By Coral Gables Gazette staff

Coral Gables Human Resources Director Raquel Elejabarrieta will step down October 3 after more than nine years of service to the City Beautiful, where she played a central role in labor relations, risk management, and diversity initiatives. City Manager Peter Iglesias announced her departure last week in an internal email to department directors and assistant directors.

On Monday, the city posted the job opening for her replacement. The Human Resources and Risk Management Director role offers a salary range of $146,000 to $226,000; Elejabarrieta’s compensation was near the upper end, according to multiple sources.

Over her tenure, Elejabarrieta held a series of increasingly senior roles. Most recently, she served as Director of Human Resources and Risk Management and Chief Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEI&A) Officer, a position she assumed in February 2023. Before that, she was Director of Labor Relations and Risk Management, where she was closely involved in union negotiations and employee policy design. She began her Coral Gables tenure in 2016 after practicing labor law in the private sector.

Her resignation letter has not been made public, but Iglesias praised her service in a message to staff on September 19.

“Raquel is a leader whose wise counsel I value,” he wrote. “Her dedication, vision, and professionalism will have a lasting impact on our organization.”

He added that under her leadership, “HR policies and programs that support our employees have been strengthened,” and credited her with bringing fairness and diplomacy to complex labor negotiations.

Departure follows high-profile probe

While Iglesias said that Elejabarrieta is leaving for an opportunity in the private sector, her exit comes on the heels of a months-long investigation into improper payroll practices within the city’s Solid Waste Division—an investigation she co-led.

According to a 12-page report reviewed by the Gazette, Elejabarrieta worked alongside Employee Relations and Risk Manager Marjorie Tapia to investigate the improper approval of sick leave for an employee who had formally resigned but continued to be paid. The report documents multiple interviews conducted by Elejabarrieta, including with direct supervisors and city employees who signed or approved time records. She also directed IT staff to retrieve emails and texts to verify claims.

The investigation centered on a Solid Waste employee who submitted a resignation letter on February 25 of this year, with an effective date of March 18. Despite that, he remained on the city payroll through May 2, receiving nearly $17,000 in sick leave pay—an amount prohibited under city policy for resigning employees.

Policy violations and resignations

City personnel policy states that unused sick leave is not payable when an employee resigns. Under the collective bargaining agreement with the Teamsters, such payouts are allowed only in cases of death or retirement.

Nonetheless, the employee was paid using a combination of non-preapproved sick leave codes and administrative leave codes, often without required documentation or timely call-ins. The leave slips and electronic approvals in the city’s payroll system were signed by multiple supervisors.

The report documents conflicting accounts among employees about who knew of his resignation and when. Facebook posts, internal text messages, and testimony suggest that at least four employees were aware he had moved out of state—yet continued signing leave slips on his behalf. Four Solid Waste employees ultimately resigned during the course of the investigation, which concluded this summer.

The report found multiple rule violations, including:

• Falsification of official documents
• Negligence in job performance
• Misuse of city resources
• Failure to notify Human Resources of policy breaches

The employee at the center of the investigation was never formally terminated—he submitted a second resignation on May 2, retroactively acknowledging his departure. Attempts by HR to contact him later that summer were unsuccessful.

Public testimony brings case to light

At the September 10 City Commission meeting, former Lead Solid Waste Coordinator Marlon Ruiz spoke publicly for the first time about his firing and the circumstances that led to it. Ruiz said he had signed leave slips under pressure from his supervisors and was later fired by Elejabarrieta after refusing to resign.

“I know I was doing wrong, but I was only following the chain of command,” Ruiz said during his testimony. “I was scared to say no.”

Ruiz said he eventually shared his concerns with a colleague, who brought them to the attention of HR. That conversation triggered the investigation that Elejabarrieta would help lead. He is now seeking reinstatement or the right to appeal to the city’s Trial Board.

City officials have not publicly commented on whether Elejabarrieta’s resignation is connected to the investigation. No wrongdoing by her has been alleged. The official report does not cite her as a subject of the investigation—it identifies her as one of its lead investigators.

Notable departure

Elejabarrieta’s exit removes one of the city’s most experienced internal legal and labor voices at a time when Coral Gables is managing multiple union contracts, code enforcement policy reforms, and ongoing questions about internal transparency.

The city has not yet announced a timeline for selecting her successor.