P.R. Laws tit. 21, § 1070
(a) The Commissioner shall prepare a complete report to the mayor on the charges brought against the member or members of the Corps in every disciplinary action for gross faults.
(b) After examining and analyzing the record, and after giving the person accused the opportunity to be hear, the mayor shall decide the case, either by acquitting him/her, or by imposing the punishment he/she deems reasonable, as provided in subsection (d) of this section. If the concerned member or members of the Corps plead guilty, they shall so state it in writing under their signature. The Commissioner shall deliver a copy of the document containing his/her decision to the accused, which shall be evidenced by the mayor’s signature, and shall indicate the date and hour of the decision. The procedure to be followed in these cases shall be determined by regulations.
(c) The charges for gross faults shall be filed in writing and signed by the Commissioner, and a copy thereof shall be delivered to the corresponding member of the Corps.
(d) The penalty to be imposed for gross faults shall be one of the following: permanent expulsion from the Corps, demotion, or suspension from the Corps, without pay, for a period of not more than three (3) months.
(e) The Commissioner, with the prior authorization of the mayor, shall be empowered to temporarily suspend any member of the Corps from work and pay while an investigation of the incompetence, misconduct, or crime of which said member of the Corps is accused is being performed. In such case, the Commissioner shall see that the corresponding charges are filed without undue delay; he/she shall investigate and inform the mayor of such cases within the shortest possible time, so that he/she can impose whatever penalty he/she deems reasonable within the scope of this chapter and its regulations, or provide for the reinstatement of said person, returning the pay withheld during the suspension, or without it, if the facts, in his/her judgment, justify it, pursuant to the provisions of subsection (d) of this section. In the event the member of the Corps who was sanctioned does not agree with such decision, he/she shall have the right to appeal [, whithin then (10) days of having been notified in writing,] before the Board of Appeals of the Personnel Administration System, established by Act No. 5 of October 14, 1975, within ten (10) days after the written notice was served.
(f) When a member of the Corps is suspended from work and pay for any reason, he/she shall be deprived of performing his/her duties as such, and he/she shall not enjoy the rights and privileges granted by law to members of the Corps, during such suspension.
History —May 12, 1977, No. 19, p. 33, § 10; May 22, 1996, No. 45, § 10.