People living in glass houses really should not throw rocks...
Deputy Labor Commissioner (DLC) II Vicki Tamoush makes it a habit of complaining: sometimes it's about someone turning up the volume of the state computer assigned to her, sometimes it's about someone leaving transfer bulletins on her desk, sometimes, it's about fellow DLC II James Jackson (allegedly) asking about the type of privately-owned vehicle she drives. In any event, she does a lot of complaining. I have not (even) started with the attorneys who have made formal complaints to Acting Labor Commissioner Robert Jones. To sum it up, a lot of state time is spent dealing with her complaints; state time that could (possibly) be better spent of serving the People of California.Now that Vicki Tamoush's name has been acknowledged by the DIR's Civil Rights Office, maybe they will take a serious look at her very own business practices. Maybe they will review the financial benefit to the Spanish translator that Hearing Officer Tamoush enjoyed using, maybe they will look at certain specific months when this translator is available to Hearing Officer Tamoush, and maybe they will review the possible discourteous and inefficient treatment the public has suffered as a result of Hearing Officer Tamoush's case hearing selection schedules...Mindy is a full-time teacher and a part-time Spanish translator. She translates for Vicki Tamoush when school is not in session: typically in July and November. It appears that Hearing Officer Tamoush really prefers to hire her friend Mindy to translate at $45.00 per hour. Imagine all of the wage claims in Santa Ana that need Spanish translating, and one can see how much earning potential Mindy can make when Hearing Officer Tamoush selects her for most, if not all of her translating...not that Mindy is available for all of Vicki's hearings. From what others have told me, Hearing Officer Tamoush intentionally selects the majority of her Spanish-translation cases mainly during those months where her friend Mindy can work them. This has been status quo with the DLSE since 2005, so that's 07/05, 11/05, 07/06, and 11/06.So what's the big deal, you ask? Cases should be heard in the order they are received. It's quite possible that Hearing Officer Tamoush abused her discretion, the trust placed in her, and the responsibility she had in the proper and efficient service to the People of California. For her to have channeled Spanish cases into those months is a two-fold crime: the Spanish people must wait for only those months, and the non-Spanish people cannot get their cases heard during those months when Mindy is available to translate for Hearing Officer Tamoush.The DIR and DLSE managers read this blog on a daily basis, and they have also known about Hearing officer Tamoush's coincidental hearing schedules. Deputy Chief Lupe Almaraz received an anonymous complaint about this same issue, and he has been trying to cover this up by having someone else do the Hearing Officer schedules: Lupe has played this very low-key, but he someone cannot get around the fact that there are all those checks with Mindy's name on them. That's a paper trail that just won't go away. It would be real interesting to see how many checks Mindy received by the state, for what amounts, and what were the dates of those checks.What more needs to be done before the DLSE actually investigates something that truly affects public service? The problem isn't Mindy; she does a great job. The problem is with the one that delayed justice to those that should have received it in their proper order...justice delayed is justice denied. Is it necessary that this blog entry be printed out and mailed to Telemundo. La Opinion, and/or Univision? Will the DLSE investigate and take action against a Hearing Officer that's been shown to offset Spanish cases just so that her translator friend can receive a financial benefit? What happened to the civil rights of those Spanish speakers that had to wait for a July or November wage claim hearing with Vicki Tamoush? If I had to predict the DLSE response, it would be circle-the-wagons and sweep it under the rug.FRAUD, WASTE, and ABUSE: just another day at DLSE.
posted by Author at
6:35 PM
6 Comments:
You have hit it on the head. Everyone in the Santa Ana office knows that Tamoush has been doing this for years. So why no investigation? Tamoush has even been questioned by her own secretary Ivette and Imelda as to why she is holding on to all the spanish speaking claims for months. Well, it's pretty obvious, she is making tons of money for her friend Mindy, a school teacher.In fact there is so much money to be made in one month at $45/hr. that it could easily be split in two and they would both make out bandits (no pun intended). This would be an easy investigation by the Civil Rights unit if they would stop investigation car vandalism in parking lots in the city of Santa Ana. Tamoush's hearing calendars are available as well as the checks paid out to Mindy during these months. If the CRU is looking for a discrimination case, this is an easy one. These two white women have been screwing the mexicans for the past two years and have gotten away with it. I can see why Mr. Jackson is pissed off when suddenly he is being investigated for asking what kind of car Tamoush drives when the devil herself has filed the complaint. Hello headquarters are you listening or should I say are you reading. Wake up and do something good for once. Everyone in the state is watching this saga play out. Maybe you can finally win on for the cause.
Finally, the truth comes out. I have been an interpreter in the Santa Ana office for a while and I have personally seen how mean Tamoush treats the Plaintiff's as well as the Defendants. She has a special disdain for hispanics. She really treats them like S--t.She has embarrassed me on so many occasions that I refuse to accept any more appointments with her. I have come to believe that if she cannot have Mindy, you're going to catch hell. It also appears that she has some sort of power play going with the attorney's. I really feel sorry for them. In summary, she treats people very rudely and she definitely discriminates against the poor hispanics.
I am an employee from the LA office and I am more than familiar with Vicki Tamoush. She filed a harrasment charge against a fellow deputy, Hernandez and drove him crazy until he transferred. She is nothing but trouble. She never stopped complaining about her live-in boyfriend who ended up taking her house away from her. At least he got something for his pain and suffering. Oh well, good luck to Bill Fontana in the Van Nuys office, it is just a matter of time before he will be answering complaint letters about Tamoush rather than getting his work done.
I work in the Santa Ana office and everyone in the office is fed up with Tamoush's lying and complaining. She even has the Senior Deputy convinced that she doesn't take a lunch break everyday therefore she should only work (7) hours a day. Everyone but George sees her bringing her lunch to work everyday and then locking herself in her room. Honestly, Does she really look like she's ever missed a lunch? Tamoush is now crying that she is a hearing officer and she makes too much money to be doing work permits.Poor baby, maybe the deputies make too little money to be doing work permits. Let's face it, maybe it's time for poor starving Tamoush to move along to another office. Nobody likes or trusts her in the Santa Ana office, her new live-in boyfriend has got a job and no longer needs her free room and board so now is the time for Tamoush to move and take the Hearing Officer job in the Van Nuys office. Sorry Bill, but someone has to take her off our hands. Just don't make her do work permits or you'll be investigated for harassment.
Now that you have so many employees from the Santa Ana office posting so many complaints about Tamoush on this blog, OD Legal will be involved to investigate very soon. They read this blog on a daily basis. Santa Ana employees, get together and file a written complaint against Tamoush.
Is Vicki Tamoush related to Phil Tamoush, the labor arbitrator who used to work as an As Needed Hearing Officer for the Los Angeles Department of Transportation's bureau of Parking Ticket Adjudication?
If so, people choosing Phil Tamoush for an arbitration might wonder if he passed on his habits to Vicki. Tamoush cannot be a really common name, can it?
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