Dept. of Transportation v. Wynnycky CA3

I. BACKGROUND

Wynnycky was hired as a probationary seasonal maintenance worker by the Department of Transportation (Caltrans). He was rejected after the probationary period due, in part, to inappropriate behavior towards other Caltrans employees. That behavior included making racially charged remarks, steering conversations towards disturbing subjects (such as chopping up bodies), and using menacing body language (such as acting as though he was concealing a gun in his jacket). The rejection was communicated to Wynnycky, and he was escorted from the Caltrans maintenance station. A post appeared on a peer-to-peer content sharing site soon thereafter. The post identified another Caltrans employee by name and described him as armed and violent, with a gang history. The post listed the employee’s home address and provided detailed instructions on where to find him at the maintenance station. Caltrans filed a petition for a workplace violence restraining order on May 18, 2021. (§ 527.8.) The petition was granted, and a temporary restraining order was entered until the required hearing, initially set for June 9, 2021. There followed a months-long effort to serve Wynnycky with the…