Disciplinary Appeals All forms of disciplinary action which are not appealable to the Civil Service Commission or the courts, except written or oral reprimands and Forms 475, shall be subject to review through Steps 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the grievance procedure.
Hearing Procedure A. The Personnel Commission may conduct hearings of appeals or may appoint a hearing officer to conduct the hearing and report findings and recommendations to the Commission. If the Personnel Commission orders a hearing, said hearing shall be held in closed session. The employee shall be given written notice of his or her right to have the complaints or charges heard in an open session rather than closed session pursuant to Government Code section 54957. The notice shall be delivered to the employee personally or by mail at least twenty-four (24) hours before the time for holding the closed session.
B. Hearings shall be conducted in the manner most conducive to determination of the truth, and neither the Commission nor its hearing officer shall be bound by technical rules of evidence. Decisions made by the Commission shall not be invalidated by any informality in the proceedings.
C. The Personnel Commission or its hearing officer shall determine the relevancy, weight, and credibility of testimony and evidence. It shall base its findings on the preponderance of evidence.
D. Each side will be permitted an opening statement (Board first) and closing arguments (employee first). The Board shall first present its witnesses and evidence to sustain its charges and the employee will then present his witnesses and evidence in defense.
E. Each side will be allowed to examine and cross-examine witnesses.
F. Both the Board and the employee will be allowed to be represented by legal counsel or other designated representation. The employee may, at his/her option, be represented by legal counsel and/or union representation, or any other person designated by the employee. If the employee files an appeal, the employee shall be required to attend the Commission Appeal Hearing, even if the employee’s designated representative appears on his/her behalf. If the employee fails to appear, the employee will be deemed to have forfeited his/her rights to further appeal and the Personnel Commission shall allow the Board of Trustee’s disciplinary action to stand.
G. The Commission may, and shall, if requested by the Board or the employee, subpoena witnesses and/or require the production of records or other material evidence.
H. The Commission may, prior to or during a hearing, grant a continuance for any reason it believes to be important to its reaching a fair and proper decision.
I. Whether the hearing is held in a public or Executive Session, the Commission, after it concludes the hearing, may deliberate its decision in Executive Session. No persons other than members of the Commission, its counsel, and the Director of Personnel shall be permitted to participate in the deliberations. If the Personnel Director or any staff was a witness in the proceedings, he shall also be barred from the Commission's final deliberations.
J. The Commission shall render its judgment in an open session as soon after the conclusion of the hearing as possible and in no event later than fourteen (14) days. Its decision shall set forth which charges, if any, are sustained and the reasons therefore.
K. The Commission may sustain or reject any or all of the charges filed against the employee. It may sustain, reject, or modify the disciplinary action invoked against the employee. It may not provide for discipline more stringent than that invoked by the Board.
L. The Commission order of judgment will be filed with the Governing Board and the charged employee and shall set forth its findings and decision. If a dismissal is not sustained, its order shall set forth the effective date the employee is to be reinstated which may be any time on or after the date of disciplinary action.
Disciplinary Procedure 20.01 All employees shall have the following rights:
A. An employee shall be entitled to only Union representation at each step of the disciplinary procedure.
B. An employee shall not be coerced, intimidated, or suffer any reprisals either directly or indirectly that may adversely affect his hours, wages, or working conditions as a result of the exercise of his rights under this procedure.
20.02 An employee may resign following the service of a Notice of Discipline. Any such resignation will be processed in accordance with the provisions contained herein and the employee's employment shall be terminated.
20.03 Discipline shall be imposed only for just cause. The specific acts for which discipline is being imposed and the penalty proposed shall be specified in the Notice of Discipline. The Notice served on the employee shall contain a reference to dates, times and places, if possible, and shall also be given to the local union president and ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇. The Employer shall notify the employee and the Union within seven (7) days after the Employer has knowledge of the incident that the Employer intends to impose discipline that may result in a suspension or discharge. Disciplinary actions resulting in a reprimand shall be imposed within ten (10) days after the Employer has knowledge of the incident. Notice of Disciplinary actions resulting in a suspension or discharge shall be issued within sixty (60) days after the Employer has knowledge of the incident resulting in the proposed disciplinary action.
20.04 Before any discipline is imposed, the employee and his/her union representative shall be entitled to a pre-disciplinary hearing before the employee's department head. If after this hearing the department head decides to impose a penalty that does not involve a suspension, demotion, or removal from service, the department head may impose the penalty, and the employee may grieve it. Where the department head seeks as a penalty the imposition of a suspension without pay, a demotion or removal from service, he shall make such a recommendation to the Mayor and notice of such proposed discipline shall be made in writing and served on the employee personally or by registered or certified mail, return receipt request, with a copy to the local union president and ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇. If the employee grieves the proposed suspension, demotion, or removal from service, the Mayor or designee shall convene a hearing at Step 3 of the grievance procedure.
20.05 The Union on behalf of all the employees covered by this Agreement and its own behalf hereby waives any and all rights previously possessed by such employees to appeal any form of disciplinary action (e.g. suspensions, demotion or discharge) to any Civil Service Commission.
20.06 Discipline shall not be implemented until either:
1. the matter is settled, or
2. the employee fails to file a grievance within the time frame provided by this procedure, or
3. the penalty is upheld by the arbitrator or a different penalty is determined by the arbitrator, or
4. the penalty may be imposed after the hearing before the Mayor in Section 20.04, subject to the Union's right to appeal it to arbitration.
Appeals Procedure If Employee appeals to the Administrator, Employee or his authorized representative may submit in writing whatever issues and comments he believes to be pertinent. The Administrator shall reexamine all facts related to the appeal and make a final determination of whether the denial of benefits is justified under the circumstances. The Administrator shall advise Employee in writing of:
(1) The Administrator's decision on appeal.
(2) The specific reasons for the decision.
(3) The specific provisions of the Agreement on which the decision is based. Notice of the Administrator's decision shall be given within 60 days of the Claimant's written request for review, unless additional time is required due to special circumstances. In no event shall the Administrator render a decision on an appeal later than 120 days after receiving a request for a review.