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19790220 1979-3 ORDINANCE NO. 1979-3 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 2-48 OF CHAPTER 2, ARTICLE VIII OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA, PROVIDING FOR THE ADMINISTRATIVE RESOLUTION OF PERSONNEL DISCIPLINARY MATTERS AND GRIEVANCES. BE IT ORDAINED by the City Council of the City of Fairfax, Virginia, that Section 2-48 of Chapter 2, Article VIII of the Code of the City of Fairfax, Virginia, be and it hereby is amende~ in the following manner: 1. That section 2-48 of the said Article be and it hereby is amended to read in its entirety as follows: "Sec. 2-48. Discipline and Grievances. (a) Kinds of disciplinary actions. If an employee's work performance or behavior is unsatisfactory, the following kinds of disciplinary action may be taken, depending upon the circum- stances: oral admonishment, official reprimand, withholding of anniversary pay increase, suspension, reduction in pay or dis- missal. (b) Authority to discipline. A supervisor has the respon- sibility for oral admonishment and official reprimands and for recommending other action. A department head may suspend an employee up to a maximum of twenty working days. Suspension for a longer period, reduction in pay, withholding of anniversary pay increase and dismissal can only be made by the City Manager. (c) Notification. An employee shall be given written notice before any disciplinary action, other than oral admonish- ment or official reprimand, is executed. Disciplinary action, other than oral admonishment or official reprimand, which is the result of unsatisfactory behavior, may be effected immediately up~ giving written notice of such disciplinary action to the employee Disciplinary action, other than oral admonishment or official reprimand, which is the result of unsatisfactory work performance will not be effected until a second written notice of such action 1979-3 given the employee. -2- No written notice shall be required prior to effecting an oral admonishment or official reprimand. The official personnel file of each employee shall be available for his inspection during normal working hours. (d) Grievances. (1) Definition. A grievance is a complaint or dispute by an employee relating to his employment, including (i) disci- plinary actions, involving dismissal, demotions and suspensions. (ii) concerns regarding the application, meaning or interpretatioI of personnel policies, procedures, rules and regulations, (iii) acts of reprisal as the result of utilization of the grievance procedure, and (iv) complaints of discrimination on the basis of race, color, creed, or sex. Complaints shall be nongrievable where they involve (i) establishment and revision of wages or salaries, position classifications or general benefits, (ii) work activity accepted by the employee as a condition of employ- ment or work activity which may be reasonably expected to be a part of the job content, (iii) the contents of ordinances, sta- tutes or established personnel policies, procedures, rules and regulations, (iv) failure to promote except where the employee can show that established promotional policies or procedures were not followed or applied fairly, (v) the methods, means and personnel by which such work activities are to be carried on, or (vi) discharge, layoff or suspension from duties because of lack of work, reduction in work force, or job abolition. A grievance shall not be interpreted to mean negotiations of wages, salaries or fringe benefits. (2) Determination of a grievance. Decisions regarding whether a matter is grievable shall be made by the City Manager at the request of the grievant or the City and such decision shall be made within ten days of such request. Decisions of the City Manager may be appealed by the grievant to the circuit court of the county for a hearing de novo on the issue of grievability. 1979-3 ~3- Proceedings for review of the decision of the City Manager shall be instituted by filing a notice of appeal with the City Manager within ten days after the date of the decision and giving a copy thereof to all other parties. Within ten days thereafter, the City Manager shall transmit to the clerk of court a copy of the decision of the City Manager, a copy of the notice of appeal, and any exhibits. The failure of the City Manager to transmit the record within the time allowed shall not prejudice the rights of the grievant. The court, on motion of the grievant, may issue a writ of certiorari requiring the City Manager to transmit the record on or before a certain date. Within ten days of receipt by the clerk of such record, the court, sitting without a jury, shall hear the appeal on the record transmitted by the City Manager and such additional evidence as may be necessary to resolve any controversy as to the correctness of the record. The court, in its discretion, may receive such other evidence as the ends of justice require. The court may affirm the decision of the City Manager or may reverse or modify the decision. The decision of the court shall be rendered no later than the fif- teenth day from the date of the conclusion of the hearing. Such determination of grievability shall be made subsequent to the reduction of the grievance to writing but prior to the hearing before the personnel advisory board as hereinafter provided. The issue of grievability shall be decided prior to the hearing before the board or it shall be deemed to have been waived. (3) Grievance procedure. Employee grievances, whether by an individual or group of employees, shall be processed as follows: (i) Step 1. A grievance must be raised within ten work days after the event giving rise to the grievance, or within ten work days following the time when the employee reasonably should have known of its occurrence. The grievant shall discuss the matter with his immediate supervisor who shall attempt to adjust the matter and must respond within three working days. -4- (ii) Step 2. If the grievance is not settled by the immediate supervisor to the satisfaction of the grievant, he may present his grievance in writing, through his intermediate supervisors, to the appropriate department head. The department head shall hear the appeal and respond in writing within five working days of receipt of the appeal. If the immediate super- visor is the department head, step one and two shall be conso- lidated into a single step. (iii) Step 3. If the grievant is not satisfied with the decision of the department head, he may file a written appeal to the City Manager, who shall hear his appeal within seven working days and render a decision within an additional seven working days. (iv) Step..4.. If the grievant is not satisfied with th~ decision of the City Manager, he may file a written appeal to the personnel advisory board within ten days of notification by the City Manager of his decision, and the personnel advisory board shall hear the appeal. (v) Step 5. The hearing before the personnel advisory board shall be conducted in accordance with the rules of conduct and procedure for such hearings as may be promulgated by the board from time to time. Both the grievant and the City may call upon witnesses and be represented by legal counsel or other representatives. In matters involving disciplinary actions, the board shall hear the appeal within twenty days and submit its decision to the City Manager within ten days of the hearing. If the board decides that the disciplinary action was unjust, the employ( shall be reimbursed for lost ~pay to the extent determined by the board. In all other actions, the personnel advisory board shall act upon a written appeal within a reasonable period of time subsequent to its receipt. For this purpose, a reasonable period of time usually will not exceed forty-five days. If due to extenuating circumstances this time limit cannot be met, the 1979-3 -~- grievant will be informed in writing of the reason for the delay and when he can expect the board to act. The decision of the board shall be final and binding. (4) Form of grievance. All stages of the grievance beyond step one shall be in writing on forms supplied by the City Once the employee has reduced his grievance to writing, he must specify on the appropriate form the specific relief he expects to obtain through the use of the grievance procedure. (5) Employee representation. At all steps of the grievance procedure established pursuant to Section 2-48(d) (3) of this Article, the grievant shall be permitted to be accompanied or represented by an individual of his own choice. (6) No reprisal. It shall be unlawful for any super- visor or other management official to make reprisal against an employee on account of a grievance. (7) Waiver of time limits. By mutual agreement, the parties to a grievance may extend any or all of the time periods established in this grievance procedure. Failure by the employee to process a grievance within the time limits, or agreed upon extension, shall constitute termination of the grievance. (e) Compliance with grievance procedure. Failure by the grievant to comply with all substantial procedural requirements of the grievance procedure without just cause will terminate the right of further appeal. Failure of the City to comply with all substantial procedural requirements of the grievance procedure without just cause will, at the option of the grievant, advance the grievant to the next step in the grievance process. Failure of the City, without just cause, to comply with all substantial procedural requirements of the hearing before the personnel advisory board shall result in a decision in favor of the grievan (f) Management rights. Nothing in this section shall cir- cumscribe or modify the existing management right of the City to (i) direct the work of its employees as well as establish and 1979 -3 rev±se wages, salar±es, pos±t±on class±f±cations and general employee benefits; (ii) promote, transfer, assign and retain employees with the C±ty; (±±i) maintain tSe governmental operations; (iv) relieve employees from tSe ~ties of tSe City in emergencies; an~ (v) ~etermi~e the methods, means and per$o~el by which ope~atio~$ are to be ca~rie~ This amendment ssa11 become effective ,~o~ adoption · Introduced: February 6, 1979 Adopted: February 20, 1979 Mayor ATTEST: