Adopted by the Mayor & Board of Aldermen,10/7/98

Section 1       Types of Separation

All separations of employees from positions in the service of the Town shall be designated as one of the following types and shall be accomplished in the manner indicated: resignation, reduction in force, disability, retirement, dismissal or death.

Section 2       Resignation

An employee who desires to terminate his employment with the Town should give written notice to his department head two weeks prior to his last intended day of employment.  Resigning department heads shall give one month?s notice.  An employee who does not provide the required notification shall have recorded on his service record that he resigned without giving proper notice.  An employee who is absent from work three consecutive days without reporting to his supervisor the reason for his absence shall be considered to have terminated his employment without notice, and notation to this effect shall be recorded on the employee's service record.

Section 3       Reduction in Force

The Town Manager, with the approval of the Board of Aldermen, has the authority to call for a reduction in force.  In the event a reduction in force becomes necessary, consideration shall be given to the quality of each employee?s performance, as documented by current performance appraisals, organizational needs, the need for the employee?s service, and seniority in determining those employees to be retained.  Employees who are laid off because of reduction in force shall be given at least two weeks notice of the anticipated lay-off and will be given first opportunity to return to work should an opening become available commensurate with his skills.  No regular employee shall be separated while there are temporary employees serving in the same class in the department unless the regular employee is not willing to transfer to the position held by the temporary employee.  Under the provisions of reduction in force, the Town Manager has the option to make changes in work time and/or work load to accomplish the reduction.

Section 4       Disability

An employee may be separated when the employee cannot perform the essential functions of his/her job with or without accommodations because of physical or mental impairment which substantially limits the employee?s ability to perform the essential job functions.

Action may be initiated by the employee or the Town, but in all cases consideration for disability separation shall be supported by medical evidence or psychological evidence as certified by a competent physician or psychologist.  Before a employee is separated for disability, a reasonable effort shall be made to locate vacant positions within Town service for which the employee may be suited.  The Town shall comply with the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) in this matter.

Section 4A  ADA Policy

Section 1       ADA Coordinator
 
The Town has designated a coordinator to handle issues related to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA).  All requests for reasonable accommodation, auxiliary communication aids and services, alternative accessible formats for notices, policies and other information, as well as complaints regarding the Town's ADA program should be directed to the ADA Coordinator:

Human Resource Manager
Town of Waynesville
16 S. Main Street/PO Box 100
Waynesville, NC 28786
Telephone #  (828) 456-2028
Fax #   (828) 456-2011

Section 2      Complaint Procedures 

Complaints of alleged discrimination on the basis of disability by the Town may be filed by job applicants, employees and members of the general public by using the Grievance Procedure set forth in Article VIII of the Town's Employee Handbook, with the exception that any complaint or grievance relating to disability must be filed in writing directly with the ADA Coordinator, and can be appealed if necessary to the Town Manager.  The Grievance Procedure shall be distributed to members of the general public upon request to the ADA Coordinator.  Alternative means of filing complaints, such as personal interviews or a tape recording of the complaint, will be made available upon request for persons with disabilities.  Any complaints relating to the ADA shall be considered confidential and kept separate from an employee's personnel file.

Section 3       No Retaliation

Individuals who oppose any act or practice that is unlawful under any title of the ADA, or who make a charge, testify, assist, or participate in any investigation, proceeding, or hearing under the ADA will not be retaliated against, nor will they be coerced, intimidated, threatened or interfered with in the exercise of any ADA right.

Section 4       Confidentiality of Medical Records

All information obtained by the Town regarding an applicant?s or employee's disability, medical condition, or request for reasonable accommodation shall be maintained in medical files which are kept separate from the regular personnel files.  All medical files and records will be treated as confidential.  Access to medical information shall be given only as set forth in the ADA.

Section 5       Retirement

Town employees participate in and are eligible to retire under the North Carolina Local Governmental Employees Retirement System.  Any employee who  is planning to retire should submit a written request to the Human Resource Manager one month prior to the planned effective retirement date.  Those employees retiring from Town service shall be paid up to 30 days annual leave not used.  Employees may apply unused sick leave toward their retirement credit.

Section 6      Death

All compensation due to an employee who dies while employed by the Town will be paid to the estate of the deceased employee.  The date of death shall be recorded as the separation date for computing compensation due to the estate.

Section 7       Disciplinary Actions

An employee may be reprimanded, suspended, demoted or dismissed by the employee?s department head.  Disciplinary actions may be enforced if an employee?s work performance or personal conduct affecting work performance is unsatisfactory.  An employee may be reprimanded, suspended, demoted or dismissed for reasons of misconduct without prior warning or disciplinary action having been given to the employee.

Depending upon the circumstances one or more of the following kinds of disciplinary actions may be taken:  counseling, oral reprimand, official written reprimand, withholding of merit pay increase, suspension, demotion, or dismissal.  Because of substantial difference between failure in performance of duties and failure in personal conduct, the disciplinary action for each may be carried out differently, in the discretion of the Town.

An employee whose work performance is unsatisfactory should receive three warnings, the second and third should be in writing, before disciplinary action resulting in dismissal is taken.

In all cases the employee shall receive a written summary of charges and actions taken, a copy of which shall go into his/her personnel file.

Section 8       Disciplinary Actions for Failure in Performance of Duties

An employee whose work is unsatisfactory over a period of time shall be notified in writing by the employee?s immediate supervisor in what way the employee?s work is deficient and what must be done if the work is to be satisfactory.  Unsatisfactory work performance includes aspects of the employee?s job which do not meet the standards set by the supervisor.
 
Section 9       Progressive Steps of Discipline

Adopted by the Mayor & Board of Aldermen, 10/7/98
The progressive steps of discipline outlined below should normally be taken with an employee whose work performance is unsatisfactory.  However, the Town reserves the right to skip steps at  its discretion.

a.        Oral Warning(s) - The supervisor shall talk privately with the employee and discuss the following:

(1) Inform the employee that the discussion is a warning and not some other non-disciplinary process such as counseling;

2. Inform the employee how he has not met the performance requirements of the job and why his performance has been unsatisfactory;

3. Tell the employee specific actions he needs to take, and the time frame for taking such actions, to improve performance to a satisfactory level.

4. Tell the employee of the consequences of failing to make the required improvements;

5. The person conducting the meeting should record the date of the meeting, and other necessary information for any future use, and place a copy of the notes in the employees personnel file.

b. Initial Written Warning - If the oral warning(s) have not caused an improvement in the employee's performance, or if the supervisor determines the work performance problems to be of a more serious nature, the supervisor shall prepare a written summary of the performance problem(s) as outlined below.  The supervisor shall present the written warning to the employee and discuss its contents, which should include the following:

1.  Date(s) and points covered in previous warning(s);

2. A description of specific performance problem(s);

3. Specific actions the employee needs to take to improve performance to a satisfactory level;

4. A general time frame allowed for improvement;

5. A strong notice that continuation of the performance problem(s) will result in more severe disciplinary action up to and including dismissal.

 
The written warning should be signed by the employee with a copy being placed in the employee?s personnel file.  The employee?s failure to sign the written warning does not effect the validity of the warning.  The supervisor should indicate on the warning that the employee refused to sign it.

c. Final Written Warning - If previous warnings have not been effective, the employee should generally be given a final warning before being dismissed or demoted. However, an employee may be dismissed or demoted without following these progressive disciplinary steps, if the infraction is of a sufficiently serious nature or type, in the discretion of the Town Manager.  Before issuing the final written warning, the department head should review the contents of the previous warnings and take the following steps:

1. Prepare a final written warning outlining the points covered in the previous warnings.

1. Conduct a disciplinary conference with the employee and discuss the specific reasons for the action, the necessary improvements and the time allowed to make improvements.

3. Present the final written warning to the employee and indicate that failure to immediately correct the unsatisfactory performance may result in dismissal.

If all efforts have failed to improve the performance of the employee the following steps should be taken to dismiss an employee:

1. A written summary of the case shall be prepared by the Department Head along with a decision for the action to be taken;

2. A pre-dismissal conference shall be held between the Department Head and the employee for the purpose of presenting the employee with the specific reason(s) for the dismissal.  The employee shall have the right to respond at the pre-dismissal conference;

3. The Department Head will notify the employee of the action taken and will provide the employee with a written copy of the decision.  Such written notice shall include an indication of the employee?s right to appeal.  A    copy of the action shall be placed in the employee's file.

Section 10      Disciplinary Actions for Failure in Personal Conduct