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 Process (a) Prior to disciplining an Employee, the Employer will notify the Unit 1 Chairperson, with a copy to the President of CAW Local 555, of the nature of the alleged offence.
(b) Following notification of the Unit 1 Chairperson, the Employer will meet with the Employee and a Union Representative. At this meeting, the Employer will advise the Employee of the alleged offence and provide the Employee with an opportunity to respond.
(c) Within 5 Working Days of this meeting, or any additional meeting that the Employer may require, the Employer will decide whether or not discipline is to be imposed, and, if so, at what level, and this decision will be communicated orally and in writing at a meeting with the Employee and Union Representative. A copy of the written decision will be provided to the Unit 1 Chairperson with a copy to the President of CAW Local 555.
(d) In cases of suspension without pay, the suspension will be served beginning on one of the following two dates:
i. if the decision to suspend is not subject to a grievance, the first date the employee is scheduled to work following 5 Working Days from the date the suspension was communicated to the Employee; and
ii. if the decision to suspend is subject to a grievance, the first date the employee is scheduled to work following a denial of the grievance at Step 3.
Hearing Procedures The hearing shall be held at the earliest convenient date, taking into consideration the established schedule of the Board or hearing officer and the availability of the CSEA representative, counsel and witnesses. The parties shall be notified of the time and place of the hearing after ensuring availability of all necessary parties. The employee shall be entitled to appear personally, produce evidence, and have CSEA representation. The employee shall be entitled to a public hearing if he/she demands it when the Board is hearing the appeal.
18.12.1 The complainant may also be represented by counsel. The procedure entitled "Administrative Adjudication" commencing with Government Code 11500 shall not apply to any such hearing before the Board or a hearing officer. Neither the Board nor a hearing officer shall be bound by rules of evidence used in California courts. Informality in any such hearing shall not invalidate any order or decision made or approved by the hearing officer or the Board.
18.12.2 All hearings shall be heard by a hearing officer (who shall be an attorney licensed in the State of California) except in those cases where the Board determines to hear the appeal itself. In any case in which the Board hears the appeal, the Board may use the services of its counsel or a hearing officer in ruling upon procedural questions, objections to evidence, and issues of law. However, the Board must employ separate counsel from the one presenting the case for the complainant.
18.12.3 If the appeal is heard by the Board, the Board shall affirm, modify or revoke the recommended personnel action.
18.12.4 If the appeal is heard by a hearing officer, he/she shall prepare a proposed decision in a form that may be adopted by the Board as the decision in the case. A copy of the proposed decision shall be received and filed by the Board and furnished to each party within ten days after the proposed decision is filed by the Board. After furnishing the proposed decision to each party, the Board may:
18.1.4.1 Adopt the proposed decision in its entirety.
18.1.4.2 Reduce the personnel action set forth in the proposed decision and adopt the balance of the proposed decision.
18.1.4.3 Reject a proposed reduction in personnel action, approve the disciplinary action sought by the complainant or any lesser penalty, and adopt the balance of the proposed decision.
18.1.4.4 Reject the proposed decision in its entirety.
18.12.5 If the Board rejects the proposed decision in its entirety, each party shall be notified of such action and the Board may decide the case upon the record including the transcript, with or without the taking of additional evidence, or may refer the case to the same or another hearing officer to take additional evidence. If the case is so assigned to a hearing officer, he/she shall prepare a proposed decision, as provided in item Section 18.12.4 above, upon the additional evidence and the transcript and other papers which are part of the record of the prior hearing. A copy of this proposed decision shall be furnished to each party within 10 days after the proposed decision is filed by the Board.
18.12.6 In arriving at a decision or a proposed decision on the propriety of the proposed disciplinary action, the Board or the hearing officer may consider the records of any prior disciplinary action proceedings against the employee in which a disciplinary action was ultimately sustained and any records that were contained in the employee's personnel files and introduced into evidence at the hearing.
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 xxxxxxx. 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 xxxxxxx. 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.
Disciplinary Procedures The employing authority should ensure that all employees are aware of the disciplinary rules and procedures that apply. All employees should also be aware to whom they can apply if they are dissatisfied with any disciplinary decision. These procedures should accord with legal requirements and with the ACAS Code of Practice and guidance.
Grievance Process (a) Either party, with the agreement of the other party, may submit a grievance to Grievance Mediation at any time within ten (10) working days after the Employer’s decision has been rendered at the step prior to arbitration. Where the matter is so referred, the mediation process shall take place before the matter is referred to Arbitrator.
(b) Grievance Mediation shall be scheduled within twenty (20) working days of the grievance being submitted to mediation, or longer period as agreed by the parties.
(c) No matter may be submitted to Grievance Mediation which has not been properly carried through the grievance procedure, provided that the parties may extend the time limits fixed in the grievance procedure.
(d) The parties shall agree on a mediator.
(e) Proceedings before the Mediator shall be informal. Accordingly, the rules of evidence will not apply, no record of the proceedings shall be made and legal counsel shall not be used by either party, unless otherwise mutually agreed.
(f) If possible, an agreed statement of facts will be provided to the Mediator, and if possible, in advance of the Grievance Mediation Conference.
(g) The Mediator will have the authority to meet separately with either party.
(h) If no settlement is reached within five (5) working days following Grievance Mediation, the parties are free to submit the matter to Arbitration in accordance with the provisions of the collective agreement. In the event that a grievance which has been mediated subsequently proceeds to arbitration, no person serving as the Mediator may serve as an Arbitrator, unless otherwise mutually agreed. Nothing said or done by the mediator may be referred to Arbitration.
(i) The Union and Employer will share the cost of the Mediator, if any.
Discipline Procedure 1. Disciplinary action may be imposed for violation of written rules and regulations as set forth by the Board, incompetence, inefficiency, dishonesty, drunkenness, immoral conduct, insubordination, discourteous treatment of the public, neglect of duty, misfeasance, malfeasance, nonfeasance, any other failure of good behavior, or conviction of a felony.
2. No employee shall be disciplined without first having had the opportunity for a hearing, if the employee so requests, with an OAPSE representative of his/her choice present. The employee shall be given a written statement containing the charges and the time and place of the hearing. The written statement shall notify the employee of his/her rights to OAPSE representation. The employee must be given the opportunity to sign the statement acknowledging receipt of the statement and date received. Under emergency conditions as determined by the supervisor (including, but not limited to, health and/or safety of the employee or other employees; blatant insubordination; or refusal to work), the supervisor may immediately suspend an employee without pay for a period of up to three (3) work days without the formal hearing described above. An opportunity for a formal hearing with the supervisor must be provided within the suspension period. Failure to provide an opportunity for a hearing during the suspension period shall preclude the right of further discipline for the offense causing the initial suspension. Emergency suspensions will not be subject to Section 6 of this Article.
3. Disciplinary action of less than discharge should generally be progressive and corrective in nature.
A. Disciplinary actions shall be grievable. This Section shall supersede existing state law governing termination of employment (O.R.C. 3319.081).
B. In determining progressive and corrective action, just cause shall be construed and limited to the nature and seriousness of the offense, the effect the alleged conduct has on the Board’s operation, the discipline or lack thereof used in other similar situations known to the Board, and the appropriateness of the proposed penalty in view of the record and length of service of the charged employee. The enumeration of these factors is not intended to preclude either the exercise of good and sound business judgment or to minimize the importance of an employee’s property interest in his job.
DISCIPLINARY AND GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES 16.1 The Employee is subject to the Company's disciplinary and grievance procedures, copies of which are available from the Group HR Manager. These procedures do not form part of the Employee's contract of employment.
16.2 If the Employee wants to raise a grievance, he may apply in writing to the CEO in accordance with the Company's grievance procedure.
16.3 If the Employee wishes to appeal against a disciplinary decision, he may apply in writing to the CEO in accordance with the Company's disciplinary procedure.
16.4 The Company may suspend the Employee from any or all of his duties for no longer than is necessary to investigate any disciplinary matter involving the Employee or so long as is otherwise reasonable while any disciplinary procedure against the Employee is outstanding.
16.5 During any period of suspension:
a) the Employee shall continue to receive his basic salary and all contractual benefits in the usual way and subject to the terms of any benefit arrangement;
b) the Employee shall remain an employee of the Company and bound by the terms of this agreement;
c) the Employee shall ensure that the CEO knows where he will be and how he can be contacted during each working day (except during any periods taken as holiday in the usual way);
d) the Company may exclude the Employee from his place of work or any other premises of the Company; and
e) the Company may require the Employee not to contact or deal with (or attempt to contact or deal with) any officer, employee, consultant, client, customer, supplier, agent, distributor, shareholder, adviser or other business contact of the Company.
DISCIPLINE PROCEDURES The Employer agrees to provide the employee with written notification of a disciplinary document that is to be made a part of the employee’s personnel file. In instances where the Employer desires to conduct an investigatory interview with an employee, the employee shall be entitled upon request to have an Association representative present at the interview. A copy of all disciplinary actions involving suspension or discharge will also be provided to the Association, unless the employee requests that the matter be kept confidential.
Disciplinary Grievances If the grievance is not resolved at Step 2, the Union may file a request for mediation with the Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC) in accordance with WAC 000-00-000, with a copy to the Office of Financial Management/SHR/Labor Relations Section (OFM/SHR/LRS) and the Human Resources Office within fifteen (15) days of receipt of the Step 2 decision. In addition to all other filing requirements, the request must include a copy of the grievance and all previous responses.
