Reference
Section 4 of Civil Service Rule XII provides that “Permanent employees may appeal to the Commission for a review of performance evaluations which are below a standard score or rating set by the Director.” Rule XII further states: “This review is a fact-finding examination for the purpose of detecting and correcting any abuse of discretion.”
Upon receipt of a written appeal for a review by the employee, the Human Resources Department places the request for appeal on the agenda for the next meeting of the Civil Service Commission. At that meeting, the Commission will first decide whether to accomplish the review through a fact-finding committee of two commissioners or by the Commission as a whole. The Commission will then set a mutually agreeable date for the fact-finding hearing.
Preparation
After an employee files an appeal, the attorney in the County Attorney’s Office assigned to the case will coordinate the preparation for the hearing. The appellant’s immediate supervisor, the supervisor’s manager, County Attorney, and the Employee & Labor Relations representative may be requested to assist with the preparation and/or testify in the appeal hearing. Any other management representatives with relevant input may also be needed (e.g. EEO Manager).
The department’s case consists of:
- A listing of the standards/objectives which the appellant failed to meet
- Evidence, documents and/or oral testimony that the employee failed to meet the standards/objectives
- Evidence that the employee was counseled and given an opportunity to improve prior to issuance of the evaluation
Appeal Hearing
An appeal hearing before the Civil Service Commission is a formal hearing where the County Attorney presents the case on behalf of the Department and the Union Representative or Union Attorney presents the case on behalf of the employee. The hearing will allow both parties to give an opening statement, call witnesses, enter written evidence, cross examine witnesses and make closing statements.
Department’s Presentation
The Department should be represented before the Commission by the County Attorney to the Department. A manager from the Department who is familiar with the case should be sitting with the County Attorney throughout the hearing to provide any clarifying information. If other individuals are needed to provide specific information or testimony, they should be called as witnesses and dismissed after testifying rather than remaining for the entire session.
The case is introduced by opening statements and stating that the purpose of the fact-finding examination is to identify and correct any abuse of discretion.
During the appellant’s presentation, management representatives should take notes of points raised by the appellant. Any inaccurate or misleading statements of significance should be noted for the County Attorney so they can rebut the statements in testimony, cross examination or the closing statements. Statements made by the appellant that are not pertinent, or that would not be of significance to the Commission should be ignored. It is vital to focus the Commission on management’s case, rather than allow the appellant to obscure the case by engaging the Department in debates or discussions of irrelevant issues.
All management representatives must be aware of the non-verbal communications they present to the Commission. Without knowing it, you can easily give these signals by rolling your eyes, frowning, commenting on, or shaking your head in disbelief at statements being made by the appellant or their representative. The Commission may interpret such behaviors as an indication that you do not openly listen to or respect the employee on the job.
The Department’s case is concluded by making a closing statement summarizing the standards that weren’t met, describing how the employee failed to meet the standards, and stating that the Department did not abuse its discretion in evaluating the appellant.