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SR-603-013 (3) . .. . CA: RMM: lbcsr4 4/hpw ~t/3 - t/ /3 city Council Meeting 7-25-89 . ~p JUL 2 5 1989 Santa Monica, California STAFF REPORT TO: Mayor and City Council FROM: city Attorney SUBJECT: Ordinance Adding Section 21061 to the Santa Monica Municipal Code Implementing the Use of A Hearing Officer in Employee Disciplinary Hearings At its meeting on September 27, 1988, the City council directed the City Attorney to prepare an ordinance establishing a hearing officer procedure for the conduct of hearings involving employee terminations, suspensions, and demotions. In response to this direction, the accompanying ordinance has been prepared and is presented to the City Council for its consideration. Under current City laws, any employee who has been terminated, suspended, or demoted may request a hearing before the Personnel Board. Over the years, the length and complexity of hearings before the Personnel Board has increased. Accordingly, the Personnel Board, city staff, and representatives of employee organizations agreed that a procedure should be established by which a Hearing Officer hears evidence and makes recommendations to the Personnel Board. The accompanying ordinance adds Section 21061 to the Santa Monica Municipal Code. This Section provides that an employee can request or agree to have a disciplinary matter heard by a hearing officer. This Section further sets forth the procedures for the - 1 - Y-n JUL 2 ri989 . . selection of hearing officers, the conduct of hearings, and the action of the Personnel Board in response to the hearing officer's recommendation. RECOMMENDATION It is respectfully recommended that the accompanying ordinance be introduced for first reading. PREPARED BY: Robert M. Myers, City Attorney Lyn Beckett Cacciatore, Deputy City Attorney - 2 - . . CA:RMM:lbc044/hpw city council Meeting 7-25-89 Santa Monica, California ORDINANCE NUMBER (City Council Series) AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA ADDING SECTION 21061 TO THE SANTA MONICA MUNICIPAL CODE IMPLEMENTING THE USE OF A HEARING OFFICER IN EMPLOYEE DISCIPLINARY HEARINGS THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 21061 is added to the Santa Monica Municipal Code to read as follows: Section 21061. Use of a Hearing Officer in Employee Disciplinary Hearings. (a) Use of Hearing Officer. At the request of an employee or if the employee agrees, the Personnel Board may delegate the initial review of employee suspensions, demotions and terminations to a Hearing Officer. An employee's request for a Hearing Officer should be submitted in writing with the Answer to the statement of Charges. The City will pay the cost of the Hearing Officer, but if a court reporter is requested, the charge - 1 - . . . . for this service will be shared by both parties. (b) Selection of Hearinq Officer. The Hearing Officer shall be selected in accordance with the following procedure: (1) The city Attorney shall compile a Hearing Officer panel list of no less than twelve (12) persons who have agreed to serve as Hearing Officers. Each panel member shall be experienced in the field of labor and personnel relations or employee discipline and shall possess a law degree or be a member of the California Bar. (2) The city Attorney shall select, by a random process, names of five (5) Hearing Officers from the Hearing Officer panel list. These names shall be submi tted to the employee or his or her designated representative and to the City's representative. Within five (5) days of receipt of the list, the employee and City shall confer to select a Hearing Officer from the names provided. If the employee and City are unable to mutually agree on a Hearing Officer the Hearing Officer shall be selected by a process of elimination. Each party, beginning with - 2 - . . the City, shall strike a name from the list until one name remains, who shall be the Hearing Officer. (3) The ci ty shall promptly notify the Hearing Officer of his or her selection and within fifteen (15) days of his or her selection the Hearing Officer shall notify the parties of a hearing date. If the Hearing Officer is unable to schedule a hearing within sixty (60) days of his or her selection, then at the request of either party, the city Attorney shall provide a new Hearing Officer list until a Hearing Officer is selected who is able to so schedule a hearing date. (e) Duties of Hearinq Officer. (1) The Hearing Officer shall hold a hearing not later than sixty (60) days following his or her selection unless an extension of time is granted by mutual consent of the parties. The parties will be given no less than ten (10) days written notice of the time and place of the hearing. For good cause, at the request of any party, the Hearing Off ieer may reschedule a hearing. (2) The hearing conducted in accordance with - 3 - will be the ci ty . . ,. Charter, and the rules. the Santa Monica Municipal Code Personnel Board's procedural (d) Report of Hearinq Officer. (1) At the conclusion of the hearing, the Hearing Officer shall write a report in a format specified by the Personnel Board and shall make factual findings and recommendations for consideration by the Personnel Board. (2) The Hearing Officer shall issue the report within thirty (30) days of completion of the hearing. Both the employee and City shall be sent copies of the report. (3) The employee and City shall have fifteen (15) days from the date they receive the !,eport to file written objections to the report with the Personnel Department. All information necessary for the Personnel Board to make its decision concerning the objections should be included in the written objections. Each party shall serve a copy of his or her obj ections on the opposing party. - 4 - . . .. (e) Consideration of Report by Personnel Board. (1) The Personnel Board shall consider the Hearing Off icer' s report within sixty (60) days after it is issued. (2 ) The Personnel Board has the power to adopt, modify or reject the findings and recommendations of the Hearing Officer. (3) The Personnel Board shall consider all written objections to the report filed pursuant to Section 21061 (c) and may, at its discretion, permit a brief oral argwnent according to such rules as it may adopt. (4) The Personnel Board shall render its findings and conclusions in wri ting not more than ten (10) days from the date of the consideration of the Hearing Officer's report, which findings and conclusions shall constitute the decision of the Personnel Board. A copy will be sent to both parties. (f) Review of Personnel Board Decision. The decision of the Personnel Board shall be reviewable by petition filed pursuant to Code of civil Procedure Section 1094.5, provided such review is - 5 - . . sought not later than the ninetieth (90th) day following the date on which the decision becomes final in accordance with provisions of Section 1400 of this Code and Code of civil Procedure Section 1094.6. SECTION 2. Any provision of the Santa Monica Municipal Code or appendices thereto inconsistent with the provisions of this ordinance, to the extent of such inconsistencies and no further, is hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary to affect the provisions of this ordinance. SECTION 3. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of the ordinance. The ci ty Council hereby declares that it would have passed this ordinance and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase not declared inval id or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion of the ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional. SECTION 4. The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall attest to the passage of this ordinance. The city Clerk shall attest to the passage of this ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause the same to be published once in the official newspaper - 6 - . within 15 days after its adoption. .. effective 30 days from its adoption. APPROVED AS TO FORM: ~ ~. ~ -- ROBERT M. MYERS City Attorney - 7 - . The ordinance shall be