Lanigan

The City of Los Angeles (City) appeals a judgment granting a peremptory writ of mandate in favor of Robert Lanigan, a former Los Angeles police officer. The trial court reinstated Lanigan to his employment, finding a settlement of pending disciplinary charges by the City against Lanigan, pursuant to which he agreed to resign if similar misconduct charges were upheld in the future and gave up his right to pursue an administrative appeal, constituted an impermissible waiver of his rights under the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act (POBRA) 1 (Gov. Code, § 3300 et seq.). 2 We hold that a waiver of POBRA’s protections is permissible in the context of a settlement of a pending disciplinary action.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

1. Lanigan’s First Disciplinary Charges and Settlement

On April 28, 2006, Officer Lanigan was off duty and wrongly driving his personal vehicle in the carpool lane when a Los Angeles Unified School *1025 Police Department (LAUSPD) officer stopped him. Lanigan was investigated for and ultimately charged on April 19, 2007, with three misconduct allegations arising from his interaction with the LAUSPD officer, including…