2024-02-23 Merit Appeals Board Minutes

Home

Merit Appeals Board February 23, 2024 CHR. CABANAS: Well, it'sI mean, this is just a draft, so we can amend it—the Chair needs input and that's why we are reviewing it today to make it more user-friendly. So, besides putting, like, for instance, the second sentence, "will notify you, the Appellant" what else would you suggest we change to make it more in lay terms. MS. MATHEWS: May I suggest we defer this for a month and yes, I'm sorry, I didn't go through this—and see if we can't—I'll take stab at this and CHR. CABANAS: Okay. MS. MATHEWS: we can't actually exchange it via email CHR. CABANAS: No. MS. MATHEWS: prior so that people can have input and we can do it—the real world does, which is work collaboratively, rather than— CHR. CABANAS: May I suggest that I like the idea that we allow Board members time to review it. May I suggest that you review it and submit any changes to the document to our secretary -reporter. `Cause we still have to follow Sunshine Laws and we can't discuss it among ourselves unless we're meeting here in our Board meeting. So, submit your suggestions to our secretary -reporter. And I think we should have a deadline so that Glynis can compile everything and then we can review it at our March 12'h meeting. MS. DE SOTO: Can I make a suggestion? CHR. CABANAS: Sure. MS. DE SOTO: That this document, in and of itself, may not be the full answer. I think it's important to use this language, `cause this is the language that the appellant will be faced with when they're sitting. So, I do think it helps bridge their knowledge base and that comfort level. But I think what's also important that we've talked about is what—how do people become aware of their rights. Their rights to appeal. How are employees trained on those rights. And, to me, that's where the more lay person language could potentially lie, is in that front-end work of making sure that all employees understand their rights, and that they understand there's a formal process, and once you file you will receive all the details of that formal process. And so, that way they feel they can see the path, they can see the steps of what they will get, when they will get it—and, hopefully, feel a little more empowered and time—'cause Iif I got this, I would immediately look at this and go—I wouldn't necessarily be intimidated but I would look at it and say, "Okay, what don't I understand? How do I prepare?" It's a guide map for that. Page 16