(a) Denomination of Parties. The party filing an appeal is denominated "appellant". All other parties are denominated "appellee".
(b) Scheduling of Hearings. The Civil Service Commission shall, within ten calendar days of receipt of an appeal, notify the appointing authority and the appellant that such appeal has been received, and shall forthwith hear, or appoint a trial board, referee or examiner to hear such appeal within thirty days from and after its filing with the Commission.
(c) Notice of Hearings. Notice specifying the date and time set for an initial hearing shall be mailed to the parties by ordinary U.S. mail at least ten calendar days in advance of the hearing.
(d) Continuances.
(1) Upon its own motion or the motion of any party, the Commission may continue a hearing.
A. Request for continuance shall be addressed to the Commission.
B. Request for continuance should be made, in writing, at least five calendar days prior to the scheduled hearing date.
C. Each party shall contact all of the witnesses he has subpoenaed and inform them of any continuance.
(2) Any appeal, based upon incidents which result in a criminal prosecution, shall be continued on motion of the affected employee until a verdict is rendered. Similar continuances shall be granted an appointing authority only if the affected employee consents in writing.
(3) Absent compelling circumstances, a hearing shall not be continued due to the unavailability of a subpoenaed witness. The Commission may hold the record open or accept a testimonial deposition in lieu of oral testimony. The cost of testimonial depositions taken under this section shall be borne by the party calling them.
(e) Consolidations. If two or more appeals involve substantially identical issues and parties, the Commission may consolidate them into a single hearing in the interests of economy.
(f) Appearances.
(1) A party may represent himself or may be represented at any hearing before the Commission by any representative who is authorized to appear on his behalf.
(2) Provided a party has not been subpoenaed and has authorized his representative to represent him in all facets at a hearing before the Commission, that party is not required to personally appear at any hearing.
(3) Representatives shall enter their appearances in writing. One who has entered an appearance as a representative of a party is that party's representative of record unless and until a written withdrawal is filed with the Commission.
(g) Substitution of Parties.
(1) If an appellant dies during the pendency of an appeal, the executor or administrator of his estate shall, upon motion, be substituted for him. An appeal shall be held open for a reasonable time to permit substitution of an executor or an administrator.
(2) If the appointing authority changes during the pendency of an appeal, the new appointing authority is automatically substituted and no formal motion or order is required.
(h) Motions.
(1) All motions shall state, with particularity, both relief sought by the moving party and the basis for granting such relief.
A. All motions together with supporting documentation, if any, shall be served on the opposing party.
B. Motions to dismiss an appeal shall be supported by affidavits, made on personal knowledge, setting forth facts as would be admissible in evidence. Affidavits shall show affirmatively that the affiant is competent to testify to the matter stated therein. Sworn or certified copies of all papers referred to in an affidavit shall be attached thereto. When a motion is made and supported as provided in this section, an adverse party may not rest upon mere allegations or denials. An adverse party's response, by affidavit or otherwise, shall set forth specific facts showing there is a genuine issue in dispute.
(2) Procedural motions, not determinative of the final outcome of the appeal, may be acted upon any time after receipt by the Commission without awaiting a response from the opposing party. The party adversely affected by such action of the Commission may move for appropriate relief.
(3) Within ten calendar days of service of a nonprocedural motion, a party shall serve a written response on the opposing party and file a copy of that response with the Commission. The Commission may rule on any nonprocedural motion once the time to respond has run. Upon motion of the affected party, the Commission may extend the time to reply to a nonprocedural motion.
(4) The Commission may rule on any nonprocedural motion at a record hearing, even if ten calendar days have not elapsed since service. Provided the time for response to a nonprocedural motion has not run, an oral response is acceptable at a record hearing.
(i) Briefs.
(1) At any time prior to the issuance of a final order and appeal, the Commission may require briefs from the parties. Briefs shall address questions put to the parties by the Commission and shall be filed with time limits set by it.
A. The Commission may limit both the number of reply briefs and the time for their preparation and filing.
B. If a party fails to submit a brief within the time limit, the Commission may exclude his brief from its consideration of an appeal.
(2) Upon motion, the Commission may hold the record open for receipt of briefs.
(j) Filing.
(1) A document is filed when it is received and time stamped in the office of the Commission or by an individual designated by the Commission to accept such filings.
(2) Either an original or a legible copy of any document required to be served by this chapter shall be filed with the Commission not more than three calendar days after service.
(k) Service.
(1) Any document required by this chapter to be served upon a party may be served either personally or by mail. Where a party is represented by a representative who has entered an appearance, service shall be made upon that representative. Service is complete on the date mailing or personal transmission of the document occurs.
(2) All motions and briefs shall contain the name, address and telephone number of the person submitting the motion or brief.
(3) A motion shall be considered by the Commission only if a certificate of service appears on it. Any statement, signed by either the moving party or his representative, is an acceptable certificate of service so long as it contains all of the following information:
A. Date of service;
B. Method by which service was made;
C. Address where service was made; and
D. Name of the person or authority who was served.
(l) Communications to Representatives of Parties. Communications from the Commission shall be sent to only one representative of a party. If more than one person enters an appearance as a party's representative, communications shall be sent as follows:
(1) If one of the representatives entering an appearance has been designated, in writing, to receive communications from the Commission, all communications shall be sent to him.
(2) If no representative has been designated to receive communications from the Commission, all communications shall be sent to the representative who last entered an appearance.
(3) If it is impossible to determine who last entered an appearance, all communications from the Commission shall be sent to the representative whose name is first in alphabetical order.
(m) Computation and Extension of Time.
(1) The date of occurrence of the event causing time to run is not counted in the computation of any time limit under this chapter. The last day of the period is included in the computation of the time limit. If the last day of the period is not a regular business day, the time period runs through to the end of the next regularly scheduled business day.
(2) The Commission may extend the time for filing or responding to motions and briefs.
A. Requests for extension of time shall be made, in writing, prior to the expiration of any time limit.
B. Requests for extension of time shall be directed to the person having responsibility for handling the appeal.
1. Request for extension of time in appeals assigned to a referee, examiner or trial board, shall be directed to the appropriate body responsible for the appeal.
2. Request for extension of time in appeals assigned to the Commission shall be directed to the Commission.
(n) Procedural Orders.
(1) Procedural orders, affecting only the procedure in an appeal, may be issued by the Commission at any time prior to the issuance of a final order.
(2) If a party fails to comply with the procedural order, the Commission may dismiss the appeal or grant appropriate relief to the opposing party.
(o) Procedure and Record Hearings.
(1) The Commission may determine the order in which any hearing shall proceed.
(2) Either party may call the opposing party as if on cross examination.
(3) The Commission may require or limit opening statements, closing arguments and rebuttal evidence.
(p) Record of Hearings.
(1) All record hearings shall be recorded on magnetic tape unless the Commission orders a stenographic record. Pre-hearings may be recorded.
(2) Magnetic tape recordings may be erased after:
A. A final Commission order has been issued; and
B. Sixty calendar days have passed from the mailing of notice of the final order of the Commission of review to the parties entitled to receive such notice.
(q) Copies of Magnetic Tape Recordings.
(1) The Commission shall provide copies of the magnetic tape record of any hearing on written request accompanied by payment for the duplicate tapes.
(2) Charges for duplicate tapes shall be set by resolution of the Commission and shall include both the expense for duplicating the tapes and a reasonable handling charge.
(r) Transcripts. The Commission shall transmit a written transcript of all hearings upon notice of appeal to the Court of Common Pleas.
(s) Subpoenas.
(1) Upon request of either party, the Commission shall issue subpoenas for such persons and documents as the requesting party deems necessary to prove its case.
(2) Subpoenas shall be issued either of two ways on request:
A. The Commission shall supply subpoenas to the parties who are responsible for completing and serving subpoenas.
1. Subpoenas may be served personally or by certified mail, return receipt requested.
2. The party serving the subpoena shall file a copy of the subpoena, properly endorsed as to service, at or prior to the hearing from which the subpoena was issued.
(3) Witnesses shall receive their subpoenas at least three calendar days prior to the hearing at which they are to appear.
(4) The Commission shall mail subpoenas by ordinary United States mail as directed by the party requesting the subpoena.
A. Hearings shall not be continued due to the absence of a witness subpoenaed under subsection (s)(2)A.1. hereof.
B. The Commission shall not mail subpoenas less than seven calendar days in advance of a hearing. If subpoenas cannot be mailed more than seven calendar days in advance of the hearing, the Commission shall, on request, hold the subpoena so it can be given to the witness at the hearing.
(5) Absent proof a witness has received his subpoena in a timely manner, the Commission shall neither act to enforce its subpoena nor hold the record open for the testimony of that witness should the witness fail to appear.
(6) The Commission shall not review subpoena requests prior to issuing subpoenas. Upon motion and for good cause, the Commission may quash any subpoena. Motions to quash shall be raised, in writing, prior to the hearing. Unless a motion to quash has been granted, a witness shall attend the hearing to which he was subpoenaed.
(7) In general, witnesses may not be subpoenaed to pre-hearings.
(t) Failure to Appear.
(1) If neither the appellant nor his authorized representative appears at any hearing, the Commission may dismiss the appeal.
(2) If neither the appellee nor his authorized representative appears at any hearing, the Commission may grant appropriate relief.
(3) If neither party appears at a hearing, the Commission may, based upon the information available to it, resolve the appeal in the manner it deems appropriate.
(u) Settlements and Withdrawals.
(1) An appellant may withdraw his appeal any time prior to the issuance of a final order of the Commission. All withdrawals shall be written and shall be signed by either the appellant or his representative.
(2) An appeal may be settled by the parties thereto any time prior to the issuance of a final order of the Commission. The Commission may accept signed settlement agreements and incorporate them into its final order. All settlement agreements shall be written and shall be signed by all the affected parties or their representatives.
(Ord. 92-1458. Passed 10-6-92.)