Ariz. Admin. Code § 13-5-706

Current through Register Vol. 30, No. 50, December 13, 2024

Section R13-5-706 - Appeal to the Council by Covered Employees

A. Appealable actions by covered employees. A covered employee may appeal dismissal from covered service, suspension for more than 40 working hours, or involuntary demotion resulting from disciplinary action.

B. Form of appeal. To initiate an appeal, a covered employee shall submit a signed written appeal to the business manager and the agency head. The appeal must state specific facts relating directly to the charges on which the appeal is based.

C. Time for appeal. A covered employee shall file an appeal within 10 working days after the effective date of the action.

D. Agency responsibility.

1. When a covered employee is dismissed, involuntarily demoted, or suspended for more than 40 working hours, the employing agency shall notify the Business Manager in writing of this action and provide related documentation within 5 business days.

2. An agency shall have the burden of going forward with the case once an appeal has been filed.

3. An agency must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that it had just cause to discipline the employee.

E. Effect of appeal. The Council shall determine whether the employing agency has proven by a preponderance of the evidence that the employing agency had just cause to discipline the employee. The Council shall reverse the decision of the agency head if the Council finds that just cause did not exist for any discipline to be imposed and, in the case of dismissal or demotion, return the employee to the same position the employee held before the dismissal or demotion with or without back pay. On a finding that the agency has not proven just cause to discipline the employee by a preponderance of the evidence, the Council may recommend a proposed disciplinary action in light of the facts proven.

F. Agency action after receiving a decision or recommendation. The agency head or the agency head's designee shall accept, modify or reverse the Council's decision or accept, modify or reject the Council's recommendation within fourteen days of receipt of the findings or recommendation from the Council. The decision of the agency head is final and binding. The agency head shall send a copy of the agency's final determination to the employee.

G. Notice of hearing. The Council shall notify the parties of the time and place of the hearing.

H. Failure to appear. If a party, without good cause, fails to appear at the time and place set for a hearing, the Council may find in favor of the appearing party.

I. Conduct of hearings. The Council shall hear the appeal within 30 days of the receipt of the appeal. The Council shall sit as a whole at a hearing, unless a Council member declares a conflict or is unable to attend. Only a Council member who was present at a hearing may participate in making the decision. Council members may administer oaths, issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses and the production of books or papers, and cause the depositions of witnesses residing within or outside the state to be taken in the manner prescribed by law for depositions in civil cases in the Superior Court of this state.

J. Witness fees. Witnesses at a hearing, other than covered employees, are entitled to the fees allowed witnesses under A.R.S. § 12-303.

K. Payment of witness fees. If the Council subpoenas a witness on its own initiative, the Council shall pay the witness' fees and mileage.

The requesting party shall pay the fees for subpoenaed witnesses. A covered employee appearing as a witness on duty shall receive travel expenses from the agency and shall not be entitled to witness fees.

L. Discovery.

1. Within three business days after receiving a written request from the covered employee, the agency shall provide a complete copy of the investigative file, as well as the names and home or work mailing addresses of all persons interviewed during the course of the investigation, to the covered employee. For the purpose of this subsection, hand-written notes substantially incorporated within a report are not considered part of the investigation file.

2. Within 20 days after receiving the investigative file, the covered employee shall provide all material relating to the defense of the covered employee to the agency head.

3. After initial discovery, each party shall provide all new material relating to the case to the other party within 10 days after receipt.

4. No later than five business days before the hearing, or if the hearing is scheduled more than 20 days after the notice of appeal was filed, no later than 10 business days before the hearing, the agency and the covered employee shall exchange copies of any documents that may be introduced at the hearing and that have not been previously disclosed.

5. No later than five business days before the hearing, or if the hearing is scheduled more than 20 days after the notice of appeal is filed, no later than 10 business days before the hearing, the agency and the covered employee shall exchange the names of all witnesses who may be called to testify. A witness may be interviewed at the discretion of the witness. The parties shall not interfere with any decision of a witness regarding whether to be interviewed. An agency shall not discipline, retaliate against, or threaten to retaliate against, any witness for agreeing or not agreeing to be interviewed or for testifying or providing evidence in the hearing.

6. No later than five business days before the hearing, or if the hearing is scheduled more than 20 days after the notice of appeal is filed, no later than 10 business days before the hearing, the agency and the covered employee shall provide all documents that will be used at the hearing and a list of intended witnesses to the office of the Council.

7. If a party fails to provide material as required, the Council may preclude its use at the hearing.

M. Motions. All motions shall be in writing and filed no later than 20 days prior to the hearing. A response shall be filed in writing within 10 days after service of the motion. The chair may designate one or more members of the Council to hear and rule on a motion, except a motion to dispose of the case requires a vote of a majority of the Council.

N. Pleadings. The Council may strike a pleading not filed in accordance with this Section.

O. Depositions:

1. On the motion of a party, the Council may order the deposition of a witness under the following circumstances:

a. The witness does not reside within the State or is out of state,

b. The witness is too ill to attend the action before the Council, or

c. The deposition is for the purpose of discovery in preparing a case before the Council.

2. The requesting party shall pay the expense of any deposition. A covered employee of the agency is not entitled to a witness fee for giving a deposition.

3. The deposition of a witness who is unavailable to appear at a hearing may be used in evidence by either party or the Council.

P. Open hearings. The Council's hearings shall be open to the public. The Council may, upon request of a party, exclude non-testifying witnesses from the hearing. The Council may keep excluded witnesses separated and prevent them from communicating with each other until all are examined.

Q. Legal counsel or representative. Before the hearing of any appeal, each party shall designate its legal counsel or representative for the record. The Council shall advise each party without legal counsel that the party may obtain and be represented by counsel at the hearing. At the request of a party, the Council may postpone the hearing for a reasonable length of time to allow a party to obtain legal counsel.

R. Presentation of evidence. Both parties may present evidence and witnesses either personally or through a representative. The Council shall exclude evidence irrelevant to the causes set forth in the notice of disciplinary action.

Ariz. Admin. Code § R13-5-706

Adopted by final rulemaking at 23 A.A.R. 2564, effective 11/5/2017.