Personnel Board Appeal Workflow
Notice of Recommended Disciplinary Action:
County Administration will initiate the letter after evaluating the employee’s behavior or performance. This recommendation is not final.
This letter contains the date, time, and location of the pre-disciplinary "Skelly" hearing. You have the right to provide a response at this Skelly Hearing in front of (or in writing to) a Skelly Officer generally selected by the manager or department head who made the initial decision to discipline.
Skelly Hearing:
The Skelly hearing is the employee’s opportunity to provide a pre-disciplinary response for all terminations, demotions or suspensions; and that opportunity must be provided by the County. It is not optional.
The Skelly Officer may only make one of three decisions: 1) uphold the recommended level of discipline; 2) reduce the recommended level of discipline; or, 3) completely overturn the recommended level of discipline.
You must provide any written response on or before the date of the scheduled hearing. At this level, you are not entitled to a formal hearing with the examination of witnesses nor a court reporter or transcript of any proceedings.
You may be represented by a representative of your choice at the Skelly Hearing, such as your union representative or attorney. The hearing will proceed whether the employee chooses to attend the hearing in person or provide a written response.
It is not the function of the Skelly Officer to conduct a full trial-type hearing of all the evidence. This opportunity comes later, if the employee elects to challenge the action taken.
Notice of Final Disciplinary Action:
The Skelly Officer issues the Final Disciplinary Action after weighing the facts presented in the Recommended Disciplinary Action against the facts, if any, presented by the employee in the pre-disciplinary response or Skelly Hearing.
This is no longer a recommendation. This is the final level of discipline being imposed on the employee.
You may appeal this action by filing a request for a Personnel Board public hearing within ten (10) working days of receipt of this notice to the Personnel Board.
You have the right to be represented in your appeal by your union or another representative of your choice.
Employees who are peace officers and subject to the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act (“POBAR”) of 1974 are entitled to a confidential Personnel Board appeal hearing.
Personnel Board Appeal Hearing:
If a hearing is requested, the Personnel Board shall conduct said hearing on the suspension, demotion, or removal which shall be called and held as provided for in the County Charter.
The hearing shall be public, may be conducted informally, and the rules of evidence need not apply.
At the conclusion of the hearing, the prevailing party submits the findings of fact with concurrence from the opposing party. The Board shall review all proposed findings and may modify such proposed findings in whole or in part. These findings are made available to the public and are posted online.
Personnel Board decisions shall be final, except that for Executive management employees’ decisions shall be advisory to the County Executive who shall review them and make the final decision.
The losing party may seek judicial review of a Personnel Board decision with the courts.