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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Civil Service Board - 03/25/2022MINUTES 588th CIVIL SERVICE BOARD HEARING 1201 LEOPARD ST., CITY HALL HUMAN RESOURCES CONFERENCE ROOM March 25, 2022 BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Dr. Beth Rauhaus, Chairperson Dr. Deborah Sibila, Member Gerald Avila, Member CITY STAFF PRESENT: Eyvon McHaney, Director of Human Resources Gabriel Rodriguez, Assistant City Attorney Alex Garcia, Assistant City Attorney David Lehfeldt, Director — Solid Waste Philip Aldridge, Assistant Director— Solid Waste Sherri Eldridge, HR Manager Dr. Beth Rauhaus called the 588th Civil Service Board hearing to order at 1:09 pm. Item #1: Review and approve the minutes of the 587th Civil Service Board hearing held on December 16, 2021. Item #2: Review and consider the appeal filed by Michael Young, Heavy Equipment Operator, on his termination. Ms. McHaney moves to approve Item #l. Mr. Avila makes motion to approve. Dr. Sibila seconds the motion. Dr. Rauhaus moves to Item #2, and Dr. Rauhaus reads. Dr. Rauhaus swears in the witness. Mr. Rodriguez invokes the rule. Assistant City Attorney Alex Garcia makes his opening statement. On April 2, 2021, Michael Young was terminated for conduct, inability to communicate with his supervisor, inability to maintain professionalism and poor performance. The City will show proof that the department provided Mr. Young with progressive discipline aimed to improve his performance. Mr. Young continued to exhibit behaviors that eventually led to his tennination. Termination was the only appropriate action the City could take. Michael Young makes his opening statement. I was with the City for 11 years. 1 began having issues when a new guy came in not knowing the job or situation. Witnesses will say job performance was never a problem. My problem was my supervisor because if you weren't in the cool group, you were treated differently. The city calls Mike Little as a witness for the City. Mike Little is the Foreman for Solid Waste and was Mr. Young's supervisor. He has been with the City for three years. Reviewed job duties and responsibilities. He supervises six employees. Cell phones are used as primary form of communication. The department communicates via text and phone calls. Mr. Little was Mr. Young's foreman in the Solid Waste department. Reviewed Exhibit D, Letter of Counseling dated October 30, 2020, due to lack of communication. Reviewed Exhibit E PIP dated November 3 for communication, professionalism, and work performance. Reviewed Exhibit N dated March 5, 2021, a group message asking who can work the weekend. Reviewed Exhibit O, group message. No further questions. Michael Young has no questions for the witness. Gerald Avila questions Mike Little. Have you ever gone on the ride with all six as their supervisor? Yes. I do know the timing of the routes. I'm familiar with the routes. If you go back to Page 3 reviewed text with question marks. Reviewed timelines for normal completion. Usually have been done in one hour. Dr. Deborah Sibila asked question about weekend coverage. Why weren't they on the schedule? They were on call. Trying to be flexible. Gerald Avila asks about text needing clarification. The City calls Sherri Eldridge as a witness for the City. Sherri Eldridge is the Employee Relations Manager for the City of Corpus Christi. She has been in her role since March of 2021. Previously, she was the HR Liaison for Public Works and prior to that the Senior HR Analyst with Employee Relations. Reviewed Exhibit B Civil Service Board Rules and Regulations under Section 5 employees can be terminated if they violate any of these rules. Rules specifically violated were 4, 5, 6, 9, 11, 15 and 35. Mrs. Eldridge explains the process in how employees can file complaints and grievances. Explains employees can file rebuttals to discipline. There are no records of Mr. Young providing a rebuttal on previous disciplinary actions. She explains HR process when contemplating terminations. Michael Young has no questions for the witness. The City calls Philip Aldridge as a witness for the City. Philip Aldridge is the Solid Waste Department Assistant Director and has been there for 2 1/2 years. He knows Mr. Young and has met with him regarding his professionalism and conduct. Reviewed Exhibit D letter of counseling. They did not receive a rebuttal for the Letter of Counseling. Reviewed Exhibit E, PIP. There were no questions from Mr. Young during the PIP. Reviewed Exhibit J, meeting notes. Reviewed Exhibit L, reviewed messages. Reviewed Exhibit M, reviewed conversation notes. Reviewed Exhibit N, reviewed text thread. Reviewed text thread regarding 3-hour wait time and agreed it was excessive. Departmental expectations are that employees keep in touch with their foreman throughout their shift. Reviewed Exhibit P, operator Eric Sanchez complaint regarding Michael Young. Reviewed Exhibit A termination letter. Why was termination decided? There were too many instances where discipline was needed. Reviewed Exhibit F, rebuttal statement. This was the first time he issued a rebuttal. Reviewed items from rebuttal statement. Michael Young questions the witness. When the schedule changes that's not my fault, correct? No. Dr. Deborah Sibila questions, once employees are promoted do they receive additional supervisory training? Yes, unsure if Mr. Little has attended any. The City calls David Lehfeldt as a witness for the City. David Lehfeldt is the Director of Solid Waste Services and has been there for 2 1/2 years. When he was hired, he noticed the need for more structure as far as discipline is concerned. He has made changes within the department. Employees receive a welcome to the Solid Waste Department packet outlining expectations upon hire. Reviewed the process of terminating employees. Reviewed Exhibit F, rebuttal letter was read and considered. Michael Young questions the witness. Do you find it strange that Michael Little has already been written up after only being there one year? Many people have had write ups and they change their behavior and continue to work here. Gerald Avila questions, have you ever had a workplace survey done? A survey to assess the department? We have not had a survey conducted. Michael Young calls Jonathan Campos as a witness. Jonathan Campos is a Sanitation Operator II. Mr. Campos explains the treatment they received daily in the department. Explained lack of management, equipment and supplies, poor communication from foreman, group text starting out with all drivers but changed when Mike Little became their foreman. Alex Garcia questions the witness. Do you have any documentation to show you were blamed for equipment failure? There was a grievance filed with Mr. Clark. But this was for you Mr. Campos not Mr. Young? Yes. Mr. Campos did not supervise Mike Young. They were in the same position. Discussed being on standby for three hours and said they could have called during that time, not everything was via text. Reviewed Exhibit O page three. Gerald Avila questions, has Mr. Little ever been on a ride along with you? I don't believe so. Dr. Deborah Sibila questions, do you have morning briefings? No, due to COVID. Michael Young questions do you have a grievance that still hasn't been pushed through? Alex Garcia objects due to relevance. Michael Young called Howard White as a witness. Howard White is a Utility Technician 11 at the Wastewater Plant. Worked as a Sludge Hauler for two years. He left because he didn't like Solid Waste. He has been Mr. Young's foreman when his foreman was out for the day. He has never had problems with Mr. Young's performance. Alex Garcia questions the witness. What year were you in solid waste? 2016. Has not supervised Mike Young during the last two years. Has never reported to Mike Little. Alex Garcia would like to object to the relevance to everything prior to the tennination letter. We are bound by what is in the termination letter not his previous work history. Gerald Avila questions, did you ever see him just idling by? That is the policy. Alex Garcia questions, were you ever in the Sludge Department? Yes. 13 years. Dr. Deborah Sibila questions, did he have problems with communication? No. All drivers had a city phone. Wait times would vary when waiting for loads. Alex Garcia questions, when he was under you, was he in constant communication with you? Yes. Michael Young questions, since Mr. Little became my foreman, how many times did he communicate with you? One time in one year. Michael Young calls Rosendo Zamora as a witness. Rosendo Zamora Senior Lead Operator- Utility Technician have you ever had a problem with my work performance? No. Alex Garcia questions the witness What year were you at the Oso plant? 2012, approximately. Were you ever at Solid Waste? No. I have not dealt with Mr. Young in the last two or three years in a supervisory capacity. Gerald Avila questions, Mr. Young was reprimanded for an incident at the Oso, were you aware? No. Alex Garcia would like to object you to relevance. Michael Young calls Johnny Garcia as a witness. Johnny Garcia is a sanitation forming. How did we meet? Original driver for a new program. Did you have a problem with my job performance? No. Alex Garcia questions the witness. What year were you, his supervisor? 2015. Alex Garcia objects due to relevance. Michael Young questions, when you were a foreman at Solid Waste did, we have a schedule? Yes. Gabriel Rodriguez objects due to relevance. Different time and different area within Solid Waste. Michael Young calls Earl Richardson as a witness. Earl Richardson is a waste treatment plant manager. Have you ever had any issues with my performance? No. Alex Garcia questions the witness. Did he work for you? Yes, in 2010. Alex Garcia would like to object due to relevance. Last time he worked for him was in 2012. Dr. Deborah Sibila questions, no professional interaction since 2012? Since I managed the plant, I have not had any complaints regarding Mike young. Michael Young called David King as a witness. David King and Michael Young worked together in Solid Waste. They did the same job. He was Mr. Young supervisor at times. He never had a problem with Mr. Young's work performance. Alex Garcia questions the witness. When did you retire? 2019. When did you work together in Solid Waste? In 2015 through 2017 or 2018. Alex Garcia objects due to relevance. Dr. Deborah Sibila questions, did you have any issues from 2019 up until his termination? No. Michael Young calls Reggie Rendon as a witness. Did you ever know me to have poor performance since you knew me at Solid Waste and Wastewater? You were one of the best workers I had ever seen. You did your job. Alex Garcia questions the witness. Mr. Rendon, when did you retire? October 23rd of 2019. What was your title? Senior Landfill Operator. Did you supervise Mike young? No. The city recalls Philip Aldridge as a witness. Please clarify the communication policy between drivers and the foreman during the time of Mike Young's employment and now. Communication varied between text and phone calls. Anytime you get to a place and leave a place you should notify your foreman. You should also speak up if you are held up for more than 30 minutes in one place. What changes have been made since then? Cell phones were taken away and now trackers are in place. Radios were also installed. Michael Young has no questions for the witness. Gerald Avila - if the driver remains at the plant are they supposed to call? Can the foreman ask them to stay and stand by? Yes. Reviewed Exhibit O, Page 3 regarding 3 -hour lapse. Was it possible there was a phone call? I don't know. Dr. Beth Rauhaus questions, can you explain what prompted the change from text to tracking? Phones can be a safety hazard. We pushed for the radios. Alex Garcia gives his closing statement for the city. The City follows the concept of progressive discipline. This is in place to ensure that City personnel are within reason afforded the opportunity to remedy performance problems and other issues. The City cannot be expected to continue to issue small measures of discipline indefinitely. The evidence shows that Mr. Young received meetings with supervisors prior to any disciplinary actions with no rebuttals from Mr. Young. He was put on notice that this was not going to be tolerated. There are at least five other individuals that have been terminated and we have created rebuttal binders to show this is not an isolated incident. The City urges the board to uphold the termination of Mr. Michael Young. Michael Young gives his closing statement. Year before last was rough. I have three school aged children. I have a mother-in-law with dementia and a wife that is a frontline nurse that I hadn't seen in a year. The one place I got solace was at work. My work performance was never a problem. Could I have handled my run-ins with Mr. Little better, yes but as you noticed a six -man text went down to three I shouldn't have come to work to be treated differently from everyone else. Some agitation, yes, I will admit that. I could have handled that differently. I'm not in the in crew. We are men first. I will not tolerate no disrespect even when it's under your breath. I completed the PIP and I thought all was done. It felt like Mr. Little was being protected because it continued. That's all I have to say. Dr. Rauhaus calls for closed session at 3:32 pm. 588th Civil Service Board hearing is called back in session at 4:02 pm. Motion was made to uphold the termination of Michael Young. The 588th Civil Service Board hearing is adjourned at 4:03 pm. D .Beth Rauh us, Chair Civil Service Board 1 r. Deb Sibila, Mem er Civil Service Board Gerald Avila, Member Civil Service Board 4Eyvoca y, Sec ry e Boar