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HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 7809 INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS NO. 7809 C?�`RTERF4 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council March 22, 1994 a TEXAS Subject: 1973 PERSONNEL COMMISSION STATUS REPORT BACKGROUND: The Personnel Commission was established in 1981, replacing the three-member Trial Board which included members of the City Council and chaired by the Chairperson of the Civil Service Commission for Fire Fighters and Police Officers. The Commission was designed after model civil service legislation of the National Civil Service League and the model charter provisions of the National Civic League. The purpose of the Personnel Commission is to provide individual employees an opportunity to appeal a disciplinary dismissal, a demotion or a suspension to a neutral and objective panel of three (3) citizens; the Personnel Commission conducts the hearing or may appoint a hearing officer who will conduct a hearing of an appeal and submits.a recommendation to the Personnel Conunission. The original Commission included former Mayor Willard Barr as Chair, former City Council member Walter B. Barbour, and Arturo Pena. Since 1981, the Commission has heard over BO cases, relating to appeals of employees who have been dismissed, suspended for 10 days or more, or demoted. Employees must follow the City's appeal process which requires them to file their initial appeal with their immediate supervisor, secondly to their department head, thirdly to the Personnel Department, and finally to the Personnel Commission if there is not a resolution at the first three steps. The commission or its appointed hearing officer can hear appeals. When the commission meets, three (3) commissioners must hear an appeal. r In 1988, the Commission was expanded from three (3) members to six (6) members. The purpose of the expansion was to expedite the hearing process as well as assure that the Commission was representative of the City's workforce. CURRENT STATUS OF CASES PENDING BEFORE THE COMMISSION There are currently 9 cases pending before the Personnel Commission. The oldest case, from the date of the request for a hearing, is seven (7) months old. The most recent hearing request was received on March 14, 1994. Four(4) of the hearings have been scheduled to be heard within the next 30 days; Three(3) of the four (4) hearings will be held by the Commission and one will be held before a third party hearing examiner appointed by the Commission. ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER — FORT WORTH. TEXAfi INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 7809 �pflTEgF4 o�R To the Mayor and Members of the City Council March 22, 1994 p Subject: Page 2 of 4 1$73 PERSONNEL COMMISSION STATUS REPORT DELAYS IN PROCESSING APPEALS Unfortunately, delays have continued to plague the appeals process. Although there has been some improvement, e.g. from 11 months or more to a range of 6-8 months from the request for hearing, the time frame to process appeals continues to be inordinately excessive. Delays in processing appeals can be attributed to several factors, including vacancies on the commission, staffing reductions in the Personnel Department, coordinating dates with commissioners and attorneys and the cumbersome appeals process. Most recently, delays can be attributed partially to vacancies on the Commission due to resignations and terms expiring. With the most recent appointments of Messrs. Wallace, Flores, and Bland in January, the Personnel Commission is at full strength. Finding a suitable common date for the Commissioners and for attorneys representing the City and the appellant is a difficult task. Personnel Commission hearings on the average last 8 - 10 hours each and usually take place over a 2 - 3 day period. Finding commissioners who are able to be away from their jobs for lengthy hearings also is problematic. Also, there is a conscious effort to insure that each panel conducting a hearing is representative and that at least one member of the panel is of the same race and gender as the appellant. Lawyer preparation also is a consideration. The City Attorney's office is an integral part of the process and represents city departments in the hearing process. The cases are usually handled by one attorney, who does this as an additional duty. Other attorneys have been used when needed, depending upon their availability. Attorney schedules also may affect the timing of a hearing; it is not unusual for the appellant's attorney to have a conflict with a trial or some other proceeding. An attempt is_made to select a date that is suitable for the commissioners and the attorneys. Responsibility for scheduling hearings is assigned to the Personnel Administrator for Employee Relations. This individual also handles all the EEO complaints, employee grievances, maintenance of Personnel Rules and Regulations, coordinating development of the City's Affirmative Action Plan, and coordinates the City's random drug testing effort. Prior to staffing cuts and implementation of ADA Compliance efforts, the Assistant Director and Personnel Generalists assisted in employee relations activities. Additional staffing for this area needs to be seriously considered. ISSUED BY THE CITY MANGC;FR ____. ___ cnor inrnoru rcw A INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 7809 RTE;? aF mar o To the Mayor and Members of the City Council March 22, 1994 Subject: PERSONNEL COMMISSION STATUS REPORT Page 3 of 4 SOLUTIONS Recognizing the need to review the appeals system, a Total Quality Task Team (TQTT) is being established to review the City's Appeals and Grievance processes. The TQTT, which will be chaired by Parks and Recreation Director Richard Zavala, is being asked to consider a number of possible alternatives to improve the quality and efficiency of the appeals process. Among the alternatives to be considered are Alternate Dispute Resolution, Peer Group Review, adding additional commissioners, and reducing the bureaucratic and legalistic requirements that have evolved since the Commission was established. Mediation, Alternate Dispute Resolution can be either mediation or arbitration. In mediation a third party mediator attempts to get both parties in a dispute to come to an agreement that is satisfactory to each party. This process is becoming popular as an alternative in marital disputes, as an alternative to avoid protracted litigation of federal and state statutory claims, and as an alternative in handling r employer-employee disputes. In appeals of termination of employment, it is very difficult to get employers to retract the decision to fire an employee. Currently when there are questions relating to a termination, there is an attempt by the Personnel Department to mediate the process. And sometimes, department managers resolve conflicts prior to reaching the third step (Personnel Department). Mediation services are available from the Tarrant County Dispute Resolution Service at no cost. Arbitration. Arbitration also is an alternative which will be considered. In arbitration a third party arbitrator hears both sides of a dispute. In our current ordinance, the third party hearing officer hears the case and makes a recommendation to the Personnel Commission, which gives both parties an opportunity to rebut the findings and recommendation of the hearing officer. The Commission then makes a final recommendation to the City Manager, who makes the final determination. Peer Review. Peer Review is one of the options in alternative dispute resolution that is receiving support from employees and their companies that use this process. The peer review concept started at General Electric(GE) in the early'80s to give employees a participation process for handling their problems. The peer review system uses a panel of employees and managers to make recommendations on a range of specified issues. Unlike systems that use a neutral third party, the panel investigates, hears and rules on a case. The panel normally consists of five individuals, three of whom are nonmanagement employees. Information is considered completely confidential. ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER-- FORT WORTH,TEXAS-- INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 7809 TErr�a 04 rk To the Mayor and Members of the City Council March 22, 1994 Page, 4 of 4 'E Subject: g PERSONNEL COMMISSION STATUS REPORT Add Members. Additional panel members for the Personnel Commission also will be considered: Adding panel members may reduce the time commitment for members of the Commission by spreading the workload. Also, it gives the Personnel Administrator more choices in establishing a panel to conduct a hearing. Finally, the Quality Task Team will review the ,grievance and appeal processes. Since the inception of the Personnel Commission, there have been several significant changes to the ordinance and to the Commission procedures. The process has become cumbersome and there appear to be opportunities to simplify and expedite the appeals process. It is anticipated the preliminary recommendations of the TQTT will be completed by August 1, 1994; there Ail] be opportunities for employees and employee groups to provide input to the TQTT as well as participate directly on the team. City Personnel Director, Charlie Shapard, will be available at the Pre-Council meeting to respond to questions. Bob Terrell City Manager BT:n ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER-- _ FORT WORTH. TEXAS- —