Hearings The Hearing Officer shall hold hearings on a quarterly basis unless there are no appeals to hear or the parties agree to pend any open appeals. All materials considered in the position review shall be submitted to the Hearing Officer prior to the hearing and neither party will submit evidence at the hearing that was not submitted during the position review. The Hearing Officer shall endeavor to hold multiple hearings each day, and shall issue a concise decision which shall be final and binding. The Hearing Officer shall have no authority to alter the terms and conditions of this contract. Employees may be represented at the hearing and will be released from work with no loss of pay to attend the hearing. The Hearing Officer's fees and expenses shall be shared equally by the parties.
Meetings and Hearings All meetings and hearings under this procedure shall not be conducted in public and shall include only such parties in interest and their designated or selected representatives, heretofore referred to in this Article.
Interviews An applicant for a posted position with the Employer who is not on a leave of absence without pay and who has been called for an interview shall suffer no loss of basic earnings to attend. Should an employee require a leave of absence from duties for the interview, their supervisor shall be notified as soon as the requirement to appear for an interview is made known.
Investigatory Interviews A. Upon request, an employee has the right to a union representative at an investigatory interview called by the Employer, if the employee reasonably believes discipline could result. An employee may also have a union representative at a pre-disciplinary meeting. If the requested representative is not reasonably available, the employee will select another representative who is available. Employees seeking representation are responsible for contacting their representative.
Conferences At the request of the State or the Engineer, conferences shall be provided at the Engineer's office, the office of the State, or at other locations designated by the State. These conferences shall also include evaluation of the Engineer's services and work when requested by the State.