CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.House Bill 1103
Florida House of Representatives - 1997 HB 1103
By Representative Horan
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to Monroe County; specifying
3 rights of members of the classified service of
4 the Monroe County Sheriff's Office; providing
5 procedures for appeal of disciplinary actions
6 against members; providing for the appointment
7 of boards to hear appeals and procedures with
8 respect thereto; providing a procedure for
9 transition upon the expiration of a sheriff's
10 term; providing an effective date.
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12 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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14 Section 1. (1) APPLICABILITY.--The terms of this act
15 shall apply to the "classified service" of the Monroe County
16 Sheriff's Office, which shall include all Certified Deputy
17 Sheriffs, Certified Correctional Officers, and Noncertified
18 Support Staff of the Monroe County Sheriff's Office. The
19 provisions of this act shall not include the Sheriff or
20 Undersheriff, Finance Director, Human Resource Director,
21 Information Management Director, General Counsel, personnel
22 holding the rank of Captain or above, contract personnel,
23 nonsalaried personnel, any Special Duty Sheriff appointed
24 pursuant to s. 30.09(4), Florida Statutes, members of the
25 Sheriff's Posse or Auxiliary Unit, or any person appointed as
26 a part-time Deputy Sheriff, as defined by the Criminal Justice
27 Standards and Training Commission, unless such person is also
28 employed on a full-time basis by the Office of the Sheriff. It
29 is not, however, the intent of this act to grant the right of
30 collective bargaining to persons in the employ of the Monroe
31 County Sheriff's Office who do not otherwise have the right
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1 pursuant to law or an expectation of continued employment
2 except as otherwise expressly stated herein.
3 (2) PROBATIONARY STATUS AFTER HIRING AND PROMOTION.--
4 (a) After a member of the classified service of the
5 Sheriff's Office has been employed for a period of one
6 calendar year, the member shall have attained permanent status
7 in the office of the sheriff and shall be entitled to appeal
8 disciplinary action as set forth herein. However, if any
9 member separates from the office and is rehired at a later
10 date, the member shall be required to complete one calendar
11 year of service from the date of separation before being
12 granted the right of appeal herein.
13 (b) When a member is promoted to a higher rank within
14 the office, there shall be a probationary period of six
15 consecutive months of service in the higher position. In the
16 event that the member does not satisfactorily complete the
17 promotional probation, the member shall be returned to the
18 ranks from which the member was promoted, provided that the
19 member was regularly appointed to said position.
20 (3) RIGHT OF APPEAL.--Any member of the classified
21 service as defined in section 1 hereof shall have the right to
22 appeal any suspension without pay for a period of more than 40
23 hours, demotion or termination, provided however, that there
24 shall be no right of appeal hereunder when the suspension,
25 demotion or termination is based upon conduct for which
26 probable cause exists to believe that a felony under the law
27 of the United States of America or the State of Florida, or
28 misdemeanor involving perjury, false statement or controlled
29 substance has been committed. The appeal shall be to the
30 Disciplinary Review Board, consisting of five members, all of
31 whom shall be members of the classified service of the Monroe
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1 County Sheriff's Office. The board shall be selected as
2 follows:
3 a. The appealing member shall select two members;
4 b. The Sheriff shall select two additional members;
5 and
6 c. The four members thus selected shall select a fifth
7 member who shall serve as chairperson.
8 d. None of the board members shall be involved in the
9 investigation of, a witness to, or involved with the
10 disciplinary procedure that is cause for this appeal, nor
11 shall any board member be a family member of the appealing
12 member or the sheriff.
13 (4) PROCEDURE FOR APPEALS.--
14 (a) Any member desiring to appeal any disciplinary
15 action described in subsection (3), must deliver written
16 intent of his or her intent to do so to the Sheriff, his or
17 her Executive Assistant, or the Undersheriff within ten
18 calendar days after receiving written notice of the
19 disciplinary decision. The notice must contain the names of
20 the member's two appointments to the Disciplinary Review Board
21 and a brief statement of the reasons for the appeal.
22 (b) The Sheriff must appoint his or her
23 representatives to the Board within five calendar days after
24 receipt of the member's notice of appeal described above.
25 (c) The four appointees to the Board must select by
26 majority vote a fifth person to serve as chairperson and set a
27 place, date and time for the hearing within ten calendar days
28 after receipt of the Sheriff's selection of his
29 representatives. The hearing must be conducted within thirty
30 days of the selection of the chairperson, unless a four-fifths
31 majority of the board agrees to a later date.
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1 (d) If a chairperson is not selected within ten
2 calendar days after the appeal is requested, the four
3 appointees shall notify the Sheriff, who shall furnish a list
4 of fifteen names of members of the classified service chosen
5 at random. The four appointees shall, within five days of
6 receipt of the list, vote in turn on each of the fifteen named
7 members. The first selected by majority vote shall serve as
8 chairperson.
9 (e) In the event the appealing member or the Sheriff
10 wishes to challenge the appointment of one of the Board
11 members for reasons specified in subsection (2)(d):
12 1. The challenging party must, within five calendar
13 days of the first appointment of the Board members, present a
14 written objection to the Human Resources Division.
15 2. The appointed Board members shall be advised of the
16 objection, and the rest of Board shall, within five calendar
17 days of being so advised, consider the objections and vote on
18 whether to retain or dismiss the challenged Board member. The
19 challenged member may not vote on the challenge to his or her
20 appointment. The challenge shall be decided by a majority
21 vote. The vote may be conducted in writing, by conference
22 call, electronic mail, or through any other method approved by
23 the Board.
24 3. Upon a decision to dismiss a Board member, the
25 challenged member shall be removed and the remaining members
26 of the Board shall appoint a successor, who must be a member
27 of the classified service.
28 (5) CONDUCT OF APPEALS HEARINGS.--
29 (a) The hearing shall be open to the public and
30 conducted by the chairperson.
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1 (b) The hearing shall be conducted in a manner to
2 assure fundamental fairness, although the formal rules of
3 evidence shall not apply.
4 (c) The Sheriff has the burden of proving the
5 appropriateness of the disciplinary action by the
6 preponderance of the evidence. The Sheriff or his designee may
7 present the case. If a designee presents the case for the
8 Sheriff, he or she must be a member of the classified service.
9 (d) The appealing member shall have the right to
10 present his or her own case, to explain or defend his or her
11 position, and to cross-examine each witness or complainant.
12 (e) The appealing member may have the assistance of
13 one person chosen from the classified service to assist in the
14 presentation. This representative may examine or cross-examine
15 witnesses, address the board, or present argument. The member
16 may have others to assist in the preparation, but these
17 persons may not examine or cross-examine witnesses, address
18 the board, or present argument.
19 (f) The Sheriff shall require the presence at the
20 hearing of any member of the office who the appealing member
21 desires to question or present evidence.
22 (g) The Sheriff or appealing member may offer rebuttal
23 evidence, and the board may hear argument from both parties in
24 support of their positions.
25 (h) At the conclusion of the hearing the Board shall
26 retire to consider its decision. The decision must be made by
27 a majority vote of its members.
28 (i) The decision shall be in writing and shall be
29 rendered within three calendar days after the conclusion of
30 the hearing, unless this period is extended by a majority vote
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1 of the members' decision to extend the time for deciding
2 appeals shall be in writing.
3 (j) The Board may accept, reject, increase or decrease
4 the disciplinary recommendation that was the cause for the
5 appeal.
6 (k) The Board's decision shall be final and binding
7 upon the Sheriff and the appealing member.
8 (6) AVAILABILITY OF NON-BINDING BOARD; FAVORABLE
9 RESOLUTION OF MATTERS INVOLVING CRIMINAL CONDUCT.--
10 (a) In the event that a member of the classified
11 service is disciplined as described in subsection (3) but is
12 not entitled to an appeal as set forth therein due to the
13 existence of probable cause that criminal conduct has
14 occurred, he or she shall nonetheless be entitled to have the
15 disciplinary action reviewed in the manner set forth in this
16 section.
17 (b) Within ten calendar days of the final resolution
18 by acquittal, dismissal, or filing by the prosecuting
19 authority of decision not to file charges, the appealing
20 member shall notify the Sheriff in the manner set forth in
21 subsection (4).
22 (c) The procedure shall thereafter be as set forth in
23 subsection (4) except that the Board's decision shall not be
24 binding upon the Sheriff but advisory only.
25 (7) CONTINUED APPOINTMENT.--When a newly elected or
26 appointed Sheriff assumes office, the service of all personnel
27 shall continue without necessity of formal reappointment. The
28 incoming Sheriff shall have the option of maintaining the
29 current personnel assigned to the rank of Captain and above or
30 equivalent noncertified support positions or transferring
31 those personnel as described below. If the incoming Sheriff
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1 fills any of the above positions with a new person, the former
2 holder of that position may be reduced in the rank to a
3 position no lower than lieutenant or equivalent noncertified
4 support position, and his or her salary reduced accordingly.
5 Any member demoted pursuant to this subsection shall be a
6 member of the classified service immediately upon the
7 assumption of the new position.
8 (8) POSITION ELIMINATION.--Nothing in this act shall
9 prohibit the Sheriff from eliminating positions in the course
10 of submitting the annual budget as required by s. 30.49,
11 Florida Statutes. Any position so eliminated may not be
12 replaced during the following fiscal year. The elimination of
13 positions shall be made with due regard to the seniority of
14 members of the Sheriff's Office.
15 Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a
16 law.
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