Lawyer for Maintenance Worker Suing City Says Man Could Have Returned to Work

An attorney representing a former maintenance worker suing the city for disability discrimination said Monday that his client was capable of returning to work but was never allowed to.

James Lopez, 66, filed a disability discrimination lawsuit against Monrovia on Feb. 4 and claimed the city failed to accomodate a medical condition he developed while employed with the Public Works Department from 1996 to 2010.

But in a letter to Lopez sent by City Manager Scott Ochoa last year, Ochoa said that Lopez was caught on video tape performing handyman work while claiming he was too injured to perform his regular city duties.

Lopez's attorney, Jeffrey Natke, said Monday that his client was healthy enough to go back to work before the city put him under surveillance but he was kept from returning to his job.

"The basis of our lawsuit was that he was ready to go back to work," Natke said in a telephone interview. "We feel that he was capable of returning to work in the job he was performing."

Natke declined to elaborate about what duties Lopez was able to perform.

The lawsuit says that Lopez requested "light duty" assignments after undergoing surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome. He was kept from returning to work from May 2008 to January 2010, the civil complaint states.

"During this period, (the city) refused to reinstate (Lopez) to a light duty assignment or to modify the job duties to conform to his work restrictions, even on a temporary basis...," the lawsuit states.

Natke called Lopez a "sincere, genuine" public servant with a legitimate grievance.

"He's not out to steal money from the taxpayers or anything," Natke said.

In a letter denying an appeal of the city's decision to terminate Lopez, Ochoa said Lopez complained to a doctor in 2009 that his disability rendered him unable to complete basic tasks.

"During the [Qualified Medical Examiner] examination, you indicated that your ability to perform even the most basic functions, such as dressing and taking care of yourself, had deteriorated to the point that such functions could not be undertaken without pain, accommodation and/or assistance," Ochoa wrote.

But video footage shot by a private investigator hired by the city showed Lopez working as a handyman, according to Ochoa.

"These videotapes showed you lifting with your hands, working with tools, operating a vehicle and doing other manual activities without the trouble your reported...," Ochoa's letter states.

Lopez was terminated from his employment with the city on Feb. 1, 2010, for "dishonesty and violating the city's outside employment policy," according to court documents related to the lawsuit. He filed a disability discrimination claim with the city seeking $225,000 in compensation that was rejected by the City Council last September, city records show.