I. Right of Appeal
A. In case of dismissal pursuant to Policy 3.3.4, or reduction in force pursuant to Policy 3.3.9, an employee has a right to appeal the President’s decision and must do so within five (5) business days of the action taken.
a. Appeals must be submitted in writing to the President, who shall forward the appeal to the chair of the Board of Trustees.
b. The employee must articulate the grounds for the appeal in the notice.
c. Further, the employee shall state in the notice whether the employee has or is\ seeking legal counsel for the appeal. Should the employee decide to retain legal counsel s/he shall notify the President three (3) business days prior to any hearing. Failure to provide notification shall be automatic grounds for a continuance of the hearing if so desired by the College.
d. The employee’s only basis for appeal is if the President’s actions were impermissible based on a violation of state or federal law, College policy or if the actions were based on the employee’s race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, age, disability, genetic information, political affiliation or status as a covered veteran in accordance with all applicable federal, state and local laws.
e. Upon receipt of all information, the President will immediately forward documentation to the Chair of the Board of Trustees.
B. No later than thirty (30) business days from the President’s receipt of the employee’s written appeal, unless mutually agreed by the parties, the Chair of the Board of Trustees shall forward the complaint to the College’s legal counsel.
C. No later than ten (10) business days from receipt of the appeal, the College’s legal counsel shall conduct a review/hearing (See Review Procedure) of the complaint and the College’s response.
D. No later than ten (10) business days from the review/hearing, the College’s legal counsel shall provide the Chair of Board of Trustees with his/her written recommendation to uphold, reject or modify the President’s decision.
E. At the next regularly scheduled Board of Trustees meeting, The Board Chair shall notify the full Board of Trustees of the legal counsel’s recommendation. The Board of Trustees will discuss the recommendation in closed session, then in open session, vote to uphold, reverse or modify the President’s decision. The Board of Trustees
decision is final.
The final decision of the Board of Trustees shall be included in the employee’s personnel file. If the employee is reinstated, s/he shall receive all lost wages from the date of the suspension without pay and/or dismissal unless otherwise decided by the Board of Trustees.
II. Review/Hearing Procedure
A. The review shall be conducted with only the College attorney, the employee, the President and other appropriate College administrators, Board members, and relevant witnesses. The employee and the President may also be represented by legal counsel. If an employee chooses to have counsel, the employee is responsible for retaining and paying for those services.
B. Strict rules of evidence or procedure do not apply to appeals. The Board attorney may consider any and all evidence that s/he determines to be fair and reliable.
C. The burden is on the employee to demonstrate that the President’s determination was based a violation of state or federal law or that the actions were based on the employee’s race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, age, disability, genetic information, political affiliation or status as a covered veteran in accordance with all applicable federal, state and local laws.
D. At least five (5) business days prior to the review, the parties shall exchange all documentary evidence that the parties plan on using. The President shall be responsible to assemble all the documents and to make each party a packet for the review. The packet must contain the following in this order: a) a copy of these Procedures; b) a copy of the President’s written determination that is being appealed; c) a copy of the employee’s request for appeal; d) the President’s documents for the review, if any; and e) the employee’s documents for the review, if any.
F. The review may include a hearing if deemed necessary by the College’s legal counsel or Chair of the Board of Trustees. If a hearing is held, the following process for presenting information shall be followed.
a. The hearing shall begin with the President’s presentation of evidence. The President’s presentation of evidence is limited to one (1) hour unless extended by the College’s attorney. The President, or his/her legal counsel, shall present and examine his/her witnesses and present evidence. The Colleges attorney will have an opportunity to question the witnesses and review the submitted evidence. The employee may cross-examine the President’s witnesses and the time used by the employee to cross-examine witnesses shall not count against the President’s one (1) hour of time.
b. At the conclusion of the President’s presentation of evidence, the employee will present his/her evidence. The employee’s presentation of evidence is limited to one (1) hour unless extended by the College’s attorney. The employee, or his/her legal counsel, shall present and examine his/her witnesses and present evidence. The College’s attorney and Trustees will have an opportunity to question the witnesses and review the submitted evidence. The President may cross-examine the employee’s witnesses and the time used by the President to cross examine witnesses shall not count against the employee’s one (1) hour of time.
c. At the conclusion of the employee’s presentation of evidence, the President will be given five (5) minutes to present a closing statement. Following the President’s closing statement, the employee shall be given five (5) minutes to present a closing statement.
d. At the conclusion of the review, the College’s legal counsel will deliberate and will inform the Board of Trustees, in writing, of his/her recommendation to uphold, reverse or modify the President’s decision no later than ten (10) business days from the date of review.
G. At the next regularly scheduled Board of Trustees meeting, The Board Chair shall notify the full Board of Trustees of the legal counsel’s recommendation. The Board of Trustees will discuss the recommendation in closed session, then in open session, vote to uphold, reverse or modify the President’s decision. The Board of Trustees decision is final.
H. In the event that more time is necessary for the College’s legal counsel to conduct his/her investigation and/or the Board to review the matter, the Board Chair may extend all deadlines as necessary.
Adopted: June 12, 2019
Revised: October 11, 2023