10-1332 Cole v. MATC

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Employment
Public employment; due process

The termination of a public employee terminated after a drunk driving arrest did not violate due process.
“Plaintiff has not alleged a situation where the Board was using paragraph 10(b) to effectuate an ‘end run’ around paragraph 10(e) and avoid the paragraph 10(e) requirement to pay compensation for the remainder of the term of the agreement. Plaintiff plainly alleged that he was arrested and issued municipal ordinance citations for operating while intoxicated and operating with a prohibited alcohol concentration and was subsequently terminated. The Board, in its sole discretion, determined that Plaintiff’s ‘conduct’ was grounds for dismissal and terminated his employment. This was clearly allowed under the plain and unambiguous terms of the agreement Plaintiff agreed to and signed. The agreement, as written, simply does not create a ‘legitimate claim of entitlement’ to continued employment, despite Plaintiff’s lengthy and strident arguments to the contrary.”

Affirmed.

10-1332 Cole v. MATC

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Gorence, Mag. J., McCuskey, J.

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