Panel conditionally approves personnel discipline and investigations rules after clarifying suspension language

The committee granted conditional approval to personnel rules addressing investigations, discipline and termination for cause after staff raised two unclear comments.

Staff urged adding clarifying language in the section addressing disciplinary suspension without pay to specify that revocation or suspension of a license or certification for more than 30 days could be treated differently in termination provisions. The staff also noted the same offense language is used across written warning, suspension without pay and termination sections for harassment-related offenses, which could create arbitrary enforcement without additional criteria.

Agency counsel agreed to add language clarifying suspensions longer than 30 days. Agency representatives and counsel defended keeping harassment definitions flexible because determining appropriate discipline requires case-specific judgments and criteria already exist elsewhere in the personnel rules for determining the appropriate form of discipline.

The committee moved and granted conditional approval that adds the clarifying language recommended by staff and approves the remainder of the rule as written.