Opinion ID: 2092295
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Discipline, Suspend, and Discharge

Text: As far as the intermediate supervisor's authority to discipline, testimony elicited during the hearing indicated that the supervisors had the authority to independently issue an oral warning and, later, if the problem was not corrected, to issue a written warning. If the problem had not been corrected by a written warning, then the problem was referred to another authority. It was also clear that this authority had actually been exercised. The hearing officer found, however, that the policy of the adult probation department requires that the intermediate supervisors report instances where the employee arrives late or leaves early more often than two times a month. The employee's pay is then automatically docked one-half day. Therefore, the officer found that this activity of tracking attendance was routine. Discipline of any kind could not be implemented without prior discussion with a clerical manager supervising the intermediate supervisors. Therefore, the hearing officer concluded that the authority to discipline was not exercised while using independent judgment. The hearing officer likewise found that the intermediate supervisors' authority to suspend or discharge was also limited in this fashion. The clerical managers are necessarily involved in any decision to suspend or discharge. Therefore, the hearing officer found that no independent judgment was exercised in suspending or discharging.