FAYETTE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION Fayetteville, West Virginia 1. PURPOSE.

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1 Page 1 FAYETTE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION Fayetteville, West Virginia Board Policy: PROGRESSIVE DISCIPLINE Adopted: December 7, PURPOSE. The purpose of this policy is to establish uniform guidelines within Fayette County Schools for administering disciplinary actions for unacceptable conduct by its employees. Further, this policy will provide guidance to ensure that supervisors are consistent in taking disciplinary action against employees involved in similar situations and that all Fayette County Schools employees are aware of disciplinary standards. A supervisor must rely on judgment as an experienced administrator to arrive at appropriate disciplinary action. At management s discretion, individual offenses calling for oral or written reprimands could cumulatively result in suspension or termination. 2. GENERAL Employees of Fayette County Schools shall conduct themselves in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, policies and generally acceptable work behaviors. For proper cause, any employee, regardless of occupation, position, profession or work performed, shall be disciplined whenever such action is considered necessary by supervisors or other persons in positions of authority. Action will be taken based upon the circumstances surrounding the offense, the severity of the offense, prior actions taken against the employee and any other applicable factors. Administration of disciplinary measures must be fair and equitable and free of prejudice or favoritism This progressive discipline policy does not apply to non-covered employees (e.g., probationary employees, temporary employees, temporary grant employees, and employees exempt from the West Virginia Public Employee Grievance Procedure who may be disciplined at the Superintendent s discretion) The circumstances surrounding an offense, such as the severity of the misconduct, the number of times it has occurred and any previous counseling, will suggest what action should be taken. Usually, counseling or any oral reprimand is sufficient for the first occurrence of a minor offense. A record of this action with the employee s and the supervisor s signatures should be placed in the employee s personnel file maintained by the employee s supervisor. A repetition of the offense, or the first occurrence of a more severe offense, should be followed by a written reprimand, which becomes a part of the employee s official personnel file housed at the district level (which should also be signed by the employee as having been reviewed and understood).

2 Page 2 Further repetitions of the offense, or the first occurrence of a very serious offense is followed by suspension, demotion, termination or other appropriate action. 3. VOLUNTARY RESIGNATIONS AND PERFORMANCE ISSUES. Employees who fail to report to work for three (3) consecutive workdays and fail to contact their supervisor during this time period will be considered to have voluntarily resigned. 4. FORMS OF DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS. The Board is committed to a progressive discipline policy. Employees who are found to be in violation of the Board s rules will normally be given adequate opportunity to improve. Whenever possible, counseling and/or other non-disciplinary procedures should be used before formal disciplinary action is taken. Disciplinary actions, in general, are considered progressive and constructive measures for the correction of the conduct of employees. For this reason, such actions should be taken only to the degree of severity necessary to obtain the desired improvement. However, if the necessary improvements in conduct are not achieved, progressive discipline consisting of increasingly stronger disciplinary action will normally be followed. The nature and/or severity of the offense will determine which step of discipline is required. If an offense is of sufficient severity, disciplinary action may begin at a more advanced stage, including termination. Disciplinary actions consist of,,,, and Demotion An is used in an attempt to correct relatively minor occurrences of inappropriate behavior, misconduct and violation of rules. The following course of action should be followed to effect an : Meet with the employee in private and discuss the improper or unacceptable conduct Discuss ways to correct or improve conduct Inform the employee that conduct must be improved or he/she is subject to further disciplinary action Oral reprimands should be documented by memorandum and copied to a file maintained by the employee s supervisor. The memorandum documenting the oral reprimand should be signed by the employee with an acknowledgement that the employee received and understood the oral reprimand. If an employee refuses to sign a memorandum documenting the oral reprimand, the employee s supervisor should include a notation: Employee refused to sign.

3 Page A repetition of an offense covered in a previous Oral, or the first occurrence of a more severe offense, shall be grounds for a. The following course of action should be followed to effect a : Meet with the employee in private and discuss the improper or unacceptable conduct Give the original to the employee. Inform the employee that a copy of the will be placed in his/her official personnel file. The should contain the following: (a) The reason for the and a description of the nature of the offense committed by the employee, (b) Dates and reasons for any prior disciplinary actions, (c) Recommendations for conduct improvement, and (d) Consequences of future violations (further disciplinary action up to and including termination) Request that the employee sign a copy of the, acknowledging that he/she received the and understands it. If the employee refuses to sign, place the notation Employee refused to sign Forward a copy of the to the Personnel Office for inclusion in the employee s official personnel file A suspension is to be used for the first occurrence of serious offenses, or repeated lesser offenses, which have been identified by the supervisor and not corrected by the employee after receiving previous disciplinary actions. s must be recommended by the Superintendent and approved by the Fayette County Board of Education (FCBOE). Prior to any suspension without pay, an employee shall be afforded with an opportunity to respond to the charges under investigation in a meeting conducted by the Superintendent or designee of the Superintendent. The following course of action should be followed to effect a suspension: Review the results of the investigation of the employee s conduct, including any information provided by an employee relative to the charges under investigation by the Superintendent. After review by the Superintendent, if determination is made that a suspension should be administered, a Notice of should be prepared. The Notice of should contain:

4 Page 4 (a) The reason for the suspension and a description of the nature of the offense committed by the employee, (b) Dates and reasons for any previous disciplinary actions, (c) The inclusive dates of the suspension, (d) Recommendations for conduct improvement, (e) Consequences of future violations (further disciplinary action up to and including termination), and (f) Information relating to an opportunity for a hearing before the FCBOE Meet with the employee in private and discuss the improper or unacceptable conduct Give the original Notice of the employee. Inform the employee that a copy of the Notice of will be placed in his/her official personnel file Request that the employee acknowledge that he/she received the Notice of and understands it. If the employee refuses to sign, place the notation Employee refused to sign Forward a copy of the Notice of the Personnel Office for inclusion in the employee s official personnel file An employee who is the focus of an administrative investigation may be suspended for an indefinite period of time, pending the results of the investigation, if his/her continued presence at work presents a threat to students, employees, or property or otherwise is not in the best interests of the District. Provided, however, all suspensions, pending the results of an administrative investigation that exceed thirty (30) days must be approved by the FCBOE When progressive discipline fails to correct misconduct or violations of Board rules, regulations and/or policies, the employee is subject to termination. Extremely serious offenses may be cause for immediate termination, without warning or attempts to correct the problem. Prior to any suspension without pay and termination recommendation, an employee shall be afforded with an opportunity to respond to the charges under investigation in a meeting conducted by the Superintendent or designee of the Superintendent. The following course of action should be followed to terminate an employee:

5 Page Review of the results of an investigation by the Superintendent, including any information provided by an employee to the charges under investigation, prior to notifying the employee of a termination recommendation If a determination is made that termination should be recommended, a written notice must be given to the employee of the decision to recommend the termination of his/her employment. A letter of termination shall be written and signed by the Superintendent. The letter shall contain the following: (a) The reason for termination recommendation and a description of the nature of the offense committed by the employee, (b) Dates and reasons for any previous disciplinary action, (c) The effective date of the termination, and (d) Information relating to an opportunity for a hearing before the FCBOE Demotion. When it is determined that demotion is an appropriate recourse to address employee conduct matters, the employee may be demoted. Prior to any demotion recommendation, an employee shall be afforded with an opportunity to respond to the charges under investigation in a meeting conducted by the Superintendent or designee of the Superintendent Demotions must be recommended by the Superintendent and approved by the FCBOE prior to implementation The demotion recommendation should be documented by written notice addressed to the employee. The notice will include reasons for the demotion and the consequences of continued or additional conduct problems Progressive Discipline Guidelines. Suggested guidelines for disciplinary actions follow. The disciplinary actions noted for specific offenses in the Progressive Discipline Guidelines are to be used as a guide and are not intended to be all inclusive. Upon occurrence of any of the listed offenses, or any that are not listed, the appropriate discipline shall be determined after the particular circumstances of the case have been carefully considered. Discipline may begin at any step in the procedure depending on the seriousness of the individual offense. CHART OF OFFENSES WITH ESTABLISHED DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS First Second Third Offense Fourth Offense Offense Offense Offense

6 Page 6 Unauthorized Leave Habitual Tardiness or Failure to Observe Assigned Work Hours Abuse of Leave Leaving Work Station Without Authorization Reporting to Work Under the Influence of Alcohol Drinking Alcoholic Beverages on the Job Reporting to Work Under the Influence of Illegal Drugs Possessing or Using Illegal Drugs on the Job Insubordination Falsification of Records or Documents Stealing on the Job Negligence Employee Code of Conduct Violations to (Time charged to leave without pay) to to to to to (Time charged to leave without pay) to to (Time charged to leave without pay) 5. SEVERABILITY. If any provision of this policy or application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of this policy.