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Home My WebLink AboutR-1594 - Adding a New Chapter XV to the City of Marysville personnel rules for reporting impropert governmental actions and protecting employees against retalit ),.'.• CIT Y 0 F MAR Y S V ILL E Marysville,Washington RESOLUTION NO.I S1'1- A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF MARYSVILLE ADDING A NEW CHAP- TER XV TO THE CITY OF MARYSVILLE PERSONNEL RULES FOR REPORTING IMPROPER GOVERNMENTAL ACTIONS AND PROTECTING EMPLOYEES AGAINST RETALIATION. SECTION 1.POLICY STATEMENT: It is the policy of the city of Marysville (1)to encourage reporting by its employees of improper governmental action taken by City of Marysville officers or employees and (2)to protect City of Marysville employees who have reported improper governmental actions in accordance with the city of Marysville's policies and procedures. SECTION 2.DEFINITIONS: As used in this policy,the following terms shall have the meanings indicated: 1."Improper governmental action"means any action by a city of Marysville officer or employee: a.That is undertaken in the performance of the offi- cer's or employee's official duties,whether or not the action is within the scope of the employee's employment;and b.That (i)is in violation of any federal,state,or local law or rule,(ii)is an abuse of authority, (iii)is of substantial and specific danger to the public health or safety or (iv)is a gross waste of pUblic funds. "Improper governmental action"does not include personnel actions,including employee grievances,complaints, appointments,promotions~transfers,assignments,reas- signments,reinstatements,restorations,reemployments, performance evaluations,reductions in pay,dismissals, suspensions,demotions,warnings,either written or ver- bal,violations of collective bargaining or civil service laws,alleged violations of labor agreements or repri- mands.. 2."Retaliatory action"means any adverse change in the terms and conditions of a city of Marysville employee's employment. 1 ·, 6 to oj.'. 3."Emergency"means a circumstance that if not immediately changed may cause damage to persons or property. SECTION 3.PROCEDURES FOR REPORTING: City of Marysville employees who become aware of improper gov- ernmental actions should raise the issue first with their supervisor.If requested by the supervisor,the employee shall submit a written report to the supervisor,or to some person designated by the supervisor,stating in detail the basis for the employee's belief that an improper governmental action has occurred.Where the employee reasonably believes the improper governmental action involves his or her supervisor,the employee may raise the issue directly with the City Adminis- trator or such other person as may be designated by the city Administrator to receive reports of improper governmental action. In the case of an emergency,where the employee believes that damage to persons or property may result if action is not taken immediately,the employee may report the improper gov- ernmental action directly to the appropriate government agency with responsibility for investigating the improper action. The supervisor,the City Administrator or the city Administra- tor's designee,as the case may be,shall take prompt action to assist the City of Marysville in properly investigating the report of improper governmental action.city of Marysville officers and employees involved in the investigation shall keep the identity of reporting employees confidential to the extent possible under law,unless the employee authorizes the disclosure of his or her identity in writing.After an inves- tigation has been completed,the employee reporting the improper governmental action shall be advised by a summary of the results of the investigation,except that personnel actions taken as a result of the investigation may be kept confidential. City of Marysville employees may report information about improper governmental action to the appropriate government agency with responsibility for investigating the improper action if the City of Marysville employee reasonably believes that an adequate investigation was not undertaken by the City of Marysville to determine whether an improper governmental action occurred,or that insufficient action has been taken by the City of Marysville to address the improper governmental action or that for other reasons the improper governmental action is likely to recur.Attached as an Addendum to this Chapter is a list of agencies responsible for investigating improper governmental action.The list is not intended to be all-inclusive. 2 .'\'. City of Marysville employees who fail to make a good-faith attempt to follow the City of Marysville's procedures in reporting improper governmental action shall not receive the protections provided by the city of Marysville in these proce- dures. SECTION 4.PROTECTION AGAINST RETALIATORY ACTIONS: City of Marysville officials and employees are prohibited from taking retaliatory action against a city of Marysville employee because he or she has in good faith reported an improper governmental action in accordance with these policies and procedures. Employees who believe that they have been retaliated against for reporting an improper governmental action should advise their supervisor,the city Administrator or his/her designee. City of Marysville officials and supervisors shall take appro- priate action to investigate and address complaints of retali- ation . If the employee's supervisor,the City Administrator,or his/her designee,as the case may be,does not satisfactorily resolve a City of Marysville employee's complaint that he or she has been retaliated against in violation of this policy, the employee may obtain protection under this policy and pur- suant to state law by providing a written notice to the Marys- ville city Council that: a.Specifies the alleged retaliatory action and b.Specifies the relief requested. Employees shall provide a copy of their written charge to the City Administrator no later than thirty (30)days after the occurrence of the alleged retaliatory action.The city of Marysville shall respond within thirty (30)days to the charge of retaliatory action;provided,if the charge warrants an unusual amount of investigation,the City may extend the time for responding up to 30 additional days. After receiving either the response of the City of Marysville or thirty days after the delivery of the charge to the City of Marysville,the City'of Marysville employee may request a hearing before a state administrative law judge to establish that a retaliatory action occurred and to obtain appropriate relief provided by law.An employee seeking a hearing should deliver the request for hearing to the City Administrator within the earlier of either fifteen (15)days of delivery of the City of Marysville's response to the charge of retaliatory action,or forty-five (45)days of delivery of the charge of retaliation to the city of Marysville for response. 3 ·...:.'... Upon receipt of request for hearing,the City of Marysville shall apply within five (5)working days to the state Office of Administrative Hearings for an adjudicative proceeding before an administrative law jUdge: Office of Administrative Hearings P.O.Box 42488,4224 sixth S.E. Rowe Six,Bldg.1 Lacey,WA 98504-2488 (206)459-6353 The City of Marysville will consider all recommendations pro- vided by the administrative law judge,including but not lim- ited to a recommendation that the retaliator be suspended with or without pay,or dismissed. SECTION 5.RESPONSIBILITIES: The city Administrator or his/her designee is responsible for implementing the City of Marysville's policies and procedures (1)for reporting improper governmental action and (2)for protecting employees against retaliatory actions.This includes ensuring that this policy and these procedures (1) are permanently posted where all employees will have a reason- able access to them,(2)are made available to any employee upon request and (3)are provided to all newly-hired employ- ees.Officers,managers and supervisors are responsible for ensuring the procedures are fully implemented within their areas of responsibility.Violations of this policy could result in disciplinary action,including but not limited to a written reprimand,suspension and/or termination. ! PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL AND APPROVED BY THE MAYOR THIS 2 :3 DAY OF Jv~JlJ-e""~r ,1992 Approved as to form: ~,r.{..J~ City Attorney ::qp~~ity Clerk 4 ...../,.'.,.~. ADDENDUM TO CHAPTER XV OF PERSONNEL RULES Following is a list of agencies responsible for enforcing federal,state and local laws and investigating other issues involving improper governmen tal action.Employees having question about these agencies or the proce- dures for reporting improper governmental action are encouraged to contact the City Administrator or Personnel Director. CITY OF MARYSVILLE Marysville city Attorney Keithly and Weed 21 Ave A Snohomish,WA 98290 (206)334-1480 Snohomish county Prosecutor 2918 Colby Ste 203 Everett,WA 98201 (206)388-6330 Marysville Police Department 1635 Grove st Marysville,WA 98270 (206)659-1444 STATE OF WASHINGTON Attorney General's Office Fair Practices Division 2000 Bank of California Center 900 Fourth Avenue Seattle,WA (206)464-6684 State Auditor's Office Legislative Building PO Box 40021 Olympia,WA 98504-0021 (206)753-5280 State Department of Ecology 3190 l60th SE Bellevue,WA 98008-5452 (206)649-7000 Human Rights Commission 402 Evergreen Plaza,Bldg FJ-41 511 S Capitol Way Olympia,WA 98504-2490 5 Department of Labor and Industries 300 W Harrison,Room 201 Seattle,WA (206)281-5400 State Liquor Control Board Enforcement Office 2101 Sixth Ave Seattle,WA (206)464-6094 Department of Natural Resources PO Box 68 Enumclaw,WA 98022 (206)825-1631 Puget Sound Water Quality Authorit PO Box 40900 Olympia,WA 98504 (206)493-9300 Department of Social and Health Services Special Investigation Office 5200 Southcenter Blvd Suite 23 Tukwila,WA (206)764-4048 Fraud Complaints 800-562-6025 UNITED STATES Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General 915 2nd Ave Seattle,WA supervisor Auditor (206)553-8290 Supervisor special Agent Investigation (206)553-8286 .'.'-,' state Department of Health Health Consumer Assistance PO Box 4789 Olympia,WA 98504-7891 800-525-0127 Alcohol Tobacco &Firearms Criminal Enforcement 915 2nd Ave Seattle,WA (205)553-4485 us Attorney 800 5th Ave Seattle,WA (206)553-7970 Department of Commerce Office of Inspector General Office of Audits 915 2nd Ave Seattle,WA (206)553-0801 Government Accounting Office Fraud Hotline 800-638-2772 Consumer Product Safety Commission Hotline 800-638-2772 us Customs Service Office of Enforcement 909 1st Ave Seattle,WA (206)553-7531 us Department of Education Office of Inspector General 915 2nd Ave Seattle,WA Audits Investigation (206)553-0657 (206)553-1482 Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigations 1200 6th Ave Seattle,WA (205)553-8306 6 Federal Trade Commission 915 2nd Ave Seattle,WA (206)553-4656 General services Administration 915 2nd Ave Seattle,WA Office of Inspector General Audits Investigation (206)931-7650 (206)931-7654 Law Enforcement (206)553-0290 Department of Health &Human Services Food &Drug Administration 22201 23rd Dr SE Bothell,WA Trade Complaints (206)483-4949 Office of the Regional Secretary General Counsel's Office,Inspecto eral Audits Investigations (206)553-0452 (206)553-0229 Department of Housing and Urban De ment Office of counsel 1321 2nd Ave Seattle,WA (206)553-4976 Office of Inspector General Audits Investigations (206)553-0270 (205)553-0272 Interstate Commerce commission 915 2nd Ave RID 1894 Seattle WA 98174 (206)553-5421 Equal Employment opportunity commission 2815 2nd Suite 500 Seattle,WA (206)553-0968 Federal Emergency Management Agency 130 228th st SW Bothell,WA (206)487-4600 Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration 220 W Mercer Suite 300 Seattle,WA (206)553-5443 Department of Labor Occupational Safety &Health (OSHA) 1111 3rd Ave Suite 715 Seattle,WA 98101 (206)553-5930 Office of Inspector General Audits 1111 3rd Ave suite 780 Seattle,WA 98101 (206)533-4880 Investigations 1111 3rd Ave suite 785 Seattle,WA 98101 Office of Women's Bureau 1111 3rd Ave suite 885 Seattle,WA 98101 Mine safety &Health Administration 117 107th NE Bellevue,WA (206)553-7037 7 Department of Interior US Fish &Wildlife Services Division of Law Enforcement 121 107th NE Bellevue,WA (206)553-5543 National Transportation safety Board 19518 Pacific Hwy S Seattle,WA (206)764-3782 Nuclear Regulatory Commission (510)975-0200 securities and Exchange Commission 915 2nd Ave Seattle,WA 98174 (206)553-7990 Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General 915 2nd Ave Seattle,WA 98178 (206)553-5720 Department of Treasury Bureau of Alcohol,Tobacco &Firearms Law Enforcement Division 915 2nd Ave Rm 806 Seattle,WA 98174 Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General 915 2nd Ave Seattle,WA 98274 Fraud/Waste/Abuse Hotline 800-488-8244