Progressive Disciplinary Policy

Progressive Disciplinary Policy

Approved By and Date: Board of Trustees 02-20-2014
  Executive Leadership Team 11-25-2013
  ICORE 11-20-2013

Stanly Community College maintains the right to enforce rules of conduct among its employees and expects each employee to perform his/her work and to conduct him/herself in a manner that brings credit to the College.  Therefore, appropriate disciplinary action will be taken for misconduct or violations of established policy, procedures, or rules.

Progressive Disciplinary Procedures

Approved By and Date: Executive Leadership Team 08-10-2015
  ICORE 08-07-2015

Action by the College will begin with a restorative approach and may include a progressive series of disciplinary actions that include warnings, suspension, or termination.

The nature of severity of the offense will determine the first step to be taken.

Option 1-Oral Warning.  For less severe infractions, the initial disciplinary action may be an oral warning by the employee’s supervisor. The responsible supervisor speaks to the employee to: a) review expected job performance or conduct; b) explain specifically how the employee has not met College expectations; c) provide an opportunity for the employee to explain his/her actions; and together, d) establish a course of action that will correct the job performance or conduct under question. The discussion between the employee and supervisor will be serious and professional in manner to ensure that the employee clearly understands the established standards and expectations with regard to his/her misconduct. The supervisor will maintain a record of the date and content of the oral warning and forward a copy to the appropriate Vice President. 

Option 2-Written Warning. A written warning may be issued by the supervisor if the misconduct is more severe or frequent in nature or if an oral warning has already been issued and the employee misconduct has not been corrected. The written warning will outline the misconduct, state expectations, and indicate the consequences that will occur if there is no improvement in conduct. Written warnings will be forwarded to the Office of Human Resources for placement in the employee’s official personnel file.

Option 3-Suspension.  Suspension without pay may follow an oral warning, a written warning, or may be the first disciplinary action taken if warranted by the circumstances. Prior to suspending an employee, supervisors must obtain approval from the appropriate Vice President and the Human Resources Officer and supply thorough supporting documentation. The duration of the suspension will depend upon the facts of each case, including but not limited to, type and severity of the misconduct, previous work performance of the employee, and prior disciplinary actions. The suspension may last through the end of the current annual contract year, in which case the suspension will result in an automatic non-renewal of contract. The suspended employee will be notified of the suspension by a letter that outlines the misconduct, states expectations, and indicates the consequences that will occur.  A copy of the letter will be forwarded to the Office of Human Resources for placement in the employee’s official personnel file.

In cases of alleged serious misconduct, an employee may be placed on an investigative suspension.  In such cases, the employee will be removed from the workplace while the Human Resources Officer in conjunction with the appropriate Vice President investigates the matter. Investigative suspension is leave with pay. The Human Resources Officer and appropriate Vice President must approve an investigative suspension.  The employee under investigation will be notified by letter of the suspension with pay, the alleged serious misconduct, and the college’s intent to investigate.

Option 4 – Performance Improvement Plan and Disciplinary Probation.  A Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) and placement onto a Disciplinary Probationary Contract may be issued by the supervisor when severe misconduct has occurred and/or job performance is poor. A PIP and Disciplinary Probation may be issued when previous oral and/or written warnings and job coaching efforts have failed to result in improvements in performance.  The PIP will outline the misconduct, state the corrective measures to be taken, the assessment interval and criteria to judge performance, and indicate the consequences that will occur if there is no improvement in conduct. The completed PIP will be forwarded to the Office of Human Resources for placement in the employee’s official personnel file. The supervisor will monitor the employee across the designated evaluation period of the PIP.  Employment during the probationary period is “at will” and employment may be terminated at any time should the employee fail to make satisfactory progress on the performance indicators.

 

 

Notice of Intent to Recommend Termination.  A recommendation for termination to the President will occur when an employee has engaged in serious misconduct or when an employee has not corrected his/her misconduct after previous warnings.  Prior to notifying an employee of the intent to recommend his/her termination to the President for action, supervisors must obtain approval from the appropriate Vice President and the Human Resources Officer and supply thorough supporting documentation. 

Employee Appeal Process. If an employee has been notified of the intent to recommend his/her termination, the employee may within five (5) working days after receiving the written letter of recommendation for termination, request a conference with the President to appeal the pending termination.  The President, with other college staff pertinent to the discussion, will explore the reasons for the proposed termination.  The employee will be given full opportunity to present reasons why the termination should not be carried out by the President.  Neither party shall be represented or accompanied by legal counsel.  Within five (5) work days after the conference, the President will give the employee an unelaborated written statement of termination or of his/her intent to over-turn the recommendation for termination.

If an employee has been given a written statement of termination by the President, the employee may, within five (5) working days after receiving the President’s written statement, request a hearing before the Stanly Community College Board of Trustees.  The request for a hearing will be in writing, addressed to the Board Chairperson, and delivered to the President’s Office.  The request must outline why the employee believes the dismissal violated the employee’s rights as protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and/or the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, or that the dismissal was a violation of college policy. No other grounds for appeal exist. 

Upon receipt of the letter, the Board Chairperson has fifteen (15) calendar days to call a special meeting of the SCC Board of Trustees.  During the proceedings, which will be conducted by the Board Chair, the College will be represented by the college attorney and/or other college counsel, and the employee may be represented by an attorney or other advisor of his/her choice. The proceedings shall be closed to all except the dismissed employee, his/her advisor or attorney, college representative(s), the college attorney and/or other college counsel, the Human Resources Officer, and the Trustees.  At the hearing, the dismissed employee bears the burden of proving that the dismissal violated the employee’s rights as protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and/or the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, or that the dismissal was a violation of college policy.  The hearing will begin with the employee’s presentation of his/her case, and the President and/or his/her designee may then present a rebuttal. The fact-finding portion of the hearing shall be recorded. Deliberations of the Trustees following the fact-finding portion of the hearing shall not be recorded. The President will not be present during deliberations of the Board of Trustees.  The college attorney and/or other college counsel will be present and aide with the deliberations. 

Within five (5) working days after the hearing, the Chair of the Board of Trustees will provide a written statement to the employee and President as to the Board’s intent to uphold or overturn the dismissal.