(A) Termination. Any employee may be terminated for any reason or no reason at all, provided that it is not an unlawful reason. The decision to terminate is committed to the sole discretion of the Town Council. However, the Town Marshal, the Fire Chief, and the Town Manager in conjunction with any of the supervisors may recommend to the Town Council that an employee be terminated. Supervisors shall place full-time employees on paid leave and part-time employees on paid leave pending a Town Council review of a supervisor's recommendation to terminate an employee. This section shall not apply to firefighters or police officers, who are to be disciplined pursuant to §§ 36.208 and 36.231 of the Town Code, respectively. Reasons for termination include, but, as previously stated, are not limited to, the following:
(1) Reporting to work under the influence of alcohol or other drugs not prescribed by a physician;
(2) Drinking or possessing alcoholic beverages, or using or possessing drugs not prescribed by a physician while on the job;
(3) Fighting while on the job;
(4) Threatening employees or other citizens while on the job;
(5) Stealing while on the job;
(6) Stealing from the town;
(7) Intentional or grossly negligent destruction or damaging of property while on the job;
(8) Representing one’s self as a town employee in order to aid in committing or attempting to commit a felony or misdemeanor;
(9) Failure to comply with a supervisor’s order;
(10) Possession of dangerous weapon(s) while on the job, except when an employee is specifically authorized to possess dangerous weapon(s);
(11) Immoral or indecent conduct or use of abusive language while on the job;
(12) Falsification of town records, or any records maintained by the town;
(13) Conviction of a felony; and
(14) Any action, which, while not a violation of a regularly established rule, regulation, or policy, is so deleterious to efficient town operation or to the public interest, that discipline or discharge could reasonably, be expected to result.
(B) Other disciplinary options. In addition to termination, the following procedures may be used by a supervisor or the Town Council to address disciplinary problems.
(1) Oral reprimands may be given to any employee by any supervisor at any time for correctional purposes and, in each case, that action shall be reported by the Supervisor to the Town Manager. This reprimand shall always be given in private, with only the Supervisor, the employee involved, and any other superior present. Oral reprimand shall always be noted in the employee’s personnel file.
(2) Written reprimands may also be given. In these cases, the written reprimand shall be made out in triplicate and one copy given to the employee, one copy placed in the employee’s personnel file, and one copy to the Town Council.
(3) Three written reprimands issued to an employee in any given 12-month period may result in termination, suspension with or without pay, or demotion. In addition, the employee will be placed on disciplinary probation.
(C) Tardiness. Tardiness will not be tolerated. If an employee is late to work, without a good reason,
he or she shall be subject to discipline in accordance with division (B) above.
(D) Unexcused absences. If an employee has an unexcused absence, the employee’s supervisor will conduct a verbal interview with the employee to determine why the employee was absent from the job.
(1) Three unexcused absences in a 12-month period may result in immediate termination.
(2) If an employee fails to call or report to work on three consecutive days, he or she will be considered as having voluntarily terminated his or her employment with the town.
(E) Safety. Failure to wear protective gear or garb when working. Safety garb includes but is not limited to safety glasses, ear protection, hard hats, respiratory protection, and the like.
(Ord. 05-04, passed 2-28-2005; Am. Ord. 2012-01, passed 1-9-2012; Am. Ord. 2014-11, passed 8-25-2014)