Thompson

I. Background

The material facts underlying this case are not in dispute. Thompson was a deputy sheriff with the Department. In April 2013, a federal grand jury indicted Thompson for conspiring to defraud and defrauding the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Two months later, the Department suspended Thompson without pay based on the criminal charges. The Department’s notice of suspension cited Los Angeles County Civil Service Rule 18.01, which authorizes a suspension and provides that where the basis of a suspension is a “criminal complaint or indictment filed against [an] employee, the period of suspension may exceed 30 calendar days and continue until, but not after, the expiration of 30 calendar days after the judgment of conviction or the acquittal of the offense charged in the complaint or indictment has become final.” (L.A. County Civil Service Rules, rule 18.01.)1 Thompson appealed her suspension to the Commission. The Commission held that appeal in abeyance. Then, in March 2015, the Department discharged Thompson. According to the discharge notice, in February 2014, Thompson pled guilty to four misdemeanor counts of defrauding HUD and was placed on…