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| You Have Many Rights if you are Employed by the Commonwealth - You Just Need to Know When and How to Enforce Them! |
Certain classes of persons employed by
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, including its departments and agencies, are
entitled to protection from unwarranted discipline, most notably suspensions
and terminations, as well as from illegal discrimination. Hence, they have
rights far greater than do the ordinary at
will employee.
However, the rules relating to how to protect one’s rights, as set forth in the Pennsylvania Civil Service Act, are strictly construed and must be adhered to closely.
However, the rules relating to how to protect one’s rights, as set forth in the Pennsylvania Civil Service Act, are strictly construed and must be adhered to closely.
How
Many Days Do I Have to Appeal a Personnel Decision Under Pennsylvania’s Civil
Service Law?
NOTE: This post deals only with regular
full-time employees qualify for protection under the Act.
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| 20-Day Deadline |
The first thing to know is that if you feel you have been subjected to unwarranted discipline or termination, or acts of discrimination, you must file an appeal within twenty (20) days from any notice of personnel action or from the date you believe the relevant act of discrimination occurred. Employees who do not file an appeal within 20 days of notice of the personnel action or of the acts of discrimination that they believe exist will be deemed to have waived their rights under the Act.
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| Filing a Timely and Concise Appeal Essential |
What Should I Say in My Appeal Under Pennsylvania’s Civil Service Act?
Filing an appropriate appeal is an extremely difficult task for the ordinary civil service employee. That is because employees often get distracted by things such as personality conflicts or how other people were not treated the same way, and lose sight of what is actually critical to an appeal. The first way to defeat a personnel action is to prove that the alleged conduct for which the employee has been discipline did not occur. By and large, and for simplicity’s sake, that should be the focus of your appeal. Leave all of the emotional baggage at the door and do not include that in your appeal.
Can
I Include Documents Along With My Appeal To The Pennsylvania Civil Service
Commission?
Yes, when you file an appeal, you can
file documents to be submitted along with the appeal. Of course, far more often
than not, the employee does not possess the documents that he or she needs to
support their appeal. One may request that the Civil Service Commission issue a
subpoena upon 1/3 party to obtain documents that may support the appeal.
Filing an concise appeal in a timely
fashion is critical; any issues that are not raised in the appeal will be
deemed waived and will not be considered down the road. Any appeal should be
accompanied by a request for a hearing before the Civil Service Commission.
What Happens After A I File a Pennsylvania Civil Service Employee Appeal With the Pennsylvania Civil Service Commission?
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| The Commission Has a Precise Way of Dealing With Appeals |
What Happens After A I File a Pennsylvania Civil Service Employee Appeal With the Pennsylvania Civil Service Commission?
The three-member Civil
Service Commission meets once each month to review all new appeals.
Sometimes, they will decide the appeal based solely upon the appeal itself and
any supporting documentation. Generally speaking, this is not a good thing for
employee in serious situations involving termination, prolonged suspension or
acts of discrimination. In any event, if the Commission should decide the
appeal based merely upon the pay appeal papers filed, you will receive a
written decision within a week of the conclusion of the Commission’s meeting.
CLICK HERE to read Why it is a good idea to hire counsel for an employee's hearing before the Pennsylvania Civil Service Commission
CLICK HERE to read Why it is a good idea to hire counsel for an employee's hearing before the Pennsylvania Civil Service Commission
What
Happens at a Pennsylvania Civil Service Commission Hearing?
If the Commissioners believe that the
appeal warrants a formal hearing, you will receive notice in the mail as to the
date and time of same. Such hearings are held in a relatively formal atmosphere
presided over by one or more of the Commissioners or a Hearing Officer.
Unless the hearing is based solely upon
allegations of discrimination, the Commonwealth will have the burden of going
first at the hearing and presenting testimony and evidence sufficient to
support the personnel action. During this time, you must be proactive in making
sure to raise proper objections in a timely fashion.
The Commonwealth will always be
represented by an attorney at such a hearing. Typically, the Commonwealth’s
attorney will have spent many hours preparing numerous witnesses to present testimony
and documentary evidence in support of the Commonwealth’s case before the
hearing starts.
Experience tells that perhaps the number one mistake that
employees make is passively allowing the employer to introduce whatever
evidence it wants in whatever form it wants. Typically, employees do not
understand the rules of evidence and, without question, the administrative
hearing process can be very intimidating for someone that does not ordinarily
engage in legal proceedings.
If you go in there without an attorney,
and are just hearing the testimony and evidence for the first time at the
hearing, the likelihood of you being able to take advantage of the rules of
evidence are relatively remote. The case
may be over before you ever utter a word.
After the employer has presented its
case in chief, the employee is given a right to cross-examine the employer’s
witnesses. Again, if you are not an experienced attorney this right has little
value. My experiences been that few civilians actually understand how to effectively
cross-examine their adversary.
Once the employer has closed its case-in-chief, the employee has a right to present his or her case. You must lay out your evidence concisely via testimony and introduction of exhibits. The employee must be prepared to withstand cross-examination from the Commonwealth’s counsel, as well as intense, precise questioning from the presiding hearing officer.
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| Are You Ready to Examine - and be Examined? |
Once the employer has closed its case-in-chief, the employee has a right to present his or her case. You must lay out your evidence concisely via testimony and introduction of exhibits. The employee must be prepared to withstand cross-examination from the Commonwealth’s counsel, as well as intense, precise questioning from the presiding hearing officer.
What
Should I Say in my Brief to the Civil Service Commission After my Pennsylvania Civil
Service Hearing
Upon conclusion of the hearing, the
hearing officer may either permit the parties to submit a closing argument
right then and there, or may allow the parties to submit a brief. If briefs are
requested by the Commonwealth attorney, that request is usually granted. The
Commonwealth often will request briefs, because its attorneys are paid on a
salary basis (being employees of the Commonwealth), and they know that they hold
a huge advantage over the ordinary civilian when it comes to presenting legal
briefs.
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| The Transcript is the Record of Your Hearing - Creating and Being Able to Brief the Record is an Art Form |
If briefs are permitted, then you must
obtain a copy of the transcript of the proceedings. Writing a brief without the
transcript is essentially a waste of time. The cost of the transcript can be
several hundred dollars.
In the brief, your focus should be on
the inability of the Commonwealth to prove its case. You achieve this by pointing out
inconsistencies in testimony by the Commonwealth’s witnesses, as well as
conflicts between testimony and documentary evidence.
In addition, your brief should wherever
possible include citation to Pennsylvania Commonwealth court cases that support
the employee’s position.
You have a generous set of rights if you are entitled to a Civil Service Hearing. However, at the hearing, the Commonwealth will be represented by an attorney who does these hearings all of the time, and knows all of the rules!
Do you?
If not, then it is a very wise idea to hire counsel.
Philadelphia Area Civil Service Act Attorneys Representing Employees
Philadelphia Are Employment Attorneys
Representing Employees
We are employment lawyers who represents employees in Pennsylvania.
We typically represent employees who need an employment lawyer in Philadelphia County, Chester County, Delaware County, Bucks County, Berks County, Lancaster County and Montgomery County.
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