2022-04-08 Merit Appeals Board Minutes

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Merit Appeals Board April 8, 2022 CHR. CABANAS: `Cause it says, "Disposition County, but not fraud, waste, or abuse"so, I'm taking it like it's a County matter but it doesn't fall within the criteria for fraud, waste, or abuse? MR. BENNER: Yes. That is exactly the case. CHR. CABANAS: Okay. MR. BENNER: We would definitely investigate something where a supervisor is abusing their power or authority but we wouldn't get involved in, say, interpersonal conflict between two co- workers. If that makes sense. CHR. CABANAS: Yes, it does. MR. BENNER: So, we—and these are the type of issues that we're vetting a lot of and we don't fault anybody. I don't want to say anything that would prevent somebody from making a phone call. We want to encourage those phone calls into the line. But we are in, kind of, an education curve here where they're not sure if we're the correct pathway to go to. So, they come to us and we're doing our best to assist them into some of those mediums that may already be established. And so, if there's some improvement opportunity in the future to disposition these in a way that helps to educate better—we'll certainly look at making those kind of changes. But we also have to offer at such a high level that it doesn't tie back to the individual making the complaint. CHR. CABANAS: And then, for the two that are listed "Not Substantiated" that falls on what you've just described? MR. BENNER: Yes. Well—no. That would be something where they've made a claim that the evidence actually shows otherwise once we've began that investigation. There's—again, we can't comment on the investigations that we've pursued. But what we're talking about there is somebody claims that they went through the hiring process and that they checked all the boxes and they did everything that they were supposed to do to establish, say, candidacy. In fact, we find out that it's turned in after the positions' closed. It's not turned into the right people. There's missing documents. There's required certifications that were to accompany that application that weren't on file. And so, although he claim is made, it's not substantiated. So, we're happy to take and look at those things because it only takes one failure, but that's what we've found in the investigation of those particular claims. CHR. CABANAS: And the respondent understand that? MR. BENNER: Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't. I mean, just being honest— human onesthuman nature—some folks they want to ring lots of doorbells and see who answers. And what Page 14