Wiki source code of AB 10 Corrective Action and Discipline

Last modified by Ryan Larkin on 2022/03/08 21:05

version	line-number	content
1.1	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
3.1	27	03/08/2022
1.1	28
	29
3.1	30	Sheriff Nate Brooksby
1.1	31
3.1	32	Undersheriff Barry Golding
1.1	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
2.1	45	AB 10_105 Magnitude of Conduct
1.1	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
1.2	64	AB 10_101 __DEFINITIONS__
1.1	65
	66	1. WCSO: Washington County Sheriff's Office
	67	1. PCF: Purgatory Correctional Facility
3.1	68	1. Chain of Command: The WCSO structure as outlined in policy: [[AA 01 WCSO Organizational Structure>>doc:Policy.Administrative.AA 01 WCSO Organizational Structure.WebHome]].
1.1	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
1.2	72	AB 10_102 __REFERENCES__
1.1	73
	74	1. Utah Counties Insurance Pool:
	75	11. ML-IV.F
	76	11. ML-V.F
	77	11. WC-III.K
	78
1.2	79	AB 10_103 __GENERAL__
1.1	80
	81	1. Policy:
	82	11. Employee corrective action practices and procedures will be fair to employees while meeting the needs of the WCSO.
	83	1. Rationale:
	84	11. Fair practices and procedures are beneficial to the employees as well as to the WCSO.
	85
1.2	86	AB 10_104 __ACCOUNTABILITY__
1.1	87
	88	1. Policy:
	89	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.
	90	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.
	91	11. Supervisors shall be responsible for awareness of and corrective actions for their direct subordinates unless otherwise directed by their division chief deputy.
3.1	92	11. Before implementing disciplinary action that may lead to loss of employee property interest (i.e., loss of pay, loss of rank, 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.
	93	11. Transfers 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.
1.1	94	1. Rationale:
	95	11. If an employee is in violation (e.g., impaired), immediate action is required to minimize the potential risk to safety and security.
	96	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.
	97	11. Appropriate and timely dispositions:
	98	111. Minimize the harm caused to employees resulting from unfounded allegations;
	99	111. Minimize the harm to safety and security;
	100	111. Allow the administration to order actions, sanctions, or other remedies required by the circumstances; and
	101	111. Help begin the repair of any incurred harm to the reputation of the WCSO or its employees.
	102
1.2	103	AB 10_105 __MAGNITUDE OF CONDUCT__
1.1	104
2.1	105	1. Policy:
	106	11. Employee conduct shall be categorized according to the following magnitudes of seriousness:
	107	111. Minor: An issue of relatively low importance or consequence (e.g., arriving a few minutes late for work).
	108	111. Intermediate: An issue of relatively medium importance or consequence (e.g., not showing up for work).
3.1	109	111. Major: An issue of significant importance or consequence (e.g., failure to follow directions that resulted in physical injury), or any issue involving criminal conduct.
2.1	110	11. When the magnitude of an issue of conduct is not obvious, the employee should receive the benefit of the doubt.
3.1	111	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.
1.1	112
1.2	113	AB 10_106 __LEVELS OF ACTION__
1.1	114
2.1	115	1. Policy;
	116	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:
3.1	117	111. Level-1: Coaching Session (specific notice to employee);
	118	111. Level-2: Counseling with Action Plan (specific notice to employee with detailed plan of action);
	119	111. Level-3: Disciplinary Action (up to and including termination).
2.1	120	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).
1.1	121
1.2	122	AB 10_107 __LEVEL-1__
1.1	123
2.1	124	1. Policy:
	125	11. Level-1 Management actions ordinarily address only minor issues or first time occurrences of intermediate issues.
	126	11. A detailed plan of action is not required.
3.1	127	11. Documentation shall be completed and entered into the employee's personnel file.
1.1	128
1.2	129	AB 10_108 __LEVEL-2__
1.1	130
2.1	131	1. Policy:
	132	11. Level-2 Management actions ordinarily address:
	133	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;
	134	111. Secondary occurrences of intermediate issues that were previously addressed with a Level-1 action; and
	135	111. Major issues with mitigating circumstances (i.e., circumstances that the employee could not foresee or plan for).
	136	11. A detailed corrective plan of action is required and shall be documented.
3.1	137	11. Documentation shall be completed and entered into the employee's personnel file.
1.1	138
1.2	139	AB 10_109 __LEVEL-3__
1.1	140
2.1	141	1. Policy:
	142	11. Level-3 Management actions ordinarily address:
	143	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
	144	111. Major issues.
	145	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.
	146	11. After reviewing the facts of the case the Sheriff will determine if disciplinary action is warranted.
	147	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.
	148	11. Disciplinary actions shall be determined on a case-by-case basis with consideration of:
	149	111. The magnitude of the offense;
	150	111. Previous disciplinary action of a similar nature;
	151	111. The employee's willingness to change behavior and sustain such changes throughout the remainder of employment;
	152	111. The deterrent effects of preventing violations by others;
	153	111. The employee's work history (e.g., productivity, attendance, etc.);
	154	111. Being a positive role model for other employees and supporting management's goals and objectives; and
	155	111. The employee's seniority.
	156	11. Documentation shall be completed via a formal letter.
1.1	157
2.1	158	AB 10_110 __APPEAL__
1.1	159
2.1	160	1. Policy:
	161	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.
1.1	162
1.2	163	AB 10_111 __FORMS AND LETTERS__
1.1	164
2.1	165	1. Policy:
	166	11. The purpose of employee management forms is to facilitate accurate documentation.
3.1	167	11. A copy of every employee management form shall be available to the respective employee for verification of notice. Delivery of a hard-copy is not required.
2.1	168	11. Delivery to the respective employee of hard-copies of formal disciplinary letters is required.
1.1	169
1.2	170	AB 10_112 __INTERNAL INVESTIGATIVE MATERIALS__
1.1	171
2.1	172	1. Policy:
	173	11. Employees have no right to know about, review, or challenge any internal investigation unless it results in discipline.
	174	11. When discipline is to be imposed (i.e., Notice of Intent) employees have a right to:
	175	111. Know why they are being disciplined:
	176	111. A summary of the evidence on which that discipline is based; and
	177	111. Dispute that discipline through the administrative process outlined above.
	178	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.
	179	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.
3.1	180	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 in non-criminal cases. For criminal cases, see Policy [[AB 11, Internal Affairs and Investigations>>doc:Policy.Administrative.AB 11 Internal Affairs and Criminal Investigations.WebHome]].
2.1	181	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.
1.1	182
1.2	183	AB 10_113 __ENFORCEMENT GUIDELINES__
1.1	184
2.1	185	1. Policy:
	186	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:
	187	11. Progressive discipline should be followed unless circumstances require otherwise;
	188	11. Termination may be particularly appropriate if:
	189	111. Another person is seriously injured or killed;
	190	111. Public image is severely damaged;
	191	111. Coercion, physical force, battery, or assault is an element (particularly if a supervisor is the aggressor);
	192	111. Serious extensive property damage occurs;
	193	111. Illegal discrimination or harassment occurs;
	194	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
	195	111. The act results in a violation of a felony law.