• Step 1 – Follow the Rules     
  • The Consequences of a District Failing to Follow Its Own Rules
  • Failure to Follow District Policies and Procedures May Be a Plaintiff’s Main Exhibit in a
  • Discrimination Lawsuit
  • Ensuring Compliance with a District’s Policies and Procedures May Bar Claims or Help Districts
  • Defend Against Liability in Civil Litigation
  • Checklist on How to Avoid Violations of A District’s Policies, Procedures and Other Rules
• Step 2 – Train and Retrain
• Step 3 – Establish an Effective Hiring and Employee Retention Process     
  • Utilize Accurate Job Descriptions
  • Have Good Reasons for Your Hiring Decisions
  • Avoid the Appearance of Favoritism
  • Retain Good Employees by Mentorship, recognition and reward
• Step 4 – Accountability for All
  • Performance Evaluations Must Be Accurate
  • The Importance of Documentation and Recordkeeping
  • Empower Your Human Resources Department
• Step 5 – Be Honest, Consistent, and Fair
  • Honesty
  • Consistency
  • Fairness
• Step 6 – Communicate, Communicate, Communicate
  • Principles of Effective Communication
  • Dealing with the Public and the Media
  • Listen to Your Employees
  • Training and Performance Evaluations Are Other Means of Communication
  • Communicate Expectations
  • Communication Requires Feedback
  • Avoid Stray Remarks
• Step 7 – Pick Your Battles Wisely
  • Be Realistic – Management Will Not Prevail in Every Labor Relations Dispute
  • Think Broadly and Long Term
  • Successful Labor Negotiations Involve More Than Financial Goals
  • Realize That Change May be Unsettling and Threatening to Employees
• Step 8 – Due Process Matters
  • Due Process Arising From Complaints of Discrimination, Harassment or Retaliation
  • Due Process in Disciplinary Matters
  • Avoid Personal and District Liability
• Step 9 – Investigate before It’s Too Late
  • Investigations Should Be Conducted Promptly
  • Districts Must Follow Their Own Rules during Investigations
  • If Investigations Reveal Violations of Rules or Law, Act Promptly to Remedy the Situation and
  • Prevent Re-Occurrences
• Step 10 – Everything Is “Discoverable”
  • Most Documents Constitute Public Records under the California Public Records Act
  • Careless Statements in E-Mail Are a Plaintiff’s Best Friend
  • The Brown Act
• Step 11 – Litigate to Win!
  • Help Your Attorney Help You!
  • All Testimony Should Be Taken Seriously
  • Checklist for Testifying as a Witness
• Step 12 – Don’t Take It Personally

Discipline in the employment context refers to formal adverse action taken by management against an employee in response to an employee's misconduct or performance issues. The range of disciplinary actions generally includes oral and written reprimands,  suspension, demotion, and dismissal.  Discipline has traditionally been viewed as the chief means by which management maintains order in the workplace.

However, it is important to view "discipline" in a broader and more contemporary context.  In actuality, discipline should be part of an overall appraisal system designed to maximize employee performance. Employees have been shown to perform optimally when they receive regular and positive reinforcement for their good work and when they are alerted, as early as possible (and, if possible, through non-disciplinary means), to their performance deficiencies.

Thus, "disciplinary" procedures and policies should be developed and applied as one component of a comprehensive approach to maximizing employee performance that includes:

• Regular performance evaluation and appraisal of employees;
• Appropriate recognition and rewards for jobs well done;
• Consideration of appropriate training and educational vehicles for improving performance and enabling promotion as appropriate; and
• Consideration of appropriate counseling and punitive actions when indicated by substandard job performance or misconduct.

The focus of this workshop is on two of the most critical phases of this process—employee evaluation, and when necessary and appropriate, employee discipline.

Topics Include:

• Overarching Principles of Evaluations
  • Overview of the Evaluation Process
  • The Ongoing Evaluation System:  Gathering the Facts
  • Constructive Feedback
  • How to Prepare an Effective Written Evaluation
  • The Face-to-Face Evaluation Meeting
• Evaluation of Academic Employees
• Evaluation of Administrators
• Evaluation of Classified Employees in Districts Without a Merit System
• Evaluation of Classified Employees Under the Merit System
• General Principles Governing Discipline
  • Frequent Disciplinary Problems
  • Checklist of Sources of Disciplinary Grounds
  • “Good Cause” Checklist
  • Investigate! - Factual Basis for Discipline Must Be Verifiable
  • Checklist for Analyzing Discipline Problems
  • Time of Disciplinary Action
  • Progressive Discipline
  • Progressive Discipline Checklist
• Academic Employees – Non-Renewal and Discipline
  • Non-Renewal of Contract Faculty Members
  • Discipline of Academic Employees for Cause
  • Release of Temporary Faculty Members
• Discipline of Administrators
• Discipline of Classified Employees Not Under Merit System
  • Cause for Discipline
  • Statutory Grounds for Dismissal
  • Procedures for Implementing Discipline
  • Remedies for Failure to Provide Pre-Discipline Due Process
  • The Liberty Interest (“Lubey”) Requirements
  • Issuance of Notice of Final Discipline
  • Post-Disciplinary Appeal Hearing
  • Judicial Review
• Discipline of Classified Employees Under Merit System
  • Cause for Discipline
  • Suspension, Demotion or Dismissal
  • Compulsory Leave of Absence – Sex Offenses and Controlled Substance Offenses
  • Appeal of Suspension, Demotion or Dismissal
  • Probationary Period
• Legal Considerations
  • Placement of Documents in Personnel File
  • First Amendment Rights
  • Discrimination
  • Discrimination for Workers’ Compensation Claim or Injury
  • Retaliation for Engaging in “Protected Activity”
  • Whistleblower Retaliation Claims
  • Accommodation for Disability
  • Invasion of Privacy
• Judicial Decisions Concerning Employee Discipline
  • Whistleblower Cases
  • Controlled Substance Offenses
  • First Amendment (Employee Speech)
  • Invasion of Privacy/Off-Duty Misconduct
  • Last Chance Agreement
  • Lubey Interest
  • Retaliation
  • Sexual Offenses

This workbook examines appropriate steps that you can take to minimize the potential for violent episodes at work - and how to respond to violence when it does occur.

Topics Include:

• Introduction
  • The Problem
  • The Perpetrators and the Victims
  • Laws Addressing Workplace Violence
  • Management Rights and Legal Obligations Summarized
• Workplace Violence Prevention Plan
  • Exemptions from the WVPP
  • Definitions of Workplace Violence
  • WVPP Requirements
  • Training
  • Recordkeeping
• Cal/OSHA Guidelines for Workplace Security
  • Employer’s Duty to Provide a Safe Workplace
  • “Guidelines for Workplace Security”
  • Recording and Reporting Workplace Violence
  • Investigating Assaults Involving Death or Serious Injury
  • Consultation Assistance for Employers
  • Civil and Criminal Penalties
• Preventative Measures
  • Knowing the Warning Signs
  • Dealing with Threats
  • Applicant Screening
  • Post-Employment Medical Inquiries
  • Fitness for Duty Exams
• Responding to Workplace Violence
  • Immediate Response Procedures
  • Follow-Up Response Procedures
  • Investigation and Workplace Searches
  • Physical Security Measures
  • Temporary Restraining Orders and Injunctions: How to Respond to Violence that Comes to Work
  • Responding to Domestic Violence Issues
  • Discipline and Discharge of Employees Who Engage in Unsafe/Violent Conduct in the Workplace
• Liability Exposure Due to Workplace Violence
  • Negligent Hiring, Training and Retention
  • Respondent Superior Liability
  • Employer’s Duty to Warn
  • Disability Discrimination Laws
  • Invasion of Privacy
  • Maintenance of a “Dangerous Condition”
  • Workers’ Compensation
  • Third Party Liability

Before an entity attempts to comply with the FLSA with respect to a particular individual or class of individuals, the entity should first determine whether the FLSA even covers the individual or class in question; that is, whether the individual is considered to be an employee under the Act.  While most workers are covered as employees, there are certain classes of individuals who are not considered employees.  Volunteers and independent contractors are not covered by the Act.  In addition, trainees and certain elected officials, their staff, and certain employees of legislative bodies are also not covered by the FLSA.

Topics Include:

• Who is Covered by the FLSA?
  • Introduction to Coverage Issues
  • Independent Contractors
  • Volunteers
• The “White Collar” Exemptions
  • Overview
• Hours Worked
  • Introduction to the Hours Worked Concept
  • Distinctions Between Working Time and Paid Time
  • “Suffered or Permitted” Work
  • Rounding and De Minimis Rules
  • On-Call or Standby Time
  • Meal Time
  • Pre and Post Shift Activities
  • Travel Time
  • Breaks for Nursing Mothers
  • Telework
• The Work Period
  • Introduction to the Work Period Concept
  • Basic Workweek Principles
  • The 7(b) Work Period
  • Public Safety 7(k) Work Periods
• The Regular Rate of Pay
  • In General
  • Calculation of the Regular Rate – Generally
  • Calculation of the Regular Rate – Additional Examples
  • Employees Working at Two or More Rates
  • Examples of Payments Included in the Regular Rate
  • Issues Presented by Specific Other Payments
  • Timely Payments of Wages
• Compensatory Time Off Under the FLSA
  • CTO Compensation Under the FLSA

Public sector pensions are increasingly in the spotlight. News stories, magazine articles, court cases, and even ballot initiatives, all discussing the state of public sector pensions – Are they too lucrative? Are they sustainable? Are defined benefits a good idea? All questions that are being debated in the court of public opinion, especially as public agencies struggle with increasing deficits and decreasing revenues. How to address these increasing costs can be a workbook in and itself. However, before an agency can look at making changes to benefits, it needs to understand the dynamics of a pension system and some of the unique legal issues involving pension benefits.

This workbook discusses the basics of participating in pension plans administered by the California Public Employees' Retirement System ("PERS" or "CalPERS") and pension systems established under the County Employees Retirement Law of 1937 ("CERL" or "'37 Act"). Included are discussions on who can participate in these pension plans, how benefits are calculated, disability retirements, and terminating pension benefits.

Although this workbook discusses some of the most common issues that come up when discussing pension issues, it is not intended as a comprehensive treatise in this area. Given the complex nature of pension laws and the unique nature of individual benefits and systems, agencies should consult with legal counsel before making any changes to benefits or benefit-administration.

Topics Include:

• Membership
  • CalPERS Membership
  • ’37 Act System Membership
  • Types of Membership
• Determining Pension Benefits
  • Retirement Formulas
  • Final Compensation
  • Service Credit
  • Reciprocity
  • Optional Benefits
  • Restrictions On Out-Of-Class Appointments For CalPERS Contracting Agencies
• Contributions To Pension Plans
  • Contributions For CalPERS Members And Employers
  • Contributions for ’37 Act Members and Employers
  • Supplemental Retirement Plans
• Service Retirement
  • Minimum Requirements
  • Mandatory Retirement
• Disability Retirement
  • Eligibility
  • Does the Member Qualify?
  • Applying for Disability
  • A Word on Labor Code Section 4850 and Industrial Disability Retirement of Safety Members
  • After the Application is Accepted or Denied
  • Procedures for Handling Local Safety Disability Retirement Applications: A Primer for CalPERS Agencies
  • Involuntary Disability Retirement
  • Involuntary Discontinuance of Disability Retirement Benefits
• Employment After Retirement
  • Reduced Worktime for Partial Service Retirement – CalPERS Local Agencies
  • Reinstatement After Retirement
  • Employment Without Reinstatement
• Early Retirement Incentives
  • ADEA and FEHA Compliant Incentives
  • Preparing Enforceable ADEA Waivers in Connection with an Early Retirement Incentive
  • “Golden Handshake” for CalPERS Agencies
  • “Golden Handshake” for ’37 Act Employers
• Modification of Pensions and Other Retirement Benefits
  • General Principles of Vesting
  • Caps And Limits On Post-Employment Benefits
  • Terminating Pensions with CalPERS or CERL
• Retiree Medical And Other Post-Employment Benefits
  • General Principles of Retiree Medical Benefits
  • PEMHCA Participants
  • Accounting For OPEBs & Pre-Funding