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06/15/1999CIVIL SERVICE BOARD CITY OF CLEARWATER June 15, 1999 Present: Colbert Henley Chair Bill Carroza Board Member Catherine Adams Board Member Debbie Turner Board Member John Armbruster Board Member Rick Ebelke Assistant Human Resources Director Leslie Dougall-Sides Assistant City Attorney Sgt Mike Waters Clearwater Police Department Bill Baird Deputy Chief, Clearwater Police Dept. Toni Forbes Defendant Robert Walker Attorney at Law David Doyle Supervisor, Communications Div. Sherilla Pittman Human Resources Technician ITEM #1 - Meeting Called to Order Chair Henley called the meeting to order at 5:15 p.m. at the Municipal Services Building. To provide continuity for research, items are in agenda order although not necessarily discussed in that order. ITEM #2 - Board Action - Hearing Officer’s Recommended Order Re: Dismissal of Toni Forbes Chair Henley read charges. Ms. Forbes violated the following Clearwater Police Department Rules: Rule #212.06 Sick Leave/False Statement - Employees shall not feign illness or injury, falsely report themselves ill or injured or otherwise deceive or attempt to deceive any official of the department as to the condition of their health. Rule #2113.11 Untruthfulness - Employees are required to be truthful at all times, whether under oath or not. Rule #213.111 Untruthfulness During Sworn Statements - Employees are required to completely and truthfully answer all questions while giving sworn statements during internal investigations or any other authorized or official proceedings. Employee relayed that she contested the recommendation of the Hearing Officer. Chair Henley explained rules and procedures for contesting the hearing officer’s recommendation. Employee would have an opportunity for rebuttal and the City will have an opportunity for comments. Member Carozza moved and it was seconded and unanimously carried that each party be allowed 10 minutes for their presentation and 5 minutes for a rebuttal then 5 minutes each for summation. Presentation: Toni Forbes Attorney Robert Walker spoke on behalf of Toni Forbes. Mr. Walker believes from his prospective, the Hearing Officer’s report was conducted using the appropriate administrative due processes for these proceedings. He also wanted to note that Ms. Forbes is the first employee, to his knowledge, to face discipline under the City’s new PBMP. Ms. Forbes is a 7 year City employee who worked as a Police dispatcher. She was suffering from the after effects of a very serious automobile accident and as such was taking a regiment of medication. In addition she was taking medication for a long standing asthma condition. She underwent an involuntary hospital stay because of a severe asthma attack of which she received IV therapy. Her doctor recommended that she reduce the stress in her life as some of these conditions were aggravated by stress. The medications were being injected periodically. Some of the medications were so strong, they would knock her for 48 hours. She went to her Supervisor to ask for a 4-day/10-hour work week, which would give her Fridays off to accommodate treatment for the various conditions. Her Supervisor asked her for a doctor’s note which she provided. She worked with this schedule for a period of 17 weeks. She was deceptive in leading her supervisor to believe that she was receiving intravenous treatment on Fridays. She felt reluctant to inform her superiors of the extent of her condition because of the lack of privacy and the absence of confidentiality within the Communications Center. She had witnessed on other occasions there were private matters concerning other employees being shared or made “light” of by the supervisors and coworkers. If Ms. Forbes would have sought the Fridays off through the FMLA, the City would have had no choice but to give her the Fridays off. None of her supervisors discussed the FMLA option with her. Nevertheless, when a shift change was made, Ms. Forbes was required to get another doctor’s note at which time it was discovered that she had mislead her superiors. Although she used poor judgment in misleading her superiors, it was not cause for dismissal. Ms. Forbes’ position is that the punishment is much more severe than the actual infraction. She did admit that she was less than honest with her superiors. She has an excellent track record. Her evaluations are “outstanding” or “highly successful.” Toni Forbes commented: Her employers knew of her condition while in the hospital. They sent her flowers. Toni feels she is a good employee and her dismissal is a result of much more than this infraction. She made Commissioners aware of faulty computer systems and she was later approached and told not to do it again. She was outspoken on matters related to the unfair distribution of overtime being issued within the Division. She also feels she is being singled out and treated differently by her superiors because she has kept records of several issues that are wrong within the Department and her superiors are aware of this. Ms. Forbes concludes that she is a good and dedicated employee. She does her job very well and her evaluations reflect that. Presentation: City - Leslie Dougall-Sides Ms. Dougall-Sides reminded Board Members that they cannot change the recommendation of the Hearing Officer nor rehear the case. They are to determine if the punishment is warranted based on the infraction. Ms. Dougall-Sides stressed the facts: Employee mislead her doctors. Employee was untruthful about the IV treatments. Employee was untruthful to her Sergeant, Captain and her Supervisor, Mr. Doyle. Employee contradicts her statement of not being comfortable with discussing her physical condition with her supervisor because she did do so. The City did accommodate employee by allowing her flex time (4, 10-hour days). Ms. Dougall-Sides pointed out that the Hearing Officer found employee in violation of 3 rules of the PBMP which would have also been violated under the old disciplinary procedure. The two doctors interviewed deposed that the employee was misleading in the information given them from Ms. Forbes. Although Ms. Forbes was not a member of the CWA bargaining unit she was still able to seek assistance from them if needed. Deputy Chief Baird: Deputy Baird feels that Ms. Forbes is not the caliber of employee wanted within the Police Department. An employer should receive nothing less than honesty and integrity from their employees. Rebuttal/Summation: Toni Forbes The Hearing Officer did not see all seven doctors she was required to see during the course of her various treatments. The others may have had a different opinion as to her condition. One of her doctors reported to her that he was grilled/pressured by the investigators. She felt intimidated by supervisors’ lack of privacy in regard to her health problems. She feels that she is an excellent employee and proud to work for the City. She feels she was singled out because of complaints she voiced about the new computer system. She hopes there is no retaliation received to her family as a result of these proceedings Rebuttal/Summation: City--Leslie Dougall-Sides Employee cannot state specific incidents of preferential treatment toward others to indicate her being singled out. Her request for flexed hours was given as requested originally. Although she may have been a good employee, there is no excuse for the continuous lies to her superiors Questions and Comments by Board Members: Member Catherine Adams questioned: Q: Why didn’t employee use the procedures available through FMLA/ADA? A: Forbes - She was not made aware of the policy until after the fact upon obtaining counsel for these proceedings. She also indicated that it was her desire to work as much as she possibly could. Q: What type and level of training do supervisors have regarding FMLA? A: Rick Ebelke--Supervisors are trained on how to handle excessive leave due to sickness of employees and/or family members. The Human Resources Department is also available to answer questions. In addition all employees are provided information on FMLA & ADA at time of hire. Leslie Dougall-Sides commented that it is the employee’s responsibility to seek assistance in regard to FMLA/ADA. She also noted that FMLA leave is taken concurrently with sick leave and is for a maximum of 12 weeks. The opportunity provided to Ms. Forbes to flex for a period of 17 weeks was to her advantage. This allowed her to continue to earn income. Had she used the FMLA/ADA process, she would have received no pay for five weeks. Member John Armbruster Commented: The Board is responsible for determining if there was reasonable cause for dismissal and if the extent of the disciplinary action was warranted. Member Bill Carozza questioned: Q: Does employee understand the difference between integrity and job perfomance? A: Forbes responded yes. Chair Colbert Henley questioned: Q: Were I.V. treatments received only during employees stay in hospital? A: Forbes responded yes; but some of the other treatments were so strong, they knocked her out for a few days. Q: Why did employee not go to the Primary Care Physician after medications were not working? Forbes responded that she saw a specialist and paid out-of-pocket because the Primary Care Physician was unable to help her. Member Debbie Turner Questioned: Q: Was employee counseled by supervisor about setting up an action plan in accordance with PBMP procedures? A: Forbes responded that she was not counseled about an action plan. Leslie Dougall-Sides commented that on Page 16 of the PBMP it states that “Integrity issues do not require an action plan.” Board Action Chair Henley moved to uphold the Hearing Officer’s recommendation for the dismissal of Toni Forbes. The motion was duly seconded by Member Adams and carried by a four to one vote. ITEM #3 - Adjournment Meeting was adjourned at 6:15 p.m.