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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Civil Service Board - 08/20/2021MINUTES 584th CIVIL SERVICE BOARD HEARING 1201 LEOPARD ST., CITY HALL HUMAN RESOURCES CONFERENCE ROOM August 20, 2021 BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Dr. Beth Rauhaus, Chairperson Dr. Deborah Sibila, Member Gerald Avila, Member CITY STAFF PRESENT: Tracey Lawson, Assistant Director of Human Resources Gabriel A. Rodriguez, Assistant City Attorney Sherri Eldridge, Human Resources Manager Monica Saenz, Sr. HR Analyst Dr. Beth Rauhaus called the 584th Civil Service Board hearing to order at 1:03 pm. Item #1:Review and approve the minutes of the 583rd Civil Service Board hearing held on July 21, 2021. Item #2:Review and consider the appeal filed by Ronald Harper, Maintenance Technician, on his termination. Mrs. Lawson moves to approve Item #1. Mr. Avila makes motion to approve. Dr. Sibila secol1ds the motion. Dr. Rauhaus moves to Item #2, and Dr. Rauhaus reads. Dr. Rauhaus swears in the witnesses. Mr. Rodriguez does not invoke the rule. Assistant City Attorney Gabriel A. Rodriguez makes the opening statement about the termination of Ronald Harper on May 20, 2021. Mr. Harper served as a Maintenance Technician in the Wastewater Department and was involved in an altercation with another employee and was subsequently fired for violating the City's Workplace Violence Policy. The City will show that it was justified in terminating Mr. Harper based on the witnesses interviewed and the potential liability in continuing to employ Mr. Harper. Today you will hear from Mr. Daniel Deng, Assistant Director of Water Utilities who ultimately made the discission to terminate Mr. Harper and his basis for carrying out this level of discipline. Additionally, you will hear from Sherri Eldridge who will testify to the Human Resources rules and regulations that Mr. Harper violated, and the considerations made regarding these types of incidents. I wat you to bear in mind that the City is not doubting Mr. Harper's work performance, integrity, or character, rather the ultimate question I want you to focus on is as you examine the evidence given to you today is did Mr. Harper violate the City's Workplace Violence policy and I believe that the City's evidence will show that he did. Mr. Ronald Harper makes his opening statement. Good afternoon, my name is Ronald Harper and the day in question I was having a really bad day because of medical issues, family issues, and the person in question who got on my nerves. I was just having a really bad day that day. I felt like I should have been punished but to that extinct [sic]. Chairperson asks that Mr. Rodriguez present the case for the City. The city calls Jiangang (Daniel) Deng as a witness for the City. Mr. Rodriguez asks Mr. Deng to state his name and position for the record, then goes on to question the witness. Mr. Deng has been with the city for eight and a half years and was in his position on 5/20/2021. Mr. Deng explains that he became involved in the incident after Gerald Garcia, Wastewater Treatment Manager, came to his office and told him Mr. Harper had grabbed the neck of another employee. He then went on to explain that Ron Harper was the one that grabbed the other employee's neck. The incident happened on May 2Pt after a dispute between Ron Harper and Rudy Alvear. Mr. Harper grabbed Mr. Alvear by the neck and pushed him against the wall. Mr. Deng then asked Gerald to provide evidence or a statement from staff involved. On or around May 25, 2021, Mr. Deng asked Jay, Jacob, and Juan Flores to meet and go over the incident since they were involved. On May 28, 2021, Mr. Deng met with Jacob who said he worked with Ron Harper and Rudy when Ron Left to take some tours [sic]. When Jacob came back, he saw Ron Harper grab Rudy's neck and push him on the ground or on the wall. Jacob yelled at Ron and told him to calm down and tried to separate them. Another witness by the name of Juan also told Ron to stop. Ron then yelled at Juan and said, "you are not my boss, and this has nothing to do with you". Mr. Rodriguez asked if Gerald Garcia is right under Mr. Deng in the chain of command in which he responded yes. Mr. Deng said that after he interviewed all the witnesses, he concluded that all the stories and statements were consistent. Mr. Rodriguez asked Mr. Deng if he is familiar with the Human Resource policy that Mr. Harper violated in which he responded yes. When asked if he felt that Mr. Harper violated the policy he answered yes. When asked he felt the termination was justified due to him placing his hands on another employee he answered yes. Mr. Rodriguez handed over Exhibit A, the termination letter, and asked if he had seen the document before. Mr. Deng replied that he signed the document. Mr. Rodriguez asked if in his opinion, he believed Mr. Harper violated the policy, he answered yes. No further questions for the witness. Mr. Rodriguez passes the witness to Mr. Harper for questioning. Mr. Harper does not have any questions for Daniel Deng. Mr. Rodriguez calls Sherri Eldridge as the next witness for the city. Mr. Rodriguez asks Ms. Eldridge to state her name and position for the record, then goes on to question the witness. Ms. Eldridge has been with the city for 9 years. Mr. Rodriguez asked if Mrs. Eldridge is familiar with the Human Resource policy regarding workplace violence. She answered with absolutely. He asked if she had dealt with workplace violence incidents in the past in which she answered yes. What was the outcome of past workplace violence incidents? Mrs. Eldridge states that consistently it's been termination. He asked if termination is the first recommendation when it comes to workplace violence in which she answers with not necessarily. She goes on to explain that it depends on witness statements, whether you can validate statements, and meetings with employees. If it cannot be validated some sort of discipline is issued but not necessarily termination. The City does not condone harassment or any type of physical violence. Mr. Rodriguez handed over Exhibit B and explains to Mr. Harper that he can find copies of all exhibits in the binder located right in front of him. Mrs. Eldridge is asked to and reads the section titled causes for discipline. She confirms that any violation of the causes can be disciplined up to termination. Mrs. Eldridge explains she became involved in this incident when the Human Resources liaison, Monica Bailey, mentioned the incident between Mr. Harper and Mr. Alvear. She then instructed Ms. Bailey to send statements regarding the incident. Mr. Harper then reached out to Mrs. Eldridge and requested a meeting. During the meeting, Mr. Harper explained the incident and said he did not choke Mr. Alvear but admitted to putting his hands on his shoulders and pushing him up against the wall. He also said the incident occurred due to him not taking his medication that day. Mr. Harper asked her if he was going to be terminated to which she responded that her recommendation was going to be termination but ultimately it was up to the department Director to make the final decision. Mr. Rodriguez asked Mrs. Eldridge if within the context of the policy did it matter where Mr. Harper placed his hands on the employee. It does not matter; it is still physical aggression therefore against policy. Mr. Rodriguez asked if she would still recommend termination for Mr. Harper in which she responded with yes. No further questions for the witness. Mr. Rodriguez passes the witness to Mr. Harper for questioning. Mr. Harper does not have any questions for Sherri Eldridge. The City has no further witnesses. Chairperson asks that Mr. Harper present his case. Mr. Harper states: thank you for being here to hear his side. It was a learning experience. On that day he was irritated with family life. Mr. Alvear was pushing his buttons. He is a diabetic and had not had lunch and was hangry. Jacob did not come down and separate him and Mr. Alvear, that is not true. He states he had enough sense to just let go. That guy Juan came down and got into his face and he was already agitated. Mr. Harper calls Jonathan Barrel as the witness for himself. Mr. Barrel states his name. He goes on to say Ron is a very good worker and he is here as a character witness. He was not present at the time of the incident. He explains that the job is very stressful. He states they had a hard night prior to the incident, and everyone was tired. The guy that he had the issue with, Rudy, is a shop guy and was there that day to help. Rudy had been instructed by Mr. Barrel to avoid going downstair due to the steepness of the lift station. Somewhere between the time he left Rudy disobeyed orders and went downstairs. Rudy is known to nit pick and knows what to do to get others to react. What was done was wrong but when he found out the situation, he automatically knew Ron was involved. When he arrived at the jobsite everyone was acting normal and working as usual. Jacob went up to him and let him know there was an incident when he was gone. He said Rudy and Ron got into a fight and Ron grabbed Rudy. He went and spoke to Rudy who said nothing happened and denied the incident. He then approached Ron who also said nothing happened. After being off a few days he got more information. As far as Ron as a worker, he's one of the best workers the City has had in a long time. He's been with him for three years now. In the beginning he was pretty much homeless and has come a long way. Overall, as a worker, the City should be proud to have him. What he did was wrong, and I understand but what happened, happened. No further questions of the witness. Mr. Rodriguez does not have any questions for Jonathan Barrel. Mr. Harper calls Joseph Burgos as the witness for himself. Mr. Burgos states his name. He goes on to say that he is here for his friend Ron. He was not present at the time of the incident and was off that day. When he heard about the incident, he knew it was going to be Rudy. He didn't know how Rudy ever got hired with the city. He has a knack for getting under people's skin. He has been close to having an altercation with Rudy as well. He states if he ever needed help, he would ask for Mr. Harper. He believes he has learned his lesson and suffered enough. He's a nice guy and it's unfortunate that the incident happened. He wants Mr. Harper back at work and would love to see it happen. Mr. Rodriguez does not have any questions for Jonathan Barrel. Mr. Rodriguez recalls Sherri Eldridge. Mrs. Eldridge introduces herself. Mr. Rodriguez asks if when she was speaking to Mr. Harper when he came into her office, had he ever indicated that Mr. Alvear was the instigator of the incident. She responds that he never said that and none of the statements indicated Mr. Alvear to be the aggressor or instigator. Today is the first time she heard those claims. No further questions for Mrs. Eldridge. Mr. Rodriguez gives his closing statement for the city. You have heard today from Mr. Deng and Mrs. Eldridge regarding the circumstances that lead up to Mr. Harper's termination. Unequivocally Mr. Harper signed a policy stating he was aware of the Human Resource policy manual including the workplace violence policy. Based upon his own admissions to Mrs. Eldridge there is no doubt that Mr. Harper placed his hands on another employee without his consent. City employees or anyone for that matter, should not have the added anxiety of being touched, shoved, or assaulted without their consent. I would like to reemphasize the City is not questioning Mr. Harper's character or work performance, rather the focus remains on his clear violation of the workplace violence policy and because of that his termination should be upheld. Mr. Harper gives his closing statement. Again, thank you for letting me have the chance to present myself. As for Rudy being the aggravator, I know I should have put that in there but at the time it didn't seem helpful. I'm a good worker and I learned my lesson. I knew I should be punished but not to this extent. I was just having a bad day. Dr. Rauhaus calls for closed session at 1:44 pm. 5 84th Civil Service Board hearing is called back in session at 1:57 pm. Motion was made to modify the termination to a Letter of Reprimand with a 90-day unpaid suspension for Ronald Harper. The 5 84th Civil Service Board hearing is adjourned at 1:58 pm. *Note per Civil Service Rules and Regulations the board may only uphold, modify or nullify the action imposed by the disciplinary authority. In decisions to modify the discipline imposed, the Board may elect to: 1. reduce a termination to a suspension, involuntaiy demotion or written reprimand. Because the board initially determined Mr. Harper should receive a written reprimand and an unpaid 90- day suspension, which is not allowed under the Civil Service Board Rules and Regulations, an email was sent to all board members on Monday, August 24, 2021, requesting they determine which one remedy they choose to impose; the letter of reprimand or the 90-day unpaid suspension. The determination by the Civil Service Board . eio1 ibila, -mber Civil Service Board Gerald ila, Member Civil ervice Board / Tiacey L&wson for Eyvon McHaney, Secretary Civil Service Board board was unanimously the 90-day unpaid suspension, beginning June 11, 2021, through September 11, 2021. r Beth Rauhaus, Chair