Reninger v. Department of Corrections

The Department of Corrections (DOC) disciplined former corrections officers Richard Reninger and William Cohen by demoting them for four and one-half months and reassigning them during that period to guard duty in a unit for problem inmates at McNeil Island Corrections Center. Rather than use administrative processes to appeal the reassignment, Reninger and Cohen resigned and then sued and recovered against DOC and several DOC employees for constructive discharge and intentional interference with a business relationship.1 We conclude that a civil service employee challenging a work assignment…