Chapter 3 – Personnel, Training, and Employee Relations

33030.4 Definitions

• Adverse Action – A documented action, which is punitive in nature and is intended to correct misconduct or poor performance or which terminates employment.

• Affected Employee – An individual who is the subject of adverse action.

• Appointing Power – The Secretary of the Department.

• Assistant General Counsel (AGC) – An individual responsible for managing the Employment Advocacy and Prosecution Team (EAPT) in the Department’s Office of Legal Affairs.

• Bureau of Independent Review (BIR) – A unit within the Office of the Inspector General responsible for contemporaneous public oversight of the Department’s investigative and disciplinary processes.

• Charging Package (Also known as the “Skelly package”) – All documentation used to substantiate the charges in the action and which is presented to the employee with the Preliminary or Final Notice of Adverse Action. This material may include but is not limited to the following: the investigative report; applicable policies, procedures, and Government Code sections; records of training the employee has attended; job descriptions; and duty statements and/or post orders that are related to the charges. This package does not include the CDCRCalifornia Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Form 402, Hiring Authority Review of Investigation, and CDCRCalifornia Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Form 403, Justification of Penalty.

• Chief Assistant Inspector General (CAIG) – An individual responsible for the operation and functions of the BIR.

• Corrective Action – A documented non-adverse action (verbal counseling, in-service training, on-the-job training, written counseling, or a letter of instruction) taken by a supervisor to assist an employee in improving his/her work performance, behavior, or conduct.

• Designated Cases – Those cases assigned to the Vertical Advocates, including matters involving staff integrity and/or dishonesty, abuse of authority, sexual misconduct, use of force in which an inmate suffers death or serious injury, use of deadly force, serious allegations made against supervisors, and high profile or dismissal cases assigned to the Vertical Advocate by the AGC.

• Employee Counseling Record – A written record of counseling, documented on a CDC Form 1123, between a supervisor and subordinate which provides formal instruction about laws, rules, policies and employer expectations.

• Employee Relations Officer (EROEmployee Relations Officer)/Disciplinary Officer – An employee designated by the Hiring Authority to coordinate adverse actions.

• Employment Advocacy and Prosecution Team (EAPT) – The team, formerly known as the Employment Law Unit, responsible for operation of the Vertical Advocacy Model in the Department’s Office of Legal Affairs.

• Executive Review – A secondary, management-level review conducted to resolve a significant disagreement(s) regarding an investigative finding, proposed disciplinary penalty, or settlement agreement.

• Hiring Authority – The Undersecretary or General Counsel or any Chief Deputy Secretary, Executive Officer, Chief Information Officer, Assistant Secretary, Director, Deputy Director, Associate Director, Warden, Superintendent, Health Care Manager, Regional Health Care Administrator, or Regional Parole Administrator authorized by the appointing power to hire, discipline, and dismiss staff under his/her signature authority. The Administrator at the Richard A. McGee Correctional Training Center shall serve as the Hiring Authority for Correctional Officer Cadets. The appointing power is a hiring Authority, for purposes of this Article.

• In-Service Training (ISTIn-Service Training) – Formal training conducted departmentally and/or at the direction of the Hiring Authority and usually conducted away from the employee’s work site.

• Letter of Instruction (LOI) – A written document, which outlines requirements for an employee to advance his/her job performance or conduct to an acceptable level.

• Notice of Adverse Action – Notification to the affected employee of the charges against him/her, the adverse action penalty, and the effective date.

• Office of Internal Affairs (OIAOffice of Internal Affairs) – The entity within the Department with authority to investigate allegations of employee misconduct.

• On the Job Training (OJTOn-the-Job Training) – Training conducted by a supervisor (or a designated employee with the required expertise under the direction of a supervisor) at the job site while the employee is working.

• Preliminary Notice of Adverse Action – Notification required of some Hiring Authorities in accordance with the Bodiford Settlement Agreement, to an affected employee regarding charges against him/her and the intent to impose adverse action. This notification summarizes the specific subsections of the Government Code that have been violated, as well as the actions that constituted the violation. For Hiring Authorities mandated to serve a Preliminary Notice of Adverse Action, the charging package shall also be served with this notice.

• Senior and Special Assistant Inspectors General (SAIG) – Attorneys employed by the BIR who report to the CAIG.

• Skelly Hearing – An informal proceeding in which the employee, together with his or her representative, is provided a predeprivation opportunity to respond to management regarding the charges in the Notice of Adverse Action. The employee may present any arguments for amending a pending adverse action before the action becomes effective. Skelly Hearings are required at the request of the affected employee for the following: adverse actions; rejections during probation; non-punitive actions resulting in the employee’s dismissal or demotion; and transfers for purposes of punishment and/or in conjunction with an adverse action.

• Skelly Letter – A document transmitted to an affected employee, following the Skelly Hearing, stating the Hiring Authority’s final decision regarding the imposition of a disciplinary penalty.

• Skelly Officer – A noninvolved manager, usually at the level of a Correctional Administrator, who will make a recommendation to the Hiring Authority after a Skelly Hearing to amend, modify, withdraw, or sustain the pending adverse action. The Skelly Officer must be a management employee above the organizational level of the disciplined employee’s supervisor unless that person is the employee’s appointing power in which case the appointing power may respond to the employee or designate another person to respond. Unless the affected employee waives his/her right to have a noninvolved manager serve as the Skelly Officer, the Skelly Officer shall not be the person who completed the CDC Form 989, Internal Affairs Investigation Request; who signed the employee’s Notice of Adverse Action; or who participated in the decision to take adverse action.

• Summary of Adverse Action – A summary compiled by the EROEmployee Relations Officer/Disciplinary Officer of allegations of misconduct, from the evidence contained in an investigative report and other documents.

• Vertical Advocacy Model – A system that ensures legal representation for the Department during the entire investigative and employee disciplinary process in order to hold staff accountable for misconduct by way of thorough and complete internal investigations, principled decision-making and assessment of the investigations, and consistent and appropriate discipline.

• Vertical Advocate – An EAPT attorney assigned to one or more specific Hiring Authority locations to consult with the investigators and Hiring Authorities concerning investigative findings, disciplinary decisions, and to prosecute designated cases.