documentation of her move to Chicago. At the meeting, No. 03-1916 8 Brooks told Schneider that she would not give up her house in Detroit until the arbitration of the grievance was completed. On April 5, 2002, Debbie Schneider notified Brooks that she was being discharged. The termination letter stated that Brooks was discharged because (1) Brooks fraudulently misled SEIU into believing she had relocated her personal residence to Chicago in order to collect paid leave she otherwise would not have received, (2) Brooks had refused to do work an organizer is routinely expected to do, (3) Brooks failed to work effectively with the last major organizing local in the central region that was willing to work with her.