Trinity County Municipal Code Art. X Disciplinary Procedures

A. An appointing authority may, for cause, impose discipline on an employee occupying a permanent position.

B. Employees may be disciplined for any cause including, but not limited to:

1. Omission or willful misrepresentation of a material fact or other fraud in securing employment;

2. Incompetence;

3. Inefficiency;

4. Inexcusable neglect of duties;

5. Insubordination or willful disobedience;

6. Dishonesty;

7. Improper use of drugs, including: drunkenness on duty; use of drugs while on duty; incapacitation for proper performance of duties by prior use of drugs. The term "drugs" shall mean controlled substances as defined in Division 10 (commencing with Section 11000) of the California Health and Safety Code and shall also mean alcohol;

8. Unexcused absence from duty, abuse of sick leave or excessive absenteeism;

9. Conviction of a felony or a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude;

10. Inconsistent, incompatible or conflicting employment, activity, or enterprise;

11. Violation of a departmental rule or county policy or regulation;

12. Failure of good behavior off duty constituting criminal misconduct which is of such a nature that it causes discredit to the department or the county;

13. Failure of good behavior during duty hours which is of such a nature that it seriously discredits the department or the county;

14. Misuse, neglect or willful damage to public property or waste of supplies or equipment;

15. Violation of the provisions of the memorandum of understanding, including work stoppage, sick out, slow down, unlawful strike, or other job actions, as defined in the memorandum of understanding.

(Ord. 1233 §1, 1999; Ord. 1143 §1(part), 1990)

A. Discipline shall include:

1. Written reprimands;

2. Suspension without pay for not more than thirty days;

3. Demotion, including salary step reductions;

4. Dismissal.

It is a general policy that the above disciplinary actions be imposed as progressive discipline; however, the doctrine of progressive discipline shall not be used for those offenses which, in themselves, warrant severe discipline of the employee on the first offense. Examples include, but are not limited to, violence in the workplace; theft from the county; some forms of sexual harassment; conviction of a felony or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude; false statement on employment application; or any conduct which resulted in, or if repeated is likely to result in, harm to the public service. All offenses shall be analyzed on a case-by-case basis in determining whether progressive discipline is appropriate.

B. The following actions shall not be considered disciplinary actions, and do not entitle the employee to an appeal under the disciplinary procedure. However, the employee does have the right to file a written rebuttal:

1. Verbal reprimands;

2. Employee performance evaluation.

(Ord. 1143 §1(part), 1990)

A. Reasonable care shall be used by department employees charged with the responsibility of investigating activities of alleged misconduct in order to insure, to the greatest extent possible, the confidentiality of the materials obtained. Pertinent aspects of the case shall only be discussed with those employee(s) involved and such other employees as deemed appropriate by the appointing authority. Investigations involving sworn employees shall be conducted in accordance with Government Code Section 3300, et seq.

B. An appointing authority may place an employee on leave with pay while conducting an investigation provided that prior approval is received from the personnel officer. Approval shall only be granted in certain unusual and sensitive cases where the alleged violation is of such a nature that the operations of the county and the department would be better served with the employee away from the work site.

C. An appointing authority may request that a third party conduct an investigation where it can be demonstrated that the circumstances surrounding the particular case would so dictate. In all cases the appointing authority shall make a written request to the personnel officer detailing the need for a third party investigation and stating why an intradepartmental investigation is inappropriate. The personnel officer shall either approve or deny such request.

(Ord. 1143 §1(part), 1990)

A. When an appointing authority intends to impose disciplinary action on a permanent employee, except those employees reporting directly to the board of supervisors or "At Will" employees, that involves suspension of more than five days, demotion, or dismissal, the following procedures shall be followed:

1. The appointing authority shall send a written notice to the county counsel and the personnel officer along with supporting documentation of the alleged misconduct and/or violation(s) prior to any notification of the employee.

2. The county counsel and the personnel officer shall review the materials submitted and, if necessary, meet with the appointing authority regarding the proposed action.

3. The appointing authority, after notification from the personnel officer and county counsel, shall issue a written notice of the proposed action to the employee which shall contain the following:

a. The employee's name and address.

b. Classification.

c. Proposed action.

d. The reason for such proposed action.

e. Copies of the charges and materials upon which the proposed action is based.

f. A notice that the employee has a right to respond to the charges, either orally or in writing, to the appointing authority initiating the action.

g. The date and time by which the employee must respond to the charges, in order that they may be considered before the proposed action is executed.

h. The date and time at which the proposed action is to take place.

4. After the date and time established for an employee to respond to the charges has past and the appointing authority has duly considered the evidence provided, the appointing authority may:

a. Follow through with the proposed action as stated.

b. Modify the proposed action.

c. Rescind the proposed action.

5. After completion of the review process as outlined in subdivision 4 of this subsection, an appointing authority still wishing to impose a suspension, demotion or dismissal shall request that the county counsel to make an order in writing stating specifically the cause for such action. In addition, the appointing authority shall forward to the county counsel and the personnel officer any documents provided by the employee in response to the charges.

6. After receipt of the order issued by the county counsel, the appointing authority shall immediately serve the order on the employee. If the employee is not available to be personally served, the order shall be sent by registered mail to the employee's last known mailing address. The appointing authority shall also furnish a copy of the order to the personnel officer and the auditor with the date the order was served and mailed.

B. The procedures outlined in Section 2.60.690 shall be followed in imposing disciplinary action on "At Will" employees reporting to department heads which involves suspension of more than five days or demotion. In cases involving dismissal, a notice that the services of the employee are no longer desired are all that shall be required. The dismissal shall take effect thirty days after the date the notice was issued.

C. Suspension for disciplinary purposes shall not exceed thirty days, nor shall a succession of suspensions exceed thirty days in any two-year period.

D. All disciplinary actions shall be placed in the employee's personnel file.

E. In certain unusual situations, it may be in the best interests of the county and the department in which an alleged violation has occurred that an employee remain away from his/her work location while the procedures outlined in subsection A of this section are being implemented. Upon prior approval of the personnel officer, an appointing authority may replace an employee on leave with pay. Leave for this purpose shall only be granted on serious violations or when a thorough investigation of the events surrounding a violation is required.

F. The board of supervisors, by majority vote, may impose disciplinary action on employees reporting directly to them as they deem appropriate.

G. In cases involving the imposition of summary discipline, the procedures outlined in subsection A of this section shall be followed, except that the appointing authority, at his/her discretion, may impose the disciplinary action prior to the employee responding to the charges. The appointing authority shall afford the employee all items listed in subsection A3 (a) through (f) of this section and consider any response provided by the employee.

(Ord. 1143 §1(part), 1990)

A. An employee may appeal a disciplinary action by an appointing authority to the appeals panel.

B. For purposes of Sections 2.60.610 through 2.60.660, appeals shall only be allowed in cases involving suspensions, demotions and/or dismissals.

C. In cases involving written reprimands, the only right afforded an employee is that he/she may have a letter of response to the charges or evaluation be placed in his/her personnel file. There is no other form of disciplinary appeal.

D. An employee serving an initial probationary period, occupying positions which report directly to the board of supervisors, or "At Will" employees, shall have no rights of appeal of disciplinary actions.

E. An appeal of a disciplinary action must be filed with the personnel officer within five working days of the effective date of the suspension, demotion or discharge and shall contain the following:

1. The filing employee's name, address, classification and department.

2. The charges alleged which resulted in disciplinary action.

3. The name and title of the appointing authority who issued the disciplinary action.

4. The disciplinary action taken and its effective date.

5. The charges and materials upon which the disciplinary action was based.

6. A statement as to why the disciplinary action taken was not proper.

7. The signature of the appealing employee.

F. An appeal of a disciplinary action shall include an original and three copies of the materials outlined in subsection E of this section be sent to the personnel officer. Upon receipt of the appeal, the personnel officer shall:

1. Date stamp the appeal.

2. Place the original on file in the personnel office.

3. Transmit one copy to the department head in which the disciplinary action was initiated.

4. Transmit one copy to the county counsel.

G. The personnel officer shall schedule an appropriate time for hearing the appeal by a hearing officer from the state mediation/conciliation service. The appeal shall be scheduled at the earliest date that is available for the employee, his or her representative, and the county's representative and county counsel.

H. The hearing officer shall be selected from a list of five hearing officers from the state mediation/conciliation service. Each party may eliminate names from the list of five alternatively until an agreement is reached on a name or one name remains on the list of five. The parties shall share the cost of the hearing officer equally.

(Ord. 1266 §1, 2002; Ord. 1143 §1(part), 1990)

A. The disciplinary appeals hearing shall be conducted by the hearing officer selected pursuant to Section 2.60.650.

B. The procedure for conducting the appeal shall be as follows:

1. Recording. The appeal proceedings shall be recorded by the hearing officer.

2. Governing law. Except as provided herein, the appeal shall be conducted pursuant to the provisions of the California Administrative Procedures Act, commencing with Government Code Section 11370, Part I, Division 3, Title 2, of the Government Code.

3. Jurisdiction of hearing officer. The hearing officer may affirm, modify or revoke the order issued by the county, or issue such other order as deemed appropriate. Jurisdiction of the hearing officer terminates upon issuance of the written decision.

4. Attendance of witnesses. No witness shall be permitted to testify at the hearing except upon oath or affirmation. The county or the hearing officer may issue subpoenas and subpoenas duces tecum for the attendance of witnesses and production of documents.

5. Depositions. On the verified petition of any party, the county may order that the testimony of an unavailable material witness be taken by deposition in the usual manner for depositions in civil actions.

6. Rules of evidence. The technical rules of evidence do not govern, but the rights to examine and cross-examine witnesses, to introduce exhibits, and to rebut evidence are safeguarded as provided by Government Code section 11513. Any relevant evidence of the sort "on which responsible people are accustomed to rely in the conduct of serious affairs" may be admitted, regardless of common law or statutory rules governing the admission of evidence in civil cases, however, hearsay evidence shall not be sufficient in itself to support a finding unless it would be admissible over objection in civil actions. Evidence of records regularly kept by the county concerning the employee may be introduced.

7. Evidence in default and uncontested cases. The county is not required to file an answer or response to the appeal. If the employee fails to appear at the hearing, his or her default shall be entered unless a continuance is requested by his or her representative and is granted by the hearing officer. A continuance shall not be granted without a showing of good cause. Any continuance shall be conditioned upon payment by the employee of all the hearing officer's fees for appearing at the hearing at which the employee did not appear.

8. Time for final decision. The hearing officer shall issue a written decision within sixty days after the appeals hearing, unless there are special circumstances. A copy shall be mailed by the hearing officer to the employee or the employee's representative. The decision by the hearing officer shall be the final administrative decision, subject only to court review.

9. Effective date. A decision becomes effective upon receipt by the county.

10. Findings of fact. The decision must contain findings of fact, which may be stated in the language of the notice of action issued by the county.

11. Representation. The employee and the county shall have the right to be represented by counsel. The employee may be represented by a union representative.

12. Closed hearing. The hearings shall be closed to the public. Witnesses may be excluded upon motion of either party, but the county's designated investigating officer may be present during all the hearing, even if he or she is a witness.

13. Implementation of decision. If the hearing officer revokes an order of discharge, suspension or reduction in rank, the appealing employee shall be restored forthwith to the position held prior to the order with all rights and privileges pertaining thereto, including those accruing since the order, with full back pay for any uncompensated periods, less any amounts received by the employee in benefits or retirement.

(Ord. 1266 §3, 2002; Ord. 1143 §1(part), 1990)