9.1 Employee Complaint and Disciplinary Process Flashcards
A ___________________________ is critical to the effectiveness of any public
safety organization
foundation of trust with the community
In order to maintain this relationship, public employees are
expected to maintain ___________________.
ethical and moral standards
The employee complaint
and disciplinary process serves to provide ___________ when
reviewing the actions of employees.
transparency and honesty
The complaint and disciplinary process provides ________________
review of allegations of misconduct or violations of policy by ensuring fair and
equitable procedures to maintain appropriate conduct by all employees to meet
BSO’s obligations to the public it serves.
consistent, reasonable, and timely
review
When an employee’s actions violate or deviate from the Standards of Conduct or
other applicable policies and procedures, a range of disciplinary action may be
implemented to address the employee’s behavior. The disciplinary process is
designed to:
- Provide the public with a means to bring forth complaints against employees
- Ensure a complete, thorough, and impartial investigation
- Ensure a process that encourages transparency and accountability to the
community - Respect the rights of employees and seek to vindicate or exonerate those
wrongfully accused - Identify deficiencies and recommend training or discipline when appropriate
[CALEA-C 3.6.5] - Identify inadequate policies or practices that may be improved upon to
deliver high levels of service to the public - Comply with applicable federal and state laws, case law, relevant bargaining
agreements, and accreditation standards
Any section of this chapter that is in conflict with relevant collective bargaining
agreements will be resolved ________ of the collective bargaining agreements for
covered employees only. This may include any additional rights extended to covered employees by the Sheriff, negotiated and included in a collective
bargaining agreement for the covered employees only, even if not specifically
mentioned in this chapter.
in favor
____________ retains the exclusive right to determine and administer
discipline to managerial, exempt, and confidential employees up to and including
termination and impose all other terms and conditions of employment.
The Sheriff or designee
________________ is vested with the responsibility and authority for all investigations of
employee misconduct. These investigations may be delegated to the employee’s
command by the Director of Internal Affairs or his designee.
Internal Affairs
Many elements of the disciplinary process are covered in bargaining agreements,
state and federal laws and respective court decisions. A number of those elements
are considered concurrently, while others depend solely on the employee’s job
classification. For example, only employees represented by a collective bargaining
agreement may claim benefits within that contract. Only deputy sheriffs, detention
deputies, and firefighters are entitled to certain provisions of Florida Statute
___________. All employees of any job classification may choose to participate in a
“pre-disciplinary hearing.” It should be noted that any benefits available to an
employee based on a job classification, may be extended to other employees, at
the sole discretion of the Sheriff.
Chapter 112
Recommendations for discipline (if any) of unrepresented employees will be made
by _______________.
the employee’s command
_______________ will be responsible for the overall operation of Internal
Affairs and reports directly to the Executive Director, Department of Professional
Standards. However, as a situation may necessitate, _________________
may report any complaints against the agency or employees directly to the Sheriff.
The Internal Affairs Director
In general terms, it is the intent of this policy to simplify the process of
administering complaints of employee misconduct. For example, allegations will generally fall within two categories based on the severity of potential discipline, _____and ________
Category I and Category II infractions.
violations with the potential to result in a suspension of five (5)
days or less, or a written reprimand. These complaints may at the discretion
of Internal Affairs be delegated to the employee’s command for
investigation. Internal Affairs will continue to track the complaint and will
process the investigation upon completion.
Category I
violations of criminal offenses or discipline with the potential to
result in a suspension of six (6) days or greater, loss/forfeiture of pay and
benefits, demotion and termination. These complaints will be investigated by
Internal Affairs.
Category II
________ is defined as an allegation of misconduct by an employee, whether it
involves a violation of policy and procedure, code of ethics, state or federal law, or
other recognized standard of conduct.
A complaint
Complaints will be reviewed by ___________________. If
the preliminary investigation determines no violation of policy and/or law, no further
action will be taken. Any other findings will initiate an investigation per Florida
Statutes and the Sheriff’s Policy Manual.
Internal Affairs and/or the employee’s command.
Complaints may be received by any means and need not be in writing. They may
be taken in ________. They will be reviewed and forwarded to the
appropriate entity for investigation.
person or anonymously
Complaints may be received by any means, including, but not limited to:
a. In-person
b. Telephone
c. Mail
d. Electronic means
A complaint of misconduct will be received by any employee; however, nonsupervisory
employees should immediately notify a supervisor or Internal
Affairs of a complaint. Complaints may be taken using the______ A complaint form may be completed by the
complainant or a BSO employee.
BSO Employee
Recognition/Complaint Form.
Complaints received by mail will be placed in a sealed envelope along with
the_________________________ and forwarded to
Internal Affairs for review. If the complaint is against an employee in the
command where the correspondence was received and the complaint may
be considered a Category I infraction, the command may initiate the followup
original envelope in which the complaint was received
Complaints received by _____________ will either be taken over
the telephone by a duty officer or directed to a shift supervisor nearest to the
complainant (preferably a sergeant or lieutenant). The option will be up to
the complainant, either to give the complaint over the phone, or meet with a
supervisor.
Regional Communications
A complainant requesting to speak to a supervisor will be interviewed _________
as
soon as is practical.
The BSO supervisor or Internal Affairs investigator will complete the
relevant forms associated with the complaint process, e.g., SIU#1(__________), SIU#11 (___________),
and SIU#2 (_________).
Internal
Affairs Processing Form
Internal Affairs Complainant Affidavit
Complaint Control Form
It is fully understood that what might initially begin as a complaint could
actually be a misunderstanding about BSO procedures or some other
concern. It is incumbent upon the supervisor, if the complainant wishes to
be interviewed, to ____________________
learn the citizen’s concerns and use discretion to
determine the proper course of action.
If a complaint can be handled verbally or in writing by a supervisor in a
command, after appropriate review is conducted into the employee’s
previous disciplinary record (if any), the supervisor should do so. If the
supervisor believes an _________________is warranted, then
the supervisor will do so. When there is doubt, supervisors (and commands)
will communicate with the Internal Affairs Division to work out a course of
action.
Internal Affairs Processing Form
- All investigations will be preceded by a Request for Internal Affairs
Processing Form which will be completed by a BSO supervisor or Internal
Affairs investigator receiving the initial complaint of misconduct. Written
complaints in any form submitted to any command will be attached to this
form. - The completed Internal Affairs Processing Form will be immediately
forwarded to Internal Affairs for processing. - Internal Affairs will generate the Complaint Control Form and will send a
letter to the complainant. - The Complaint Control Form, along with a copy of the employee’s Internal
Affairs history, and a memo to the employee will be sent to the investigator
who is assigned the investigation. The memo will be given to the employee
at the discretion of the investigator or commander, based on the nature of
the investigation.
Request for Internal Affairs Processing Form
After receipt of a complaint, Internal Affairs will provide written notification to
the complainant acknowledging: [CALEA 52.2.4}
a. _________
b. ________
Receipt of the complaint
That the investigation has commenced
Category II infractions will be handled by Internal Affairs and Category I
infractions may be delegated to the employee’s command for follow-up. If a
conflict arises, Internal Affairs and commands will consult, but the final
determination is vested with the _________________
Director of Internal Affairs.
Investigations will be classified as anonymous allegations if received by:
a.
b.
c.
a. Anonymous letter, fax, or correspondence
b. Anonymous telephone call to a BSO facility or employee
c. Other format where the complaint initiator is anonymous
A Personnel Complaint Control Form will be initiated by IA if an anonymous
allegation of misconduct is received by an employee. The violation
classification will be documented as “______________.” These
complaints will be processed and investigated pursuant to the Sheriff’s
Policy Manual and applicable laws.
Anonymous Allegation
If an investigation shows evidence substantiating any portion of an
allegation, _________________________
the violation classification will be updated to reflect the
appropriate charge
If an investigation fails to substantiate a violation of law or policy, the
violation classification will be reclassified as ______,______,_______. This classification will be denoted on the employee’s history.
unfounded, not sustained, or
exonerated
Employees will be given notification if complaints are lodged against them unless
notification would compromise the investigative process or any law enforcement or
internal investigation. If the complaint is considered a Category I infraction, the
Director of Internal Affairs will review the employee’s IA history and if the complaint
qualifies as Category I, information regarding an “Admit It and Move On” option will
be attached to the written notification of the complaint. This option includes IA
cases and command level investigations, which may be available to the employee
throughout the process, up to the pre-disciplinary hearing. If the “Admit It and Move
On” option originates from an Internal Affairs assigned case the following steps will
be followed:
- The case will be referred to the Director of Internal Affairs for review.
- The Director of Internal Affairs will review the case and if eligible, will
forward the case to the respective command. - The command will review the complaint and advise the employee of the
“Admit It and Move On” option. - If an employee accepts the “Admit It and Move On” option, the command
will administer discipline, training, or corrective action, up to a written
reprimand, utilizing the Corrective Action Report (BSO A#18). - If the employee accepts these terms, they will be notified that they are
waiving their rights to appeal the disposition.
For the purposes of this policy, there are _____ options that subject employees may
be given during a misconduct investigation. The type and method of statement, if
taken, is to protect the rights of our employees, protect the agency, and preserve
the integrity of cases of misconduct allegations against BSO employees. The type
and method of statement is at the discretion of Internal Affairs, not the employee.
four
A ____________ is where the employee can be directed to answer
questions during an administrative investigation for misconduct. Depending
on job classification, FSS 112 may apply to taking __________________.
An employee failing to answer a ___________ may be charged with
insubordination.
compelled statement
An employee may receive a written invitation to participate in the
misconduct investigation by providing a voluntary statement. The employee
would waive any rights, including any entitlements by job classification
under FSS 112 or those extended by the Sheriff. The employee has the
right to _____________________ while in
progress. Invitations may only be approved for issuance to an employee by
the Director of Internal Affairs or designee.
decline the invitation, or stop the interview at any time
An employee, through the employee’s attorney or representative, may make
a _______ to Internal Affairs to provide information or evidence that is part of
an on-going investigation. A _____ may also be used in conjunction with a
criminal investigation (i.e., employee involved shooting), especially when
time is of the essence and a supplement does not contain enough
information.
proffer
In the event an employee is not asked to provide a statement, the ___________ will determine if a case may be closed without
a statement. This does not preclude the employee from providing
information or evidence during a prediscipline conference
Director
of Internal Affairs or designee
Incidents involving an employee that occur outside Broward County may be
___________. The BSO Director of Internal Affairs or designee
will assist those agencies as appropriate.
investigated by other agencies