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April 19, 2010 (Regular Meeting) Page 1883 Article VII. Separation, Disciplinary Actions, and Suspensions Section 4. Nondisciplinary Suspension for Investigatory Purposes Investigatory suspension may be used to provide time to investigate, establish facts and reach a decision concerning a regular employee's status in those cases in which it is determined the employee should not continue to work pending a decision. Investigatory suspension may be appropriately used to provide time to schedule and hold a pre-discipline conference. Also, management may elect to use an investigatory suspension in order to avoid undue disruption of work or to protect the safety of persons or property. An employee suspended for nondisciplinary or investigatory reasons shall be notified in writing of the reasons for the suspension and the appeal rights available to the employee; one copy shall be given to the employee, and one copy shall be placed in the employee's personnel file. An investigatory suspension usually should not exceed 45 calendar days. However, a department head may, at his or her discretion, extend the period of investigatory suspension without pay beyond the 45 day limit. The employee must be informed in writing of the extension, the length of the extension and the specific reasons for the extension. A copy of the above communication shall be sent to the Human Resources Director. If no action has been taken by management by the end of 45 calendar days, and no extension has been made, one of the following must occur: return the employee to active work status with full back pay and benefits or take appropriate disciplinary or other action based on the results of the investigation and/or a pre-discipline conference. Investigatory suspension of an employee shall not be used for the purpose of delaying an administrative decision on an employee's work status pending the resolution of a civil or criminal court matter involving the employee. An investigatory suspension will be without pay, but the employee may use accumulated compensatory time and/or vacation leave to receive compensation during this period. If no disciplinary or other action is taken based on the results of the investigation, the employee will be returned to active work status with full back pay and benefits. Article VII. Separation, Disciplinary Actions, and Suspensions Section 5. Pre-discipline Conference (a) Before a regular employee may be subjected to any adverse action (disciplinary suspension without pay, reassignment, demotion or dismissal), other than as noted in (b) below the following shall occur: 1. The supervisor recommending disciplinary action should discuss the recommendation with and receive the approval of the department head, with notice to the Human Resources Director, to schedule a conference. 2. A pre-discipline conference shall be held between management representatives and the employee. No attorneys or other such representatives for either party need be present at this conference; a witness or security personnel may be present if management deems necessary. The Human Resources Director shall attend to monitor the pre-discipline conference process. A management representative (usually the employee's supervisor) shall present the employee and the pre-disciplinary conference decision maker (usually the department head) with written and specific reasons for the proposed disciplinary action and a brief summary of the information that supports it. The employee shall have a right to respond to the written notice of proposed action in the conference. 3. After the end of the conference, the management representative responsible for the final decision on the proposed action should review and reflect on the information provided in the conference, and render a decision no sooner than the next day and no later than five working days. If the management representative determines that a disciplinary action is justified, he/she shall present the employee with a letter notifying the employee of the action. However, the management representative may elect to defer the action, reconsider the entire issue, or initiate a disciplinary action less severe than recommended. If, following deferral or reconsideration, the decision is to take the proposed action, then no further conference is required. 4. The employee must be given written notice of any disciplinary action. The management representative responsible for the final decision shall issue the written notice to include specific reasons for the action and