– PLACE ON YOUR DEPARTMENTAL LETTERHEAD –
DATE
Employee
Address
Dear Ms. Employee:
Please take notice that you are issued a letter that equates to a two-day suspension. Although you will not miss work or have your pay docked, this non-punitive disciplinary action carries the weight, in terms of progressive discipline, as if you had actually been suspended without pay for two working days.
The grounds upon which this disciplinary action is being taken are in accordance with Section 4 of Civil Service Commission Rule XIII as follows:
A: Absence without Leave. Absence without leave shall mean any time an employee is absent from the workplace without authorization or without an explanation satisfactory to the appointing authority. This includes an employee’s failure to report to work after a leave of absence has expired or after such leave of absence has been disapproved or revoked.
You were absent without leave on March 21. You had requested that day off in a conversation you and your supervisor had on March 17. Your supervisor had indicated to you at that time that several other employees had requested the day off in advance, and that she would not have adequate coverage on the unit if you were not there. On March 21, you called in sick, saying you had a headache and would not be in. You did not provide a medical statement, as required, in support of your unplanned absence.
In taking this action, I am also taking into account that you have received a letter of reprimand for a similar incident on February 22, when you called in sick the Tuesday after the holiday, even though your supervisor had disapproved your request for vacation leave at that time. As was indicated in the letter of reprimand dated February 24, any further instance of calling in sick after a requested vacation day had been disapproved may result in disciplinary action. Further, you have been on a leave restriction since DATE. Your failure to be at work impacts the whole unit. When the unit is short-staffed, every person has to work harder, or overtime hours must be paid to another employee to cover for you. We are part of a team effort to provide services to our patients, and you are not fulfilling your responsibilities to your team or to the County.
You took the opportunity to reply to me on DATE. At that meeting you acknowledged that your attendance wasn’t satisfactory and made a commitment to improve in the future. As a result, I agreed that this letter would be removed from your Civil Service file twenty-four months after its issuance, if you did the following:
- Improve your overall attendance and raise your leave balances.
- Prepare a unit memo for your supervisor’s signature regarding appropriate timeframes for requesting leave.
- Review your work schedule to determine if an alternative work schedule would assist in improving your attendance.
- Have no future instances of AWOL.
If you do not comply with the plan as specified, then this letter will remain in your file permanently. I am making a job performance referral to the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for you. The EAP phone number is 1-800-834-3773 and you may attend pre-approved visits on County time.
Sincerely,
Department Head
cc: Manager, Title
Donna Vaillancourt, Director, Human Resources Department
Nicole McKay, Employee & Labor Relations Manager
Civil Service Personnel File
Departmental Personnel File