Former water district employees awarded OT pay by Fresno County jury. They wanted more

A Fresno County jury has awarded two former employees of the Panoche Water District thousands of dollars in overtime pay, but their attorney said it falls substantially short of what they were seeking.

The jury returned its verdict last week after a 14-day trial in civil court. The two former employees, Imani Percoats and Chris Bettencourt, sued the water district for breach of contract and for retaliation.

They won on the overtime issue but lost on the retaliation claim.

Chase Hurley, interim water district manager, said that he was disappointed the jury found merit to their claim for overtime.

“But we respect the rule of law and are considering our options,” Hurley said.

In their lawsuit, Percoats and Bettencourt alleged managers punished them for cooperating with state and federal officials investigating allegations of corruption within the agency.

The Panoche Water District spans 38,000 acres in Fresno and Merced counties, and provides water to farmers, domestic users and industrial customers.

The jury agreed that the two former employees did not get overtime pay that they were entitled to receive. The two men were hired in 2006 as “canal men” and were responsible for making sure the district’s customers got their water deliveries.

Percoats was awarded $62,234 and Bettencourt received $99,524, according to court documents.

Their attorney, Arnold Peter, of the Peter Law Group in Southern California, said those amounts were far short of what his clients should receive.

In the lawsuit, Peter used an expert’s calculation to arrive at a payout of $960,295 for Percoats and $1,285,479 for Bettencourt. That figure also includes interest.

Peter said that while he was pleased the jury found liability for failing to pay overtime, “the jury came up with a damages number that neither side asked for and is no way supported by the evidence.”

Peter plans to file a motion to amend the verdict to the larger number or seek a new trial on the damages. He is also looking into asking for a new trial on the retaliation claim.

Panoche Water district audit, indictments

The Firebaugh-based water water district has struggled through several challenges the past several years.

In 2017, the California State Controller audited 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 former employee’s 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.

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

The criminal cases against Falaschi and Cascia, who have denied the allegations, are still active in Fresno County Superior Court.