$2 million claim in overtime dispute latest trouble for Central Valley water district

Two former employees of a troubled west side water district are hoping to convince a Fresno County jury that their former employer cheated them out of nearly $2 million of unpaid overtime while managers engaged in alleged illegal activities and corruption.

Imani Percoats and Chris Bettencourt had a future at the Panoche Water District, an agency that straddles 38,000 acres in Fresno and Merced counties.

Hired in 2006 as canal men, they were responsible for making sure farmers, domestic users and industrial customers got their water deliveries.

The work was hard and the hours long.

But when it came time to getting paid for the numerous overtime hours they logged, the water district’s managers, who would later come under fire by state officials for mismanagement, didn’t always add the extra hours to their paychecks.

In 2018, the two men sued the Panoche Water District, whose headquarters is in Firebaugh, alleging breach of contract, retaliation and promissory estoppel, the legal term for enforcing a promise made by one party to another.

The civil trial began on May 1 in Judge Jeffrey Hamilton’s courtroom in Fresno and was expected to wrap up on Monday.

At stake for Percoats and Bettencourt is a payout of $960,295 and $1,285,479, respectively. That amount does not include potential damages a jury may award.

The water district’s legal team, headed by Christopher Panetta of Fenton & Keller of Monterey, has denied any wrongdoing.

Key issues for the jury is whether Percoats and Bettencourt were entitled to overtime and if they were retaliated against for speaking to state and federal officials about alleged corruption.

One witness during the trial described an environment within the district where special favors were doled out, oversight was lax and a disgruntled employee marched into the office with a shotgun to meet with then-General Manager Dennis Falaschi.

“After I saw him walk into the office with a shotgun I left, I was not going to be a victim of workplace violence,” said Rodney Percoats, a former employee and Imani’s brother.

Rodney Percoats, a football standout for Los Banos High School, began working for the district as a security guard and later handled accounts payable and human resources.

No one was injured in the incident, but Rodney Percoats testified that not only was the employee receiving his full salary and not reporting to work, but he also received overtime.

When asked how he knew the employee was getting paid and not working, Rodney Percoats said he used to deliver his check to him.

“And I would collect his time card at his house,” he testified.

In January 2017, the California State Controller released an audit of the district’s administrative and accounting systems from March 1, 2013, through Feb. 28, 2015.

The Controller found “glaring instances of mismanagement” in several areas including a “lack of adequate controls over employee fringe benefits, such as employee housing, use of district vehicles, and district-paid rent checks and utility payments,” according to the lawsuit.

The district was also faulted for a lack of policies over hiring, training, and promoting. And overtime pay was based on management’s estimate instead of actual hours, the lawsuit states.

Two district employees face criminal charges

A year later, the California Attorney General indicted Falaschi and Julie Cascia, the former office manager, for embezzlement and misusing nearly $100,000 in public funds.

The criminal cases against Falschi and Cascia are still active in Fresno County Superior Court.

Both Imani Percoats and Bettencourt acknowledged cooperating with state and federal law enforcement agencies, and they paid a price for it, the lawsuit states.

The district is accused of denying their requests for payment of unpaid overtime, they also purposely delayed repairs of district equipment, including vehicles and cell phones, they were assigned outdated equipment and they were demoted.

One former employee testified that Falaschi would go out of his way not to deal with Imani Percoats and Bettencourt.

“While other people would be making small talk in the office, the minute Chris and Imani walked into the room Dennis would find an exit the fastest way possible,” said Brandon Kelley.