[Adopted 9-23-1980 by Res. No. 80-61; amended in its entirety 3-1-1983 by Res. No.
83-12]
The County Commissioners of Charles County, Maryland, expect
every employee to meet the standards set for high-quality work performance.
Whenever employees fail to abide by the County's policies, rules and
procedures, measures must be taken to correct the situation and to
curtail further occurrences. Disciplinary action, therefore, may be
necessary on such occasions to ensure the efficient operation of County
government. Fair discipline for proper cause, which treats all employees
alike, is essential.
The degree of discipline administered will depend on the severity
of the offense and the circumstances under which it occurred. Disciplinary
measures can assume the following forms: oral counseling, written
warnings, suspensions from work and discharge. All actions, except
oral counseling, imposed by a department head or supervisor must be
approved by the County Administrator.
A.
Oral counseling.
(1)
The department head or supervisor shall impose oral counseling, which
is intended to serve as a warning to an employee to discontinue action
or improve upon those conditions that necessitated the oral counseling.
This warning should include an indication of possible future action
should the condition not improve.
(2)
Oral counseling may be imposed by the department head or supervisor
for various actions, the following being some examples:
B.
Written warnings.
(1)
The department head shall maintain a record of any written warnings
and shall submit copies of such action to the Personnel Officer for
inclusion in the employee's personnel record for a period of time
not to exceed one year. Written warnings, at a minimum, must detail
the offense, list the time and place of the occurrence of the offense
and indicate possible future actions if the discrepancy continues.
(2)
Written warnings can be imposed by the department head or supervisor
for the following actions:
(a)
Failure or delay in carrying out orders, reasonable work assignments
or instructions of the supervisor.
(b)
Careless workmanship resulting in spoilage or waste of materials
or delay in production.
(c)
Unexcused tardiness.
(d)
Leaving job premises during work hours without authorization.
(e)
Failure to observe safety precautions.
(f)
Loafing, wasting time or inattention to duty.
(g)
Other acts, activities or omissions which impair the office's/agency's
performance of its mission.
C.
Suspension.
(1)
An employee may be suspended by the department head for certain serious
offenses. Suspension will be without pay or charged against the employee's
annual leave account. A suspension must be documented, in writing,
noting the nature of the offense, when the offense occurred, the time
for which the employee will be suspended and the date and time he/she
is to report back to work.
(2)
Copies of documents detailing the suspension must be submitted to
the Personnel Officer to be placed in the employee's personnel record
for a period not to exceed one year.
(3)
Suspension cannot exceed a period of five working days, and a copy
of such notice must be submitted to the Personnel Officer within one
working day.
(4)
The department head can suspend an employee for one of the following
actions:
(a)
Disorderly conduct.
(b)
Fighting.
(c)
Assault.
(d)
Being under the influence of illicit drugs or intoxicants or
unauthorized possession of illicit drugs or intoxicants.
(e)
Endangering the safety of personnel or causing injury through
carelessness.
(f)
Unauthorized possession of County property.
(g)
Malicious damage to County property.
(h)
Failure to heed a written warning.
D.
Discharge.
(1)
A discharge notice must be documented, in writing, noting the nature
of the offense and when the offense occurred. Copies of documents
detailing the discharge must be submitted to the Personnel Officer
to be placed in the employee's personnel record.
(2)
An employee can be discharged by the department head as a result
of the following action:
(a)
Willful falsification of employment application information
or County government records or documents.
(b)
Endangering the safety of personnel or causing injury through
carelessness.
(c)
Reporting to duty or being on duty under the influence of illicit
drugs or intoxicants or unauthorized possession of illicit drugs or
intoxicants.
(d)
Failure to heed a suspension.
(e)
Other acts, activities or omissions which impair the office's/agency's
performance of its mission.
The conveyance of any written material from the department head
to the employee, which would constitute disciplinary action; i.e.,
suspension notice, etc., must be acknowledged by the employee. Notification
of receipt does not constitute agreement with the alleged charges
or the action indicated.
A.
Request for appeal; convening and composition of Appeal Board. Within
five days of the imposition of a written warning, suspension or discharge,
an employee may request the Personnel Officer to appeal the action
before an Appeal Board. The Appeal Board will be chaired by the Personnel
Officer or his representative and be otherwise comprised of one supervisory
and one nonsupervisory employee selected by the Personnel Officer,
neither of whom shall be from the appealing employee's department.
B.
Hearings.
(1)
The Personnel Officer will set a time and a place for the appeal
hearing as expeditiously as possible.
(2)
Although the appeal hearings shall be conducted on an informal basis,
employees may have a representative present if they so desire.
(3)
An employee may be present, along with his or her representative,
for presentation of the facts during an appeal hearing. Witnesses
may be called as needed by the employee or the County. The County
may be represented by management employees involved in the disciplinary
action taken and legal counsel. Otherwise, appeal proceedings shall
be conducted in closed session.
C.
Review and decision.
(1)
Upon receipt of the charges and statements from the department head
and the employee, the Appeal Board will review the evidence and interview
all of the affected parties in the case. The Appeal Board can reject,
accept or modify the department head's recommended disciplinary action.
If practical, the employee should be kept on active duty in his/her
regular position during the decision process. If the Appeal Board
rejects the department head's recommended action, the employee shall
be paid in full for such portion of the time that he/she was unjustly
suspended or discharged, or, if modification is ordered, the Appeal
Board's decision will include directives regarding back pay.
(2)
If the Appeal Board reverses the decision of the department head,
all documentation alleging the offense will be removed from the employee's
personnel record. If modification is ordered, all documentation will
remain in the employee's personnel record according to the appropriateness
with regard to the action taken.
(3)
The findings of the Appeal Board shall be final and binding.
The provisions of this article shall cover the following agencies
or offices:
A.
Aging services office.
B.
Animal shelter.
C.
Civil defense.
D.
Communications.
E.
County Administrator's office.
F.
County Commissioners' office.
G.
Finance Department.
H.
Government services.
I.
Jail/detention center.
J.
Parks and recreation.
K.
Personnel.
L.
Planning.
M.
Public Works.
N.
Purchasing.
O.
Sheriff's Department, excluding Deputy Sheriffs.
P.
Treasurer's office.
