Fired Administrator Files Lawsuit Against LeRoy Boys’ Home

Dan Hanlon spent his teen years at LeRoy Boys’ Home in La Verne and has worked and lived at the residential care facility almost all his adult life.

This week, Hanlon, 48, filed a wrongful termination suit against the home after its board of directors fired him in September for refusing to accept a reorganization plan that effectively demoted him from his position as executive director.

“This is probably the most difficult step I’ve ever taken,” an emotional Hanlon said Tuesday as his attorney filed the lawsuit in Pomona Superior Court. “I didn’t want this kind of thing to happen.”

$12 Million in Damages Sought

In the suit, Hanlon accuses LeRoy Boys’ Home and five of its board members of breach of contract, bad faith, intentional infliction of emotional distress, fraud and misrepresentation, and defamation of character. The suit seeks $10 million in punitive damages and unspecificed compensatory damages, which Hanlon’s attorney, Alvin L. Pittman, estimated at more than $2 million.

However, Hanlon would accept a much lower settlement as part of an agreement that would include his reinstatement at the home as chief executive officer, Pittman said.

The home’s attorney, San Dimas City Councilman Curt Morris, said Tuesday he had not seen the suit, but added that the filing “did not come as any big surprise.” Morris rejected the assertion that Hanlon’s termination was wrongful and said he doubted the suit would lead the board of directors to reinstate him.

“I think (the board members) have made it very clear that they would not look with favor on reinstating him or employing him in any position with LeRoy Boys’ Home,” Morris said.

Hanlon came to the home in 1952 as an abandoned 12-year-old and stayed until he graduated from Bonita High School in La Verne. A year later, he returned as an employee, and over the next three decades worked his way up through a succession of jobs, culminating with his becoming executive director in 1982.

As executive director, Hanlon oversaw all operations, including financial administration at the home, which is largely supported with money generated by two thrift stores and reimbursements from state and county welfare agencies.

The events leading to his dismissal began with a reorganization plan enacted by the board of directors last year that called for the hiring of a full-time chief executive officer and financial administrator. Hanlon lacked the educational requirements for the job as chief executive officer and his duties were limited to supervising child-care services, Morris said.

According to Morris, Hanlon vehemently objected to the board’s action and became increasingly uncooperative, creating a “hostile environment” at the home. Pittman acknowledged that Hanlon opposed the reorganization, but said the home’s employment policies allowed employees to air grievances with superiors.

‘Timing is Outrageous’

“Certainly, the invitation to voice a grievance is an invitation to do so with impunity,” Pittman said, adding that Hanlon was fired the day after he provided the board with a list of grievances. “The timing is outrageous, being suggestive of retaliation.”

Morris denied that the firing was retaliatory, stressing that Hanlon’s complaints to the board did not stem from a disagreement over the home’s operation. “His grievance with them was that he was not promoted to the position of chief executive officer,” he said.

The suit also alleges that the home violated its own policies requiring supervisors to provide employees with periodic written evaluations. Although Hanlon regularly filled out written evaluations for staff members, Pittman said, he never received one from the board to justify his demotion or his subsequent firing.

Although Morris said he did not know of any written evaluation of Hanlon, he said board members regularly commented to him about his job performance and met with him several months before his firing to discuss problems with his attitude. Before his dismissal, Hanlon told the board he had consulted an attorney.

“I don’t think Dan’s termination came as any surprise to him,” Morris said.

3 Positions Created

Pittman said Hanlon’s successful performance of his duties was evident in the fact that the board had to create three positions to handle his responsibilities. He claimed board members treated Hanlon as one of the boys at the home and neither paid nor appreciated him adequately.

“The board never embraced Dan Hanlon as a man of stature comparable to them,” Pittman said. “He did not belong to their clubs. Dan was not a white-collar, three-piece-suit kind of person. He is a nuts-and-bolts, hands-on kind of person.”

Morris replied that “Dan Hanlon did not do all of the jobs that are being done now.” He said the board’s personnel decisions were not capricious, but were intended to comply with state recommendations to hire better-qualified administrators.

In the weeks since Hanlon’s dismissal, supporters have risen to his defense, collecting hundreds of signatures on petitions demanding his reinstatement, citing his dedication to the home and his experience as a former resident.

Recalling the guidance he received as an adolescent, Hanlon said his mission in life has been to do the same for other boys.

“My value system, my belief in helping the community and the boys all come from LeRoy Boys’ Home, and I had some tremendous models,” Hanlon said, his eyes welling up with tears. “I wanted to be that model and I think I have. You could ask anybody.”

But times have changed, Morris said, and the home no longer houses abandoned children like Hanlon. Most of the boys now placed in the home by welfare agencies have serious emotional and psychological problems that require professional help.

“They need a more intense kind of treatment than patting a kid on the back or picking him up when he’s down,” he said.