Your Employee Rights and How to Report Wrongful Conduct
This page provides information on how Eastern District of California Bankruptcy employees (law clerks, chambers staff, and Clerk’s Office staff) can report and resolve employment-related disputes and how any person can file a complaint of judicial misconduct or disability.
The Eastern District of California Employment Dispute Resolution Policy
The Eastern District of California Bankruptcy Court, along with the District Court, the Probation Office, and the Pretrial Services Office, updated its Employment Dispute Resolution (EDR) Policy in October 2020. The EDR Policy ensures that respect, fairness, dignity, and tolerance are part of our workplace culture. The goal is to eliminate misconduct, including discriminatory, harassing, demeaning, and bullying behavior.
How to Report Judicial Misconduct or Disability
The Judicial Conduct and Disability Act of 1980, 28 U.S.C. §§ 351-364, establishes a process by which any person can file a complaint alleging a federal judge has engaged in “conduct prejudicial to the effective and expeditious administration of the business of the courts” or has become, by reason of a mental or physical disability, “unable to discharge all the duties” of the judicial office.
The Rules for Judicial-Conduct and Judicial-Disability Proceedings, as amended on March 12, 2019, provide mandatory and nationally uniform provisions governing the substantive and procedural aspects of misconduct and disability proceedings under the Judicial Conduct and Disability Act.
Judicial Misconduct or Disability Complaint Form and Instructions
Anti-Discrimination and Anti-Harassment Notice
Note:
The judicial conduct and disability review process cannot be used to challenge the correctness of a judge’s decision in a case. A judicial decision that is unfavorable to a litigant does not, by itself, establish misconduct or a disability. The reviewing Chief Circuit Judge may dismiss a complaint if, following review, they find it is not cognizable under the statute, is directly related to the merits of a decision or procedural ruling, or is frivolous or lacks sufficient evidence to raise an inference of misconduct. See 28 U.S.C. § 352(b)(1)(A)(i)-(iii); Ninth Circuit Guidelines for Judicial Misconduct or Disability Complaints.