Opinion ID: 2279228
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Thirty-Day Requirement

Text: Often, as in Geiger, the issue with respect to the 30-day requirement is when the appointing authority first acquired sufficient knowledge of the misconduct to trigger the commencement of the period, and, indeed, the parties quibble about that here. The warden insists that he was unaware of Donahue's criminal conduct until apprised of it by a memorandum from the Assistant Attorney General on October 17, 2002, whereas Donahue contends that the appointing authority knew of that conduct in 2000. Donahue is clearly correct on that point, but it is not the relevant issue here. [6] As the ALJ and the Circuit Court recognized, the duties and time limit specified in SPP § 11-106 apply only to incumbent employees. An appointing authority can neither lawfully nor practically terminate the employment of someone who is not currently employed in the unit. What is there to terminate? Thus, the pertinent question is not when the appointing authority first became aware of the misconduct but when Donahue first became subject to discipline by the warden  at what point, charged with the institutional knowledge of the 1999 convictions, could the warden have commenced the process required by § 11-106, so that it could be completed within 30 days thereafter? Donahue urges that he was effectively reinstated, and thus became an employee subject to discipline, on August 2, 2002, when the mandate of the Court of Special Appeals in No. 1705 issued. That mandate affirmed the judgment of the Circuit Court, which, in turn, affirmed the ruling of the ALJ that Donahue be reinstated with back pay. Unquestionably, upon the issuance of that mandate, Donahue was entitled to be reinstated as directed by the ALJ. The filing of a petition for certiorari by DPSCS did not stay that mandate, and so Donahue's right to be reinstated was not placed in suspension until this Court denied the Department's petition for certiorari. The right arose on August 2, 2002. The ALJ's order of reinstatement was not self-executing, however, even when ultimately affirmed by the Circuit Court and the Court of Special Appeals. Like orders of reinstatement generally, issued upon a finding that the employee was wrongfully terminated, it was in the nature of an injunctive order or one for specific performance, directing that Donahue be reinstated, but it did not, of itself, recreate the employment relationship; nor, as a practical matter, could it have that effect. Reestablishment of the employment relationship in conformance with the reinstatement order must be done by the parties themselves  the employer notifying the employee when and where to report and the employee reporting, prepared to resume work, or at least having the obligation to do so. Until that happens, the employment has not, in fact, been restored. From the employee's perspective, if, during the pendency of the litigation, the employee has obtained another job or is engaging in other activities, he or she may continue in those endeavors until directed to report for work pursuant to the reinstatement order. The employer certainly could not legitimately contend that the reinstatement order was immediately self-executing and that the employee abandoned the employment by failing to report the next day. On the other hand, the employee may decide, for whatever reason, not to resume the employment, in which event there would be no effective reinstatement. [7] If the employee desires to be reinstated but the employer refuses to comply with the order, the employee or, when the order is issued by a regulatory agency, the agency itself, may institute statutory or common law enforcement proceedings against the employer to coerce compliance. That is why regulatory agencies are usually given statutory enforcement powers and why common law remedies such as mandamus have been held available to enforce reinstatement orders. See, for example, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(i), authorizing EEOC to commence proceedings to enforce court orders; Maryland Code, Art. 49B, § 12 (same for Maryland Human Relations Commission); and Mayor & City Council of Ocean City v. Johnson, 57 Md.App. 502, 470 A.2d 1308 (1984); State ex rel. Olander v. Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, 45 Ohio St.3d 196, 543 N.E.2d 1262 (1989); and State v. Civil Service Board, 226 Minn. 253, 32 N.W.2d 583 (1948), enforcing reinstatement orders through mandamus actions. The mandate that issued on August 2, 2002, did not, therefore, of itself, restore the employment relationship between DPSCS and Donahue. DPSCS, or its counsel, was apparently hoping that this Court would review the case and reverse the reinstatement order; that hope was not dashed until October 10, 2002. Donahue, in the meanwhile, did nothing to jump start the restoration process, but seemed content to accrue back pay without having to return to work. The warden's letter of October 25, 2002, set November 1 as the date of reinstatement. That is the date Donahue was directed to report for work; that is the date he was obliged to report; that is the date upon which his back pay was calculated; that is the first date upon which Donahue became subject to further discipline. The ALJ was correct in regarding November 1 as the commencement of the 30-day period for imposing discipline based upon the 1999 convictions. As the termination at issue occurred November 8, it was well within the 30-day period allowed by SPP § 11-106(b).