Womack

I. INTRODUCTION

Appellant appeals from the trial court’s denial of his petition for a writ of mandate brought pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 1085. By that petition, he sought to compel respondents to reinstate him as a regular employee in the respondent San Francisco Community College District’s (hereafter District) English as a second language (ESL) department on the basis that the prior level of his work in that department had altered his status from that of a “temporary employee” to one of a “contract employee” who could not be terminated in the manner or timeframe he was in 2001. The trial court denied the motion on two grounds: (1) under the applicable statutes, appellant’s status had not, in fact, changed and he was thus still a temporary employee as of the date of his termination; and (2) laches. We agree with the trial court on both grounds and hence affirm.

II. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Christopher Womack was hired by the District as a temporary instructor of ESL in the fall of 1987; at that time the ESL subject was taught within the English department of the college; it became a separate and distinct department in 1990. He continued to be…