Zamudio
Zamudio v. State of California
Opinion
Opinion
Reardon, J.
Does the Tort Claims Act (Gov. Code, § 810 et seq.) obligate a public entity to defend an employee sued on account of an act or omission in the employee’s capacity as a union representative? We conclude it does not when the alleged misconduct relates solely to the individual’s union duties and does not implicate his or her employment. In such cases the offending act or omission is not in the scope of the defendant’s employment as an employee of the public entity. With this determination we affirm the summary judgment in favor of the government respondents.
I. Background
Appellant Jerry Zamudio served as a youth counselor with CYA at the Fred C. Nelles School for male juvenile offenders since 1979. As well, since 1984 he was president of the Nelles chapter of appellant California Correctional Peace Officers’ Association (CCPOA).
In early 1993, CYA notified CCPOA that it intended to start a “Leadership, Esteem, Accountability and Discipline” (LEAD) program at Nelles. The LEAD program, with its boot camp style of approach, was to be a high-profile operation. Because implementation of the program would affect terms and conditions of employment for the CCPOA counselors in…