Since appearing at Chapala City Hall on September 10 to reclaim his job and payment of a hefty monetary compensation from a labor suit, former Chapala press and public relations director José Guadalupe Vidrio Oliva has failed to report to work.
Vidrio was employed during the 2007-2009 administration, and filed suit for unjustified dismissal in April of the following year. Jalisco’s Tribunal de Arbitraje y Escalafón del Estado (TAEE) labor court ruled in his favor in July 2011, obliging the municipal government to reinstate him and pay the salary and benefits he would have earned during the interim years.
According to Isaac Trejo Gracián, the municipality’s lead attorney, Vidrio has been assigned a different job since his original position no longer exists due to recent administrative restructuring. His failure to show up for work, however, may be grounds for permanent dismissal. Trejo also anticipates negotiating a settlement to substantially reduce the compensation payment.
So far the current administration has shelled out more than 1.8 million pesos to settle pending labor suits, while old and new cases continue to pile up.
To avoid additional demandas laborales, city hall has also covered 5.4 million pesos in unpaid salaries and severance pay owed to employees of the 2015-2018 administration.