§ 1056. Dismissal of employees; appeals.

(a)

No permanent classified employee of any department or office of the county which has been brought under the merit system pursuant to this Act may be disciplined (suspended, demoted or dismissed) except for good cause, as set forth in the rules and regulations of the merit system, as approved by the governing authority of the county. Any employee so disciplined shall have the right of appeal pursuant to the rules and regulations so adopted for that purpose, by filing his or her notice of appeal in writing with the merit system director within ten (10) days after the date of his or her disciplinary action.

(b)

A hearing officer shall be assigned, pursuant to the administrative procedures, to hear said appeal within forty-five (45) days after it is filed with the merit system director, during which time the merit system director must afford the disciplined employee a hearing before said hearing officer, which may be continued from time to time, to fully explain his or her conduct for which he or she was disciplined.

(c)

The hearing officer may reverse a disciplinary action only upon a finding that it was based upon an error in fact or was motivated by a non-job related factor.

(d)

The hearing officer shall issue a written decision within twenty (20) days from the conclusion of the hearing. The hearing officer shall maintain a record of the hearing which shall consist of the evidence received by the hearing officer. The decision of the hearing officer shall be in writing, dated and signed. The written decision shall contain findings of fact and conclusions, and shall clearly set forth the grounds for such decision.

(e)

An adversely affected party may file an application for review of the hearing officer's decision to the merit system council. The application for review must be in writing and filed with the merit system director within ten (10) days from the date of receipt of the hearing officer's decision. Receipt of the decision of the hearing officer is hereby deemed to occur no later than the third day after the decision is placed in the United States mail, with sufficient postage attached, addressed to the parties, or their attorneys' of record.

(f)

The review by the merit system council shall be solely from the record created by the hearing officer. The merit system council shall not be empowered to receive or to hear additional evidence but shall act as a body to review the decision of the hearing officer. The merit system council may not reverse the decision of the hearing officer unless it determines that such findings of fact or conclusions were clearly erroneous, giving due regard to the exclusive opportunity of the hearing officer to judge the credibility of the witnesses. The merit system council decision shall be in writing, and shall show the numerical vote of the merit system council. If the merit system council, by majority vote, affirms the decision of the hearing officer, the merit system council may incorporate those findings of facts and conclusions of the hearing officer upon which the merit system council bases its decision. If the merit system council, by majority vote, reverses the decision of the hearing officer, the merit system council shall set forth those specific factual findings that it deems clearly erroneous and shall detail all reasons which support its determination. If the decision of the hearing officer is not reversed in writing by the merit system council within thirty (30) days from the date the application for review was filed, the decision of the hearing officer shall become final and shall stand affirmed.

(g)

All reviews of a final decision of the hearing officer or of the merit system council shall be by writ of certiorari from the superior court of DeKalb County according to law on application of the county or the dismissed employee. On review, the decision of the hearing officer or the council, with respect to all findings of fact, shall be conclusive and shall not be reversed except upon a determination by the court that such findings were not sustained by substantial evidence, giving due regard to the exclusive opportunity of the hearing officer to judge the credibility of the witnesses.

(Acts 1956, p. 3111, § 5; Ord. No. 82-26, § IV, 3-9-82; Ord. No. 82-21, § I, 11-9-82; Ord. No. 83-62, § II, 11-22-83; Ord. No. 95-02, § 2, 4-11-95; Ord. No. 84-00, § IV, 8-8-00)

Editor's note— The ordinances shown in the left-hand column below may be found in the acts as shown in the right-hand column below:

Ord. No.	Acts
82-21	1983, p. 4804
82-26	1983, p. 4780
83-62	1984, p. 5303
95-02	1996, p. 4615
84-00	2001, p. 4602