Blog purpose

This BLOG is for LLNL present and past employees, friends of LLNL and anyone impacted by the privatization of the Lab to express their opinions and expose the waste, wrongdoing and any kind of injustice against employees and taxpayers by LLNS/DOE/NNSA. The opinions stated are personal opinions. Therefore, The BLOG author may or may not agree with them before making the decision to post them. Comments not conforming to BLOG rules are deleted. Blog author serves as a moderator. For new topics or suggestions, email jlscoob5@gmail.com

Blog rules

  • Stay on topic.
  • No profanity, threatening language, pornography.
  • NO NAME CALLING.
  • No political debate.
  • Posts and comments are posted several times a day.

Friday, December 6, 2013

Facts Surrounding Lawrence Livermore Lab Layoffs

By J. Gary Gwilliam “The odds of this many older employees, over 40, being laid off were 1 in 1,091,000.” – Randall Strauss attorney Gwilliam, Ivary, Chiosso, Cavalli, & Brewer In order to understand the injustice of the Lawrence Livermore National Security (LLNS) layoffs of 430 employees in 2008, it is essential to weigh some of the initial facts surrounding this case. Phase II of our trial Andrews v. Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC (LLNS) and Lawrence Livermore Lab, the second trial for the five plaintiffs, focuses on disproportionate age discrimination claims. Facts Surrounding Lawrence Livermore Lab Layoffs The following facts begin to paint a picture how LLNS disproportionately laid off workers 40+ in an age discriminatory manner. Layoff History: prior to the LLNS layoffs in 2008, Lawrence Livermore Lab had not had a layoff in over 30 years How Many Laid Off: LLNS laid off 430 employees Lawrence Livermore National Security: LLNS a private company, that includes investors University of California and Bechtel, is tasked with managing Lawrence Livermore Lab. LLNS is not the government Department of Energy: DOE did not order the layoff of workers at Lawrence Livermore Lab (LLNL) 3161 Planning: this is a plan required by law to be developed whenever there is a possibility of a layoff. The DOE informed all the national security labs in the U.S. to begin preparing 3161 plans. October 2007 the DOE informed LLNS to prepare their plan Goal of 3161: the goal of the 3161 plan was to do everything possible to avoid a layoff Layoff Decisions: the DOE allowed LLNS to decide how many employees would be laid off if anyone at all Plaintiff’s Job Performance: the plaintiff’s job performance was not an issue in this case Performance Ratings: all plaintiffs were rated good to excellent in their job performance reviews by management before the layoffs. Workers made life long contributions, stayed current in their job skills, and accrued seniority which was considered an asset at the lab Job Functions: all job functions performed by laid off plaintiffs continued after they were let go The plaintiffs’ work was above standards and relevant to the Lab’s success. They were not slackers, they maintained their skills through continuous training, and these plaintiffs cared about the quality of their work and were proud of their contributions to the success of Lawrence Livermore Lab. Gwilliam, Ivary, Chiosso, Cavalli, & Brewer If you are interested in information regarding this case or if you have questions about legal issues with your employment, please contact attorney J. Gary Gwilliam or attorney Randall E. Strauss of the law firm of Gwilliam, Ivary, Chiosso, Cavalli & Brewer 510-832-5411 ext. 233 or GGwilliam@giccb.com

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Let's hope each one gets $5M each after taxes and all those funds come out of the operating cost of LLNL budget for life.

Anonymous said...

Lab management has always tended to rate people good to excellent. Good was code for "Barely shows up and doesn't have any applicable skills" and Excellent could mean anything from marginal to walks on water.

The root cause of these lawsuits is the labs long term and continuing inability to do effective performance management. This is a disservice to the country, our sponsors and the employees as well.

There have been some signs of improvement recently but with Parney gone it's hard to be confident that things will continue to improve.

Anonymous said...

BOO-HOO nobody likes me. I am going to sue because I am worthless. I waisted 30 years of my life living off the government like the obama phone lady. Now I will get 100's of zillions of dollars from my law suit. Real fine place to work people. You all must be rally proud. Fine place to work!

POS

Anonymous said...

Dude really? "Waisted?" "Rally proud?"

Anonymous said...

That's our POS, whom Scooby tolerates. Gotta love'im.

Anonymous said...

Maybe a family member. Who knows.

Anonymous said...

How about this wild idea: POS is an NSA contractor trying to bait extremists online using Obama-hate and union-hate messaging. After all this is a blog about and for a US weapons lab. Yes it would sound like a moronic idea, almost as stupid as the NSA rooting out terrorists by playing online video games. Poster metadata is easily obtainable by the government. A little bit of identity management... Maybe Scooby's personal google accounts compromised unbeknownst to him... Hey I freely admit this is all bordering on fantasy and delusion. Though some things in the news are even further "out there"

Anonymous said...

POS you out there? Say something. More Obama-hate please. Hey you sound like a troll and master baiter I see on Eve Online, a game clearly superior to all others.

Anonymous said...

Nah we all know that NSA employees and contractors like to frequent Second Life. None of this Eve online stuff. The cybering experience is so much better on second life. You can't really do good cyber on eve anyways. They should root out baddies in Dota. Then i'll be the first in line at their doors with may resume and gaming mouse.

Anonymous said...

I'm sure the NSA provides the gaming mouse.

Anonymous said...

Well, they better provide Gunnars (www.gunnars.com) gaming eyewear as well. Can't do proper pwnage and tea bagging of yo face if I don't got ma Gunnars on and my logitech g600 in my right hand.

Anonymous said...

"They were not slackers"
This is a complete lie as I worked with some of the people who got let go. I can assure you they were slackers in every sense of the word.

Anonymous said...

You should have testified on behalf of LLNS then. Maybe you should offer to testify on behalf of them for the some of the remaining plaintiffs who you also know to be slackers in every sense of the word.

Anonymous said...

Poor performance = needs a bit of training.
Mediocre performance = tolerated/encouraged. Excellent candidate for he golden boy/girl network.
Good performance = suspicious/possible agitator - makes the rest look bad - put them on a watch list.
Walks on water = bad gov contractor fire him immediately - really makes the rest look bad. If not easily fireable, marginalized them and get help of HR to create a hostile work environment for them.
Any performance + (Age > 40) + (not a golden boy/girl) = poor performer - fire them all
Mediocre performance + any age + golden boy/girl = superstar - promotions and LDRD galore - these are the "new" "walks on water!!!!" Kinda like the "new math". After all, they are golden boys/girls.
Golden Boy/Girl -> rewards -> promotions -> justifies them being a Golden Boy/Girl.

Anonymous said...

I bet POS is on World of Warcraft right now working on establishing relationships with "players of interest" though this particular day, we're not talking about potential terrorists and extremists. Today, we're referring to that special someone who caught his attention and captured his heart on that fateful day when he was raiding Ogrimmar. After all, it was a forbidden love. Not only was he 89 levels above her, but he was alliance and she was horde. No human could ever have thought a green skinned orc could look so unrepulsive. And he hated orcs above all else. Those memories of being camped by a pack of max-level orcs while he was desperately trying to level in outlands - those memories permanently etched in his mind. Never Forget... He always told himself.... And never forgive... So there he was wreaking havoc. But time seemed to stand still as his eyes met those of Shaquonda (the aforementioned green skinned Orc.) "Where have you been all my life?" he kept saying though the only response he could get was "kek kek kek". Oh how cruel was the communication rules! He kept muttering to himself! In the very least they could gesture and wave to each other. Such a feeble and rudimentary way to communicate, seemed to make the moment that much more special. And this moment would haunt POS from this point onward for the Orc had to log off, and POS had no way to contact her. He couldn't even see her profile online because she was below level 10. And he would never see her again because she was just a bank character for a 14 year old pimply high school boy. But he would never learn about that truth. And he would always have that special place in his heart for that one fleeting moment, when true love slipped from his grasp.

As you all can see, government spying on online gaming is much more than just rooting out terrorism. It's about life's journey, and the search for true love. Shaquonda level 1 Orc, if you are out there reading this message, POS would like to get in touch with you. he woukd like to see you again. And he is possibly probably interested in a round or two of cyber if you're game. Who ever knew green skinned orcs could look so un-repulsive.

Anonymous said...

Wow, 8:21 AM. You've obviously been around long enough to fully digest "the system". Bravo!

Anonymous said...

LLNL reminds me of Dante's 9 circles of hell. You can associate names with each circle.

Anonymous said...

Speaking of Dante's 9 Circles of Hell, this Discover blog has a model for the 9 Circles of Scientific Hell that is highly applicable to LLNL.

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/neuroskeptic/2010/11/24/the-9-circles-of-scientific-hell/#.Uqj0EfRDtGQ

Dante's 9 Circles Are:
Limbo
Lust
Gluttony
Greed
Wrath
Heresy
Violence
Fraud
Treachery

The 9 Circles of Scientific Hell are:
Limbo
Overselling
Post-Hoc Storytelling
P-Value Fishing
Creative Outliers
Plagiarism
Non-Publication
Partial Publication
Falsification

I will have to admit that I'm not sure which one of the two hell models is the most appropriate. I suspect both are equally applicable.

Posts you viewed tbe most last 30 days