In Human Resources

ADMINISTRATIVE MEMORANDUM COUNTY OF SAN MATEO SUBJECT: Suspension, Demotion or Termination of Personnel RESPONSIBLE DEPARTMENT: Personnel NUMBER: E-6 DATE: February 1, 1984 To suspend, demote or terminate a permanent classified employee the department head must take the following steps: The employee must be notified in writing of the impending action and why it is being taken. The employee must be allowed the opportunity to examine any material on which the action is based. In the initial letter to the employee, the department head should set a specific timer usually five (5) days, in which the employee can respond to the charges, verbally or in writing. The responseRead More →

In Procedures

COUNTY OF SAN MATEO HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT Inter-Departmental Correspondence DATE: April 2015 TO: All Supervisory and Management Employees FROM: Nicole McKay, Employee & Labor Relations Manager SUBJECT: Employee Relations Bulletin 9 Non-Punitive Discipline Program All County employees, both represented and unrepresented, are covered by the Non-Punitive Discipline Program. Key Concepts of Non-Punitive Discipline The Non-Punitive Discipline Program replaced unpaid suspensions with a disciplinary letter equating to a suspension of a specified length. Non-Punitive Discipline is only used in cases where, without non-punitive discipline, the offense would warrant an unpaid suspension. Non-Punitive Discipline is not a lower level of discipline than a suspension and does notRead More →

In FAQs

In dealing with performance and conduct issues you will encounter corrective action and disciplinary action. Corrective action is a lower level of action and can include verbal counseling as well as letters such as warning or reprimand. Disciplinary action includes punitive/non-punitive suspensions, temporary reductions in step, demotions, and dismissal. (Please note that currently, only the Sheriff’s Office may take disciplinary action in the form of a punitive suspension.) All disciplinary actions fall within the Skelly process. Arbitration is a step within the grievance process. The Skelly process has three distinct steps which are: 1) the intent letter, 2) the written and/or oral response, and 3)Read More →

In 4. Introduction to Performance & Conduct

Non-punitive discipline is a program that replaces unpaid suspensions with a disciplinary letter that equates to a suspension, thereby establishing that there has been previous discipline if misconduct occurs again. Positive aspects of non-punitive discipline from management’s perspective are that the employee does not actually leave the workplace, thereby avoiding the disruption to workflow and cost to fill in behind the employee. Positive aspects from the employee’s perspective are that no money is lost, and, in some cases, the “rehabilitation plan” which, if successfully completed, results in removal of the disciplinary letter within a specific period of time. See Section 7: Conduct for a completeRead More →