HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 21197-04-2014 ORDINANCE NO. 21197-04-2014
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 2, "ADMINISTRATION," ARTICLE
V, "HUMAN RESOURCES," OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH,
TEXAS (1986), AS AMENDED, BY REVISING SECTION 2-181, "DISMISSAL,
SUSPENSION OR DEMOTION," TO CLARIFY THE EMPLOYEE
DISCIPLINARY PROCESS; REPEALING SECTIONS 2-182, 2-183, AND 2-184;
ENACTING A NEW SECTION 2-182 TO GOVERN THE DISCIPLINARY
APPEAL PROCESS; ENACTING A NEW SECTION 2-183 TO ESTABLISH
CRITERIA FOR SELECTION AND SERVICE OF NEUTRAL HEARING
OFFICERS; ENACTING A NEW SECTION 2-184 TO CHARGE THE CITY
MANAGER WITH ADOPTING PERSONNEL RULES AND REGULATIONS;
AND AMENDING CHAPTER 2, "ADMINISTRATION," ARTICLE 111, "BOARD
AND COMMISSIONS," BY REVISING SECTION 2-83, "NUMBER OF
MEMBERS AND TERMS OF SERVICE; ESTABLISHMENT OF PLACES," TO
DELETE A REFERENCE TO THE DISCIPLINARY APPEALS BOARD;
PROVIDING THAT THIS ORDINANCE SHALL BE CUMULATIVE;
PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING A SAVINGS CLAUSE;
AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS,, the Fort Worth City Code currently affords certain City employees
the right to appeal some adverse employment actions to an appointed Disciplinary
Appeals Board, which can either conduct the appeal hearing directly or designate a
neutral hearing officer to do so, and
WHEREAS, disciplinary appeal hearings are scheduled on an as-needed basis
and generally require one or more entire work days for completion; and
WHEREAS, the sporadic and time-intensive nature of disciplinary appeal
hearings has resulted in on-going difficulty finding individuals who are willing and
available to serve on the Disciplinary Appeals Board and conduct hearings directly; and
WHEREAS, over the last several years, hearings have increasingly been referred
to hearing officers, who are neutral third-party professionals with extensive experience
hearing and deciding labor and employment disputes-, and
Ordinance No. 21 197-04-2014
Page I of 9
WHEREAS, the use of hearing officers with prior experience overseeing
hearings allows proceedings to be conducted in a more consistent, efficient, and
expeditious manner than might be achieved from the use of an appointed citizen board,
which might not include individuals familiar with a hearing process; and
WHEREAS, in an effort to minimize the burden on volunteer citizen appointees
and to ensure that all disciplinary appeal proceedings are conducted in a consistent and
efficient manner, staff recommends revising the City Code to provide for all disciplinary
appeal hearings to be conducted by a neutral. third-party hearing officer and to establish
criterial'or the selection and assignment of such hearing officers; and
WHEREAS, staff recommends that the current City Code provision addressing
personnel regulations be repealed and reenacted to revise the process for adopting and
amending the regulations in order to align more closely with state law and the City's
char-ter and to allow for more flexibility and adaptability as requirements evolve; and
WHEREAS, staff also recoui-mends a conforming change to Section 2-83 of the
City Code;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS, AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1.
That Chapter 2, "Administration," Article V, "Human Resources," Section 2-181,
"Dismissal, suspension or demotion," of the Code of the City of Fort Worth is hereby
amended to divide the provision into subsections, to clarify language regarding
department head designees, and to allow procedural Issues to be addressed in the City's
personnel rules and regulations. As amended, Section 2-181 shall read as follows:
Ordinance No.21197-04-2014
Page 2 of 9
(a) The director of a city department, or that individual's designee, may, for any
cause specified in the Personnel Rules and Regulations concerning disciplinary
action, take any of the following adverse employment actions against an
employee:
(1) dismissal,
(2) suspension for more than ten (10) business days or
(3) demotion in rank or position.
(b) Any adverse employment action taken under subsection (a) against an
employee who is covered by this article shall be subject to the right of appeal
given to such employee under this article and under the relevant City of Fort
Worth Personnel Rules and Regulations.
SECTION 2.
That Chapter 2, "Administration," Article V, "Hurnan Resources," Section 2-182,
"Disciplinary appeals board," Section 2-183, "Appeals to the disciplinary appeals board,"
and Section 2-184, "Personnel regulations," of the Code of the City of Fort Worth, Texas
(1986) are hereby repealed in their entirety.
SECTION 3.
That Chapter 2, "*Administration," Article V, ".Human Resources," is hereby
amended to add a new Section 21-182, to be entitled —Disciplinary appeals process,"
addressing jurisdictional and procedural matters related to an appeal. Section 2-182 shall
read as follows:
Ordinance No.24 1 97-04-20 14
Page 3 of 9
Section 2-182—Disciplinary appeal process.
(a) An appeal from an adverse employment action under Section 2-181(a) must
comply with the requirements of this section and of the relevant provisions of the
City of Fort Worth Personnel Rules and Regulations.
(b) Timely filing of all requests for review and notices of appeal required under
the Personnel Rules and Regulations shall serve as conditions precedent to
jurisdiction over the appeal. If an employee falls to timely file any request for
review or notice of appeal, the appeal shall be automatically dismissed by the
Human Resources Department, the appeal process shall be immediately
terminated, and any further appeal rights shall, be forfeited.
(c) If all jurisdictional requirements of subsection (b) and all other requirements
under the Personnel. Rules and Regulations for an employee to have an appeal
hearing have been met, the Human Resources Department shall assign a hearing
officer selected in accordance with Section 2-183,
(d) The hearing officer shall conduct the hearing in accordance with the
procedures described in the Personnel Rules and Regulations.
(e) If an employee has been given proper notice of the date, time, and location of
an appeal hearing and falls to appear, the hearing officer may dismiss the appeal
on motion of the city or the hearing officer's own, motion. For purposes of this
provision notice shall be considered to be proper if it contains accurate
information, is correctly addressed to the mailing address that the employee (or
his legal representative) most recently provided to the Human Resources
Department, and is sent by first class United States mail or common or contract
carrier with postage or handling charges prepaid-
(f) After an appeal hearing has concluded, the hearing officer shall prepare
findings of fact and recommendations for disposition, which shall be considered
by the city manager. All Such findings and recommendations must comply with
the requirements of this section.
(g) A hearing officer's findings and recommendations shall be based solely on
the facts placed in evidence during the appeal hearing.
(h) A hearing officer's findings of fact shall be limited to a determination of
whether It has been established by a preponderance of the evidence that the facts
that form the basis for the discipline occurred.
(i) If the hearing officer determines that the facts did occur, the hearing officer
shall, based on the evidence presented, recommend either that the disciplinary
action be upheld or, if applicable, be reduced to one of the following actions:
suspension, demotion, probation, written warning, or oral warning. If the hearing
officer determines that the facts did not occur as alleged, the hearing officer shall,
based on the evidence presented, make recommendations as to an appropriate
course of action, which shall be limited to reinstatement with or without back pay
and benefits.
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0) In determining the amount of back pay and benefits to recommend, if any, the
hearing officer shall take into account an employee's duty to mitigate and shall
consider the tilonetary Value of any pay and/or benefits that the employee actually
earned or reasonably could have earned during the disciplinary period,
(k) No punitive damages, attorney's fees, or other relief shall be available to the
employee, and a hearing officer may not recommend any remedy unless it is
explicitly provided for under subsection (1).
(1) The hearing officer shall, in accordance with the procedures and deadlines
outlined in the Personnel Rules and Regulations, forward his findings and
recommendations to the Human Resources Department for presentation to the city
manager.
(in) A hearing officer's findings and recommendations are not binding on the city
manager. The city manager has the final authority to accept, modify, or reject any
of the hearing officer's findings or recommendations and to take such action as
the city manager determines is in the best interest of the city.
(n) This section applies to an employee's exercise of the rights afforded under
this article. J'o the extent any law outside of this article or of the city code
provides an employee with different or additional rights and/or establishes
different requirements or deadlines, that other law shall govern the disposition of
claims made under it.
SECTION 4.
That Chapter 2, "Administration," Article V, "Human Resources," is hereby
amended to add a new Section 2-183, to be entitled "Designation of hearing officer,"
establishing criteria for the selection, engagement, and assigning of neutral., third-party
hearing officers. Section 2-183 shall read as follows:
Section 2-1.83—Designation of hearing officer.
(a) The Human Resources Department shall make all reasonable efforts to ensure
that at all times the department maintains a roster of at least three neutral, third-
party hearing officers who meet the requirements of this section and who have
agreed to preside over disciplinary appeal hearings if available and requested to
do so.
(b) hi determining whether to appoint an individual to the roster of hearing
officers, the Human Resources Department shall consider the individual's training
and experience and shall endeavor to select individuals who: are familiar with
legal requirements applicable to employers and employees as well as the city's
Personnel Rules and Regulations; have good analytical skills; have prior
Ordinance No.2 1 1 97-04-2014
Page 5 of
experience conducting administrative hearings or similar quasi-judicial
proceedings; have experience issuing written findings of fact based on the
evidence introduced; have experience issuing recommendations or orders
applying law or policy to adduced facts; and have a demonstrated ability to write
clearly and concisely and to put in writing how those facts show compliance with
or violation of the law or policy at issue. A hearing officer may request to be
removed from the roster. In addition, the director of the Human Resources
Department or that individual's designee may, in his sole discretion, remove a
hearing officer for any reason, including, but riot limited to, demonstrating bias,
failing to comply with all applicable requirements of this section and the
Personnel Rules and Regulations, cancelling or postponing hearings without
providing the department and the parties adequate advance notice, failing to meet
deadlines, or producing written recommendations that do not demonstrate the
skills and abilities described above.
(c) In selecting among qualified hearing officer candidates, the director of the
Human Resources Department or that person's designee shall take into account
the composition of the city's workforce and shall endeavor to provide a roster that
is fairly representative of both sexes and of the various racial. groups that
comprise the employees of the city.
(d) An individual may not serve as a hearing officer if the individual or the
individual's spouse or domestic partner is otherwise being compensated by the
city in exchange for serving as an official, employee, temporary contract laborer,
or vendor.
(e) A hearing officer is disqualified to hear an appeal, and shall disclose to the
Human Resources Department in writing, if the hearing officer is:
(I) actLng in place of a parent for,
(2) in a domestic partner relationship with, or
(3) related within the second degree by consanguinity or affinity to
any of the following individuals: the employee-, the department head or designee
who unposed discipline; or any witness.
A person is related within the second degree by consanguinity to the person's
parents; grandparents; children; grandchildren; and the person's aunts, uncles,
cousins, nieces, and nephews related by blood or adoption. A person is related
within the second degree by affinity to the person's spouse; step-parents; step-
grandparents; stepchildren; step-grandchildren; parents-in-law; children-in-law;
and the person's aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, and nephews related by marriage,
(f) A hearing officer is intended to serve as neutral third party with no allegiance
or ties to the city or the employee. The Human Resources Department shall
advise each hearing officer of the hearing officer's duty of impartiality. The
department may, in its discretion, require a hearing officer to issue an oath
affirming awareness of and commitment to this duty.
Ordinance No.21 197-04-2014
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..........
(g) The Human Resources Department shall establish and implement a written
process for maintaining the roster and assigning hearing officers to ensure hearing
officers are assigned on an impartial, rotating, random basis and to ensure that
neither party is allowed to request assignment or non-assignment of a particular
hearing officer or to otherwise attempt to influence the hearing officer assignment
process.
(h) A hearing officer shall preside over the assigned disciplinary appeal hearing
and shall have the power and authority to administer oaths; to admit or exclude
evidence; to issue orders compelling the attendance of witnesses and the
production of documents; to issue other orders reasonably necessary for the fair,
impartial, and efficient conduct of the assigned disciplinary appeal hearing-, and to
issue findings and recommendations in accordance with Section 2-182.
SEC 'ION 5.
That Chapter 2, "Administration," Article V, "Human Resources," is hereby
amended to acid a new Section 2-184, to be entitled "Personnel rules and regulations,"
charging the City Manager with adopting personnel rules and regulations. Section 2-184
shall read as follows:
Section 2-184 — Personnel rules and regulations.
(a) In this Article, the term "Personnel Rules and Regulations" means the
policies, practices, guidelines, and work rules adopted in accordance with the
terms of this Section.
(b) In accordance with the city manager's duty under the City Charter to exercise
control over City departments, the city manager or that individual's designee
shall, with advice and assistance from the Human Resources Department,
develop, adopt, and promulgate Personnel Rules and Regulations for all City
employees who are, directly or indirectly, under the city manager's supervision
and control.
(c) All Personnel Rules and Regulations shall be unbiased and merit-based.
(d) One or more alternative bodies of Personnel Rules and Regulations tuay be
adopted for personnel who are governed by the state's civil service laws to the
extent such alternate rules and regulations are required in order to comply with
state law or the terms of a binding labor agreement that has been negotiated in
accordance with state law,
Ordinance No, 2[197-04-2014
Page 7 of 9
SECTION 6.
That Chapter 2, `Adruioistratioo," Article Ul, "Board and Commissioos," Section
2-83, "Number of members and terms of service; establishment of places," of the Code of
the City of Fort Wudb is becehv amended to revise ouhoeoh*o (h) to repeal the cnb7
ceieodng to the Disciplinary Appeals Board.
SECTION 7.
This ordinance nba|| be uuruu|udve of all provisions of ordinances and of the
Code of the City of Fort Worth, Texas (l906)` us amended, except where the provisions
of this ordinance are in direct conflict with the provisions of such ordinances and such
Code, in which event conflicting provisions Of Such ordinances and Such Code are hereby
repealed.
SECTION 8.
It is hereby declared to be the intention of the City Council that the phzaaen,
clauses, scotcuocm, paragraphs and sections of this ordinance are severable, and, if any
phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section of this ordinance shall be declared
unconstitutional by the valid Judgment or decree of any court of competent Jurisdiction,
such unconstitutionality sbo]i not affect any of the remaining phrases, clauses, oeutcoocs,
paragraphs and sections of this ordinance, since the sarrie would have been enacted by the
City Council without the incorporation in this ordinance of any such unconstitutional
phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph o/ section,
Ordinance No. 2| 197-84-2014
Page 8of9
SECTION 9,
All rights and remedies of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, are expressly saved uoto
any and all violations of the provisions of the ordinances amended herein, v/biub have
accrued at the time of the effective date of this ordinance and, as to such accrued
violations and all pending litigation, both civil and criminal, whether pending io court or
not` oodcc suob ordinances, ynmc abxU not be affected by this ordinance but may he
prosecuted until final disposition by the courts.
SECTION 10.
TIi s ordinance shall take effect upon adoption and publication uo required bylaw.
APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY: ATTEST:
-~-
ADOPTED: April
EFFECTIVE:
4444
Ordioaoon No. 2||97-04-2O|4
Page 9 nf9
City of Fort Worth, Texas
Mayor and Council Communication
COUNCIL.ACTION: Approved on 4/15/2014 - Ordinance No. 21197-04-2014
DATE: Tuesday, April 15, 2014 REFERENCE NO.: **G-18174
LOG NAME: 12HR CODE AMEND 2014
SUBJECT:
Adopt Ordinance Amending the Fort Worth City Code to Clarify the Employee Disciplinary Process
(Section 2-181), Repeal Existing Provisions Related to the Disciplinary Appeals Board and Personnel
Regulations (Sections 2-182 through 2-184), Enact a New Section 2-182 Outlining the Disciplinary Appeal
Process, Enact a New Section 2-183 to Provide for Selection and Appointment of Hearing Officers, Enact a
New Section 2-184 to Charge the City Manager with Adopting Personnel Rules and Regulations and Make
a Conforming Change in Section 2-83 of the City Code to Delete a Reference to the Disciplinary Appeals
Board (ALL COUNCIL DISTRICTS)
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council adopt the attached ordinance amending the Fort Worth City Code
to clarify the employee disciplinary process (Section 2-181), repeal existing provisions related to the
Disciplinary Appeals Board and personnel regulations (Sections 2-182 through 2-184), enact a new
section 2-182 outlining the disciplinary appeal process, enact a new section 2-183 to provide for selection
and appointment of hearing officers, enact a new Section 2-184 to charge the City Manager with adopting
personnel rules and regulations, and make a conforming change in Section 2-83 of the City Code to delete
a reference to the Disciplinary Appeals Board.
DISCUSSION:
The purpose of this Mayor and Council Communication is for the City Council to consider adoption of an
ordinance to amend the City Code provisions related to the Human Resources Department to update and
clarify the disciplinary appeals process and the manner in which personnel rules and regulations are
enacted.
Over the past several months, the Human Resources Department, at the direction of the City Manager's
Office and with the assistance of the City Attorney's Office, has been conducting a systematic,
comprehensive review and revision of the regulations that govern employee personnel matters. That
process is nearly complete.
In preparation for the enactment of the revised personnel rules and regulations, Staff revisited the
corresponding City Code provisions, which are found in sections 2-181 through 2-184. Based on its
review, Staff recommends these sections of the City Code be revised to make them easier to understand,
to align the City Code more closely with state law and the City Charter, to reflect practical developments
that have occurred over time, and to eliminate procedural matters that one would logically expect to find
addressed in personnel regulations rather than in City ordinance.
The existing Sections 2-181 through 2-184 grant certain employees a right to appeal disciplinary actions,
provide for a Disciplinary Appeals Board to conduct appeal hearings or assign them to hearing officers,
and establish procedures related to the adoption of personnel regulations-
Log-name: 121IR CODE AMEND 2014 Page 1 of 2
Staff recommends that Section 2-181 be broken into subsections to make it easier to follow and also
recommends eliminating language that details the procedural mechanics of the disciplinary
process. Because employment procedures any by nature detail intensive. Staff recommends that the
ordinances refer employees and the public to the personnel rules and regulations, which provide a more
logical forum for detailed discussion and which can more easily evolve and change over time to reflect
ongoing trends in labor and employment matters.
Similar concerns motivate Staff s recommendation that the current Sections 2-182 and 2-183 be repealed
and replaced. In their current form, these provisions address appeals to a Disciplinary Appeals Board
(DAB). which (ean appointed body made upof volunteer citizens. The Disciplinary Appeals Board iu
empowered to hear disciplinary appeal hearings or to refer those hearings to an outside hearing
officer. Over time, labor disputes and disciplinary appeals have begun to take more time to complete and
have become more complex. As raau|t, disciplinary appeal hearings have been more consistently
referred tO neutral, third-party hearing officers who are compensated for their time and who have training
and expertise in labor law matters and have the skills required to conduct un efficient and effective
hearing.
Staff recommends repealing the two existing provisions and enacting new Sections 2-182 and 2-183 to
provide for the qualification and appointment of neutral third-party hearing officers who will hear all
disciplinary appeals. The proposed language disqualifies hearing officers from serving inthe event ufe
conflict of interest and mandates that safeguards be adopted to prevent either the City or the employee
from attempting to interfere with the selection of aA impartial hearing officer.
In addition, Staff recommends that the City Council repeal the existing Section 2-184 of the City Code
related to personnel regulations and enact a replacement provision that charges the City Manager with
adopting and making public personnel rules and regulations to apply to City employees but does not
dictate details regarding the process for adopting those regulations. The proposed provision also
authorizes the City Manager to adopt alternate personnel rules and regulations if necessary in order to
comply with the terms of negotiated labor Agreements such as the current Police and Fire
contracts. Adoption of the revised Section 2-184 would align the City Code more closely with state law,
including the laws governing collective ba[g@ining, and vvOu|d also be consistent with the provision in the
City Charter that grants the City Manager general authority to exercise control over all departments and
subdivisions thereof.
Finally, Staff recommends a conforming change be made to Section 2-83 to eliminate reference to the
Disciplinary Appeals Board.
CERTIFICATION:FISCAL INFORMATION /
The Financial Management Services Director certifies that this action will have no material affect On City
funds.
CERTIFICATIONS:FUND CENTERS:
TO Fund/Account/Centers FROM Fund/AccounVCenters
Submifted for City Manager's Office by:
SusonA|anio (818[)
Originating Department Head: SanyhFu||envvder (7606)
Additional Information Contact: Denis McElroy (2758)
Loguun)c: l2HBL CODE AMEND 2Ol4 Page 2of2