A D M IN IS T R A T IV E P O LIC IES A N D PR O C ED U R ES
t
• S u b ject
Allegations
• Effective P atp
of E m p l o y e e M i s c o n d u c t
2.09
J u n e 29 ,— 1982
• Code
• Approved
OBJECTIVE
T h e p u r p o s e of this policy is to clar i f y the p o s i t i o n of the City of
C h a r l o t t e with r e g a r d to the h a n d l i n g of a l l e g a t i o n s of e m p l o y e e m i s
cond u c t .
POLICY
It is the p o l i c y of the City of C h a r l o t t e that any alle g a t i o n of m i s
cond u c t on the part of a City e m p l o y e e be p r o m p t l y and t h oroughly
i n v e stigated, and that a p p r o p r i a t e action be t a k e n as soon as p o s sible
b a s e d upon the re sults of the investigation.
M i s c o n d u c t can include
illegal, u n e t h i c a l or harmful, inappropriate, or o ther i m p roper actions
by an employee, and such a l l e g e d e m p l o y e e m i s c o n d u c t must arise from or
o c c u r d u r i n g the p e r f o r m a n c e of a s s i g n e d duties.
P o l i c e Department
sworn p e r s o n n e l are cove r e d by d e p a r t m e n t a l p o l i c i e s and are thereby
e x c l u d e d f rom this policy, except as deter m i n e d by th e City Manager.
PROCEDURE
I.
Responsibility
A.
for C o n d u c t i n g
Investi g a t i o n s
T h e d epartment h e a d has p rime r e s p o n s i b i l i t y for seeing that
a p p r o p r i a t e i n v e s t i g a t i o n s are u n d e r t a k e n to deter mine if
m i s c o n d u c t has occurred.
This is for m a t t e r s that come to
the attention of th e department head f r o m any source, including
from wi t h i n the d epartment, from the C i t y Manager, citizens, or
ot h e r sources.
Th e department h ead ma y p e r s o n a l l y conduct the
investigation, m a y u t i l i z e depa r t m e n t a l personnel, or may call
upon pers o n s o u t s i d e the department (City M a nager's Office,
P e r s o n n e l Depart m e n t , City A t t o r n e y ' s Office, or others) to
assist.
If the d e partment head or the C i t y M a n a g e r determines
that special c i r c u m s t a n c e s exist w h i c h m a k e it inappropriate
for the d e partmen t to conduct the in v e s t i g a t i o n , the City
Ma n a g e r will d e t e r m i n e t h e ap p r o p r i a t e m e t h o d of investigation.
In any case i n vo lv ing alle g e d criminal activity, the Police
D e p a r t m e n t will be c o n s u l t e d im m e d i a t e l y and make investigations
as appropriate.
N o t h i n g in this p o l i c y n e g a t e s the responsibility
and authority of the Per s o n n e l D e p a r t m e n t to investigate employee
comp l a i n t s and grievances.
Allegations of Employee Misconduct
Page 2
II.
B.
The City Manager or his representative (which may include
investigative resources outside the City government) will
investigate any matter or alleged misconduct on the part of
a department head or member of the City Manager's staff.
The results of the investigation will be reported directly
to the City Manager.
As provided in the Code of Ethics,
the City Attorney will investigate all cases of alleged
violations of the Code of Ethics.
C.
In regard to alleged theft, the department head has prime
responsibility for seeing that appropriate investigations
are undertaken as soon as practical to determine if theft
has occurred.
Upon notification of alleged theft, the
notifying source will be assured that a thorough investigation
will be conducted and informed that should restitution be
desired, written notification must be made in accordance
with the attached procedure, Procedure for Handling Claims
Against the C ity . Also, the Police Department and Legal
Department will be notified immediately.
The Police
Department, upon notification, will determine appropriate
investigation, if any.
Written File
The investigation of alleged misconduct will be accomplished in
a way to establish a clear and well-documented written file
revealing the results of the investigation.
Except where
provided by law, all file information concerning alleged misconduct
of an employee is considered confidential; is not available for
public scrutiny.
The City Attorney’s Office should be consulted
about specific file material and how it is to be treated under
the public records law.
Ill.
Reports
Reports resulting from investigation, including any disciplinary
actions taken or proposed to be taken, are to be provided to the
City Manager upon completion.
Responsible Department:
City Manager’s Office
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PROCEDURE FOR PROCESSING CLAIMS
AGAINST THE CITY
1.
When a p e r so n has a c laim agai nst the City, City policy req uire s
that wri tte n notice of the c laim be given to the C it y Council o r
its designee. By r esolution, the City Council has designated the
M ay o r, City M an ag er o r C it y A t t o rn e y as additional parti es to
r e c e iv e notice of a c l a i m ,
2.
Once a c la im is r e c e i v e d , it is forw ard ed to the C it y A tto rn ey 's
office w h e r e it is acknowledged and then fo rw a rd ed to the Insurance
and Risk Managem ent A ge ncy f or transm itta l to the appro p ri at e
i nsurance c a r r i e r .
3.
The insurance co m pany then investigates the c l a i m , determ in es
i f the City is liab le f o r the c laim and dependent upon its findings,
e ith er pays o r denies the c laim .
_
4.
If the claim is one f o r which the City has no i n s u ran ce c o ve ra g e,
it w ill be investigated by a sta ff m e m b e r of the City Atto rney's
office. Following the investigation, and dependent upon its find­
ings, the City A t t o r n e y ' s office w i l l recommend that the claim
e ith er be paid o r denied. Claim s f o r $5, 000 o r l e s s a r e acted
upon by the City M a n a g e r. C laim s in excess of $5, 000 m a y only
be acted upon by the City Council.
GENERAL INFORMATION
When advising persons how to submit a claim , please encourage them to
p r o v i d e as much i n fo rm ati on as possible in their w r i t te n notice. Dates,
a d e s c r ip ti o n of what o c c u r r e d , the amount of damages being claimed,
and copies of bills re la ting to the claim should be submitted as part of the
w r i t t e n notice since they w i l l help in the investigation of the c laim . P l eas e
do not le a v e the i m p r e s s i o n that all that is n e c e s s a r y in o r d e r to be paid
is to submit a wri tte n no tic e. Pa ym ent of claims is not automatic; but
instead depends e n t i r e l y on w hether or not the investigation re v e a l s that
the C it y is legally liable f o r the damage o r injury that o c c u r r e d . The
m e r e fact that damage w as incu rr ed o r that an inju ry re sulte d does not,
in and of itself, m e a n that the City is liable.
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