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Version 2.1 by Ryan Larkin on 2019/11/06 19:05
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1 **Washington County Sheriff's Office**
2
3 **ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION**
4
5 Policy Manual
6
7
8 Volume: AB
9
10 Staff Management
11
12 Chapter: 10
13
14 Corrective Action and Discipline
15
16
17 Replaces and/or Supersedes:
18
19 AB 10 04/13/2011
20
21 Published:
22
23 04/29/2013
24
25 Review Date:
26
27 11/06/2019
28
29
30 Sheriff Cory C. Pulsipher
31
32 Undersheriff James Standley
33
34
35 __**TABLE OF CONTENTS**__
36
37 AB 10_101 Definitions
38
39 AB 10_102 References
40
41 AB 10_103 General
42
43 AB 10_104 Accountability
44
45 AB 10_105 Magnitude of Conduct
46
47 AB 10_106 Levels of Action
48
49 AB 10_107 Level-1
50
51 AB 10_108 Level-2
52
53 AB 10_109 Level-3
54
55 AB 10_110 Formal Appeal
56
57 AB 10_111 Forms and Letters
58
59 AB 10_112 Internal Investigative Materials
60
61 AB 10_113 Enforcement Guidelines
62
63
64 **AB 10_101 __DEFINITIONS__**
65
66 1. WCSO: Washington County Sheriff's Office
67 1. PCF: Purgatory Correctional Facility
68 1. Chain of Command: The WCSO structure as outlined in policy: AA 01 WCSO Organizational Structure.
69 1. Impaired: Intoxicated, under the influence of any controlled or otherwise mind or body-altering substance, or in any otherwise diminished physical or mental capacity.
70 1. Offender: A person that is an arrestee, an inmate, a probationer, a parolee, or a notorious repeat arrestee even if not currently incarcerated.
71
72 **AB 10_102 __REFERENCES__**
73
74 1. Utah Counties Insurance Pool:
75 11. ML-IV.F
76 11. ML-V.F
77 11. WC-III.K
78 1. Utah Sheriff's Association Jail Standards:
79 11. B01.02.05: Enforcement of Policy
80 11. B01.03.01: Enforce Policy and Procedure Requirements
81
82 **AB 10_103 __GENERAL__**
83
84 1. Policy:
85 11. Employee corrective action practices and procedures will be fair to employees while meeting the needs of the WCSO.
86 1. Rationale:
87 11. Fair practices and procedures are beneficial to the employees as well as to the WCSO.
88
89 **AB 10_104 __ACCOUNTABILITY__**
90
91 1. Policy:
92 11. Employees shall be responsible for reporting knowledge of violations or potential violations of criminal laws and Washington County and WCSO standards, policies, procedures, and practices. Reporting should be made to the on-duty supervisor as soon as possible. For serious or time-sensitive violations (e.g., impairment), notifications shall be made immediately. Supervisors shall forward reports received to their division chief deputy via the chain of command.
93 11. Observations or allegations of serious or time-sensitive violations (e.g., impairment) shall be immediately investigated by the on-duty supervisor. Follow-up investigation, if applicable, will be conducted only under the specific direction of the division chief deputy or higher ranking WCSO official after approval by the Sheriff. If, as a result of a supervisor's initial investigation, there is no reasonable suspicion to believe that the employee is impaired while on duty, the employee shall be so notified orally and in writing and instructed to return to duty.
94 11. Supervisors shall be responsible for awareness of and corrective actions for their direct subordinates unless otherwise directed by their division chief deputy.
95 11. Before implementing disciplinary action that may lead to loss of employee property interest (i.e., loss of pay, loss of rank, loss of ability to promote, suspension, or termination) the division chief deputy and Sheriff or Undersheriff should review the circumstances with the Washington County Human Resources Director. Every termination must be approved in advance by the Human Resource Director.
96 11. Transfer to assignments that may not provide resources previously assigned to the employee (i.e., cellular telephones, office, or vehicles) are not considered property interest issues.
97 1. Rationale:
98 11. If an employee is in violation (e.g., impaired), immediate action is required to minimize the potential risk to safety and security.
99 11. If complaints originate from the public or offenders, a timely resolution is necessary to limit the damage done to the credibility and reputation of the WCSO and its employees.
100 11. Appropriate and timely dispositions:
101 111. Minimize the harm caused to employees resulting from unfounded allegations;
102 111. Minimize the harm to safety and security;
103 111. Allow the administration to order actions, sanctions, or other remedies required by the circumstances; and
104 111. Help begin the repair of any incurred harm to the reputation of the WCSO or its employees.
105
106 **AB 10_105 __MAGNITUDE OF CONDUCT__**
107
108 1. Policy:
109 11. Employee conduct shall be categorized according to the following magnitudes of seriousness:
110 111. Minor: An issue of relatively low importance or consequence (e.g., arriving a few minutes late for work).
111 111. Intermediate: An issue of relatively medium importance or consequence (e.g., not showing up for work).
112 111. Major: An issue of significant importance or consequence (e.g., failure to follow directions which resulted in physical injury), or any issue involving criminal conduct.
113 11. When the magnitude of an issue of conduct is not obvious, the employee should receive the benefit of the doubt.
114 11. A more complete (but not all inclusive) list of staff conduct expectations and examples of violations may be found in policy: AB 05 Standards of Conduct.
115
116 **AB 10_106 __LEVELS OF ACTION__**
117
118 1. Policy;
119 11. The employee corrective action process is designed with three progressive levels of action. The first two levels are corrective actions that are considered training or “coaching” actions and are not considered disciplinary actions. The last level is considered disciplinary action. The levels of action are as follows:
120 111. Level-1: Coaching (specific notice to employee);
121 111. Level-2: Coaching (specific notice to employee with detailed plan of action);
122 111. Level-3: Discipline (up to and including termination).
123 11. The level of action to be taken depends upon the magnitude and the specific circumstances of the relevant issue and/or events (i.e., not all actions must begin at Level-1).
124
125 **AB 10_107 __LEVEL-1__**
126
127 1. Policy:
128 11. Level-1 Management actions ordinarily address only minor issues or first time occurrences of intermediate issues.
129 11. A detailed plan of action is not required.
130 11. Documentation shall be completed and entered into the employee's personnel file via a Level-1 Staff Management form.
131
132 **AB 10_108 __LEVEL-2__**
133
134 1. Policy:
135 11. Level-2 Management actions ordinarily address:
136 111. Repetitive minor issues. Secondary occurrences of minor issues are not necessarily required to be managed with a Level-2 action. The decision should be determined by the supervisor after taking into consideration the magnitude and the frequency of the conduct;
137 111. Secondary occurrences of intermediate issues that were previously addressed with a Level-1 action; and
138 111. Major issues with mitigating circumstances (i.e., circumstances that the employee could not foresee or plan for).
139 11. A detailed corrective plan of action is required and shall be documented.
140 11. Documentation shall be completed and entered into the employee's personnel file via a Level-2 Staff Management form.
141
142 **AB 10_109 __LEVEL-3__**
143
144 1. Policy:
145 11. Level-3 Management actions ordinarily address:
146 111. Repetitive minor or intermediate issues. Secondary occurrences are not necessarily required to be managed with a Level-3 action. The decision should be determined by the supervisor after taking into consideration the magnitude and the frequency of the conduct; and
147 111. Major issues.
148 11. After becoming aware of a violation that may warrant disciplinary action, the division chief deputy will notify the Sheriff and Undersheriff. The Sheriff or designee will determine if further investigation is necessary. If further investigation is necessary, the Sheriff or designee will determine the proper investigating authority and make the investigative assignment.
149 11. After reviewing the facts of the case the Sheriff will determine if disciplinary action is warranted.
150 11. Level-3 management actions include the full spectrum of disciplinary actions that may be taken against an employee up to and including termination of employment.
151 11. Disciplinary actions shall be determined on a case-by-case basis with consideration of:
152 111. The magnitude of the offense;
153 111. Previous disciplinary action of a similar nature;
154 111. The employee's willingness to change behavior and sustain such changes throughout the remainder of employment;
155 111. The deterrent effects of preventing violations by others;
156 111. The employee's work history (e.g., productivity, attendance, etc.);
157 111. Being a positive role model for other employees and supporting management's goals and objectives; and
158 111. The employee's seniority.
159 11. Documentation shall be completed via a formal letter.
160
161 **AB 10_110 __APPEAL__**
162
163 1. Policy:
164 11. The Washington County Sheriff's Office follows [[Washington County Policy>>https://www.washco.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/hr/pdf/er/policy-manual.pdf]] in regards to appeals.
165
166 **AB 10_111 __FORMS AND LETTERS__**
167
168 1. Policy:
169 11. The purpose of employee management forms is to facilitate accurate documentation.
170 11. A copy of every employee management form shall be emailed to the respective employee for verification of notice. Delivery of a hard-copy is not required.
171 11. Delivery to the respective employee of hard-copies of formal disciplinary letters is required.
172
173 **AB 10_112 __INTERNAL INVESTIGATIVE MATERIALS__**
174
175 1. Policy:
176 11. Employees have no right to know about, review, or challenge any internal investigation unless it results in discipline.
177 11. When discipline is to be imposed (i.e., Notice of Intent) employees have a right to:
178 111. Know why they are being disciplined:
179 111. A summary of the evidence on which that discipline is based; and
180 111. Dispute that discipline through the administrative process outlined above.
181 11. Employees do not have a right to access all investigative materials. They have the right to respond to the violations and evidence enumerated in the Notice of Intent.
182 11. Access to internal investigative materials and disciplinary actions is strictly on a need-to-know basis as determined by the Sheriff upon the advice of his legal counsel.
183 11. Employees interviewed during an internal investigation have no right to confidentiality and are expected to provide accurate and honest information with an understanding that information will only be shared on a need-to-know basis. This applies when criminal prosecution is not at issue. For instances in which it is at issue, see Policy AB 11, Internal Affairs and Investigations.
184 11. From the time a Notice of Intent is issued, all documents and materials related to the employee are to be retained and stored with nothing being destroyed unless specifically authorized by legal counsel.
185
186 **AB 10_113 __ENFORCEMENT GUIDELINES__**
187
188 1. Policy:
189 11. Enforcement guidelines are not absolutes. They simply provide employees with an idea of what to expect in the way of management's reaction when cases of similar nature and outcomes occur. The following guidelines should apply to all employees:
190 11. Progressive discipline should be followed unless circumstances require otherwise;
191 11. Termination may be particularly appropriate if:
192 111. Another person is seriously injured or killed;
193 111. Public image is severely damaged;
194 111. Coercion, physical force, battery, or assault is an element (particularly if a supervisor is the aggressor);
195 111. Serious extensive property damage occurs;
196 111. Illegal discrimination or harassment occurs;
197 111. The employee loses work credibility and it is no longer reasonable to expect that the employee can be effective or efficient in current job assignments; or
198 111. The act results in a violation of a felony law.