(a) An appeal from an adverse employment action under § 2-181(a) must comply with the requirements of this section and of the relevant provisions of the City of Fort Worth Personnel Rules and Regulations.
(b) Timely filing of all requests for review and notices of appeal required under the Personnel Rules and Regulations shall serve as conditions precedent to jurisdiction over the appeal. If an employee fails to timely file any request for review or notice of appeal, the appeal shall be automatically dismissed by the human resources department, the appeal process shall be immediately terminated, and any further appeal rights shall be forfeited.
(c) If all jurisdictional requirements of subsection (b) above and all other requirements under the Personnel Rules and Regulations for an employee to have an appeal hearing have been met, the human resources department shall assign a hearing officer selected in accordance with § 2-183.
(d) The hearing officer shall conduct the hearing in accordance with the procedures described in the Personnel Rules and Regulations.
(e) If an employee has been given proper notice of the date, time and location of an appeal hearing and fails to appear, the hearing officer may dismiss the appeal on motion of the city or the hearing officer’s own motion. For purposes of this provision notice shall be considered to be proper if it contains accurate information, is correctly addressed to the mailing address that the employee (or his or her legal representative) most recently provided to the human resources department, and is sent by first class United States mail or common or contract carrier with postage or handling charges prepaid.
(f) After an appeal hearing has concluded, the hearing officer shall prepare findings of fact and recommendations for disposition, which shall be considered by the city manager. All such findings and recommendations must comply with the requirements of this section.
(g) A hearing officer’s findings and recommendations shall be based solely on the facts placed in evidence during the appeal hearing.
(h) A hearing officer’s findings of fact shall be limited to a determination of whether it has been established by a preponderance of the evidence that the facts that form the basis for the discipline occurred.
(i) If the hearing officer determines that the facts did occur, the hearing officer shall, based on the evidence presented, recommend either that the disciplinary action be upheld or, if applicable, be reduced to one of the following actions: suspension, demotion, probation, written warning or oral warning. If the hearing officer determines that the facts did not occur as alleged, the hearing officer shall, based on the evidence presented, make recommendations as to an appropriate course of action, which shall be limited to reinstatement with or without back pay and benefits.
(j) In determining the amount of back pay and benefits to recommend, if any, the hearing officer shall take into account an employee’s duty to mitigate and shall consider the monetary value of any pay and/or benefits that the employee actually earned or reasonably could have earned during the disciplinary period.
(k) No punitive damages, attorney’s fees or other relief shall be available to the employee, and a hearing officer may not recommend any remedy unless it is explicitly provided for under subsection (i) above.
(l) The hearing officer shall, in accordance with the procedures and deadlines outlined in the Personnel Rules and Regulations, forward his or her findings and recommendations to the Human Resources Department for presentation to the city manager.
(m) A hearing officer’s findings and recommendations are not binding on the city manager. The city manager has the final authority to accept, modify or reject any of the hearing officer’s findings or recommendations and to take such action as the city manager determines is in the best interest of the city.
(n) This section applies to an employee’s exercise of the rights afforded under this article. To the extent any law outside of this article or of the city code provides an employee with different or additional rights and/or establishes different requirements or deadlines, that other law shall govern the disposition of claims made under it.
(Ord. 21197-04-2014, § 3, passed 4-15-2014, eff. 4-25-2014)