SF fires immigrant advocate-and activists are confused and angry - 48 hills

"San Francisco has more than 34,000 employees, and sometimes some of them get fired. In most cases, the workers are under union contracts, and termination requires some sort of cause, some sort of a warning system, and some sort of due process: Your boss can't just call you into their office one day and say you're no longer needed. But a small percentage or those workers are called "exempt," which means they can be fired at will."

"One of those workers is named Richard Whipple, and he played a huge role in supporting immigrants in the city as the deputy director of the Office of Civic Engagement and Immigrant Affairs. He was fired in mid-November -without cause, without comment, without any visible reason. Whipple told me he was called to his supervisor's office, told his services were no longer needed, and escorted out of the building."

San Francisco employs over 34,000 people, most covered by union contracts that require cause, warnings, and due process for termination. A small subset of employees are exempt and can be dismissed at will, typically political aides or senior staff without contracts. Richard Whipple, deputy director of the Office of Civic Engagement and Immigrant Affairs, was abruptly fired in mid-November without cause, comment, or visible reason; he was escorted out and lost email access. City administrators declined comment on personnel matters. Colleagues and community members have expressed concern about losing a key immigrant-rights advocate during a politically challenging period.

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