Vindi-Kay-tion
Woonsocket’s former animal control officer wins year-long legal battle with city over firing
WOONSOCKET – Doris Kay, the longtime animal control officer who was fired nearly a year ago amid allegations of misappropriating donated pet food, must be reinstated with full pay and other benefits, an arbitration panel has ruled.
Kay exercised her right to an appellate-like arbitration hearing after she was fired on Jan. 23, 2015.
“I knew I never did anything wrong and I was confident it would come out in arbitration,” said Kay.
City Solicitor Michael Marcello acknowledged the decision several days ago but he has, so far, declined to release a copy, saying settlement talks with Kay are ongoing.
One issue is whether it’s feasible for the city to reinstate Kay as the animal control officer, a position she held for 18 years. After firing her, the city hired a permanent replacement.
Kay and the deputy animal control officer at the time, Glen Thuot, were both fired in the pet-food brouhaha after a police investigation that officials said began with a tip. No criminal charges were ever lodged against either of them, but their termination caused significant disruption in the operations of the animal control division, an arm of the Woonsocket Police Department.
Without anyone to staff the facility, the Cumberland Hill Road dog pound was emptied of all sheltered pets and shut down under the supervision of the Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Eleven dogs were sent to three other shelters around the state and two were euthanized after they were deemed unadoptable, either because of longstanding health or behavioral issues.
The shelter remained closed for
weeks, but operations slowly returned to normal by midyear. The city has since hired Tiffany Coles as the new animal control officer, and Coelina Zabatta as the assistant animal control officer.
Like Kay, Thuot filed for arbitration after being fired. However, he withdrew the personnel grievance in a negotiated settlement with the city under which he was rehired as a maintenance worker at City Hall last October.
In an interview with The Call on Tuesday, Kay acknowledged that she gave away pet food that had been donated to the shelter from various sources. But she said the practice of “redonating” pet food was commonplace within the animal control facility for as long as she had worked there.
She said it was not unusual for the shelter to take in more food than it could use prior to its “sell by” date. In such cases, she said, food would be routinely redistributed to other pet owners.
Kay was delighted that the arbitration panel used the same verbiage in the written decision that a federal judge used to exonerate Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady in the much-publicized Deflategate scandal.
“You have to know you’re doing wrong to justify the offense,” says Kay. “We had been donating food at the shelter since I started. You just can’t keep it forever. When you have an overabundance you always gave it out.”
At the time of the disciplinary actions, city officials said Thuot and Kay were responsible for misappropriating 20 bags of cat food and two bags of dog food over a period of six months.
Because the city had threatened her with criminal charges, Kay said a private lawyer, Peter Hopkins, accompanied her throughout the arbitration proceedings. She said a lawyer employed by Council 94, American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO Local 630 acted as her lead counsel. The union represents about 120 secretaries, laborers, dispatchers and other city employees.
Kay’s salary was $37,411 a year when she was terminated – one year ago Saturday. She said the arbitration order requires her to be reinstated with full pay, longevity and other benefits.
She said she realizes that it may not be feasible for her to resume her duties as ACO because the position has been filled with a permanent employee who also has certain personnel rights. But Kay said she might consider taking another job with the city.
It’s also possible she may never return to work. The lifelong Woonsocket resident is 61 years old and says she may reach a settlement that allows her to retire before she’s eligible for Social Security.
Kay said she’s scheduled to meet with city officials today to discuss some options.