ARTICLE 1.
GENERAL
EFFECTIVE DATE: 05/04/98
RULE 104. MERIT SYSTEM
ADMINISTRATION REVISED
DATE: 09/27/00
A. COURT ADMINISTRATOR: The Court Administrator is responsible to the Presiding
Judge for
the accomplishment of all personnel functions assigned by the Presiding Judge.
The Court Administrator
is also responsible to the Presiding Judge for all other personnel
functions in both the classified and
unclassified service. In addition to duties imposed
elsewhere, the Court Administrator will:
1. Administer all the provisions of these Rules;
2. Propose and promulgate Personnel Rules and amendments thereto;
3. Enforce approved Merit System Rules;
4. Prepare and maintain a classification plan;
5. Prepare and maintain a compensation plan;
6. Provide recruitment and selection procedures for positions in the classified and un- classified7. Provide employee development programs including orientation, training, safety and general welfare;
8. Perform all other duties required to administer the Judicial Employee Merit System;
9. Serves as the administrative arm of the Merit Commission and Hearing Officer and
maintain all
records of the activities of the Merit Commission and Hearing Officer;
10. Performs any other lawful act considered necessary or desirable to carry out the purposes or
provisions of these Rules.
B. DELEGATION OF RESPONSIBILITIES:
1. The Court Administrator may delegate certain defined responsibilities to identified staff member(s) 2. When the Court Administrator delegates certain responsibilities covered in these
Rules to
member(s) of the Court Administrator's Office, the Personnel Officer, one
or more Court Division
Head(s) or a Mohave County Department to increase the
efficiency of the organization, such
individual(s) have the responsibility of applying
all Merit System Rules to the delegated actions
and for conducting them in the same
manner as would the Court Administrator.
C. MERIT SYSTEM COMMISSION:
1. ESTABLISHMENT: There is created a Merit System Commission of nine (9)
individuals
appointed by the Presiding Judge and selected from among the employees
of the Court and
qualified electors of the County. Members of the Merit Commission
should be supportive of the
application of merit principles in Judicial employment.
2. COMMISSION MEMBER QUALIFICATIONS AND COMPOSITION:
a. No member of the Commission be a candidate for any elective or public office, except as
b. Five (5) Commissioners shall be residents of Mohave County who shall not
be employees of
the Court. Two (2) Commissioners shall be employees or
elected officials of the Court whose
positions are at a supervisory level, as
determined by the Presiding Judge. Two (2)
Commissioners shall be
employees of the Court whose positions are at a non-supervisory
level, as determined by the Presiding Judge.
3. CONFLICT OF INTEREST:
a. Supervisory and non-supervisory employee Commissioners may remove themselves from
1. the supervisory or non-supervisory employee is employed in the
division from which the
grievance originates; or
3. the Commissioner is a Respondent; or
4. the findings and recommendations of the Merit Commission in
rendering a recommended
resolution of the grievance to the Pre-
siding Judge will have a material impact, either
positive or negative,
on the employment conditions of the Commissioner.
b. In those instances wherein a Commissioner removes him/herself from hearing
a grievance
as provided for under this Rule, a written record of the reason for
such removal shall be
established, either in the form of a written letter of
removal by the Commissioner or, in those
instances wherein the removal is
accomplished by the Presiding Judge, in the form of the
Presiding Judge's
order.
4. TERM OF OFFICE:
a. Unless earlier replaced or removed by the Presiding Judge, each member of
the Commission
and except the original trustees shall hold office for a term
of four (4) years and/or until a
successor is appointed and seated.
b. In an effort to provide continuity and orderly operation of the Merit Com-
mission, the original
Commissioners shall serve terms as follows:
2. One (1) employee and one (1) non-employee Commissioner shall
each serve three (3)
year terms.
3. Two (2) non-employee Commissioners shall serve four (4) year terms.
c. Appointment by the Presiding Judge to fill a vacancy caused by other than
expiration of term
shall be for the unexpired portion of the term.
5. RESIGNATION AND REMOVAL: Any member of the Commission may resign
at any
time. Any member of the Commission may be removed by the Presiding
Judge for good cause.
Any one (1) of the following shall constitute the resignation
of a Commissioner and authorizes the
Presiding Judge to appoint a new member to
fill the unexpired term so vacated:
a. Absence from three (3) consecutive meetings providing no good cause shown.
b. Becoming a candidate for any public office except as defined in Rule 502(C).
c. For any non-employee Commissioner, accepting any appointive office or other employment in
d. For any employee Commissioner, separation from Judicial service for any
reason including
but not limited to resignation, retirement, layoff or dismissal
for cause.
e. Submission to the Presiding Judge of a signed letter of resignation by a de-
parting member of
the Commission.
6. POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION:
a. The Merit Commission shall act in an advisory capacity to the Presiding
Judge in matters
affecting personnel administration in the Judicial service.
The Commission shall perform such
duties and exercise such powers as are
pro- vided for in these Rules. In addition to duties
imposed elsewhere, the
Commission shall:
2) Hear grievances (except those arising from administrative suspension
without pay,
disciplinary suspension, demotion, dismissal or alleged
illegal discrimination) filed by
regular status classified employees.
4) Make such special reports and recommendations to the Presiding
Judge as it considers
desirable.
7. ELECTION OF OFFICERS:
a. The Commissioners shall elect from among their members a chairperson and
vice-chair
person, provided that Commissioners elected to these positions
may not be employees of
the Court.
b. Terms of officerships on the Commission shall be for calendar year periods
commencing
on January 1 and ending on December 31 of each year.
c. In those situations wherein an officer position becomes vacant prior to the
expiration of the
officer's term, the officer elected as a replacement shall
serve for the remainder of the
calendar year in which the vacancy arose.
d. The chairperson, or, in the absence of the chairperson, the vice-chair person,
shall call and
conduct the meetings of the Commission according to such
rules, procedures and practices
as may be adopted by majority vote of the
Commission.
8.
MERIT COMMISSION MEETINGS: The Merit Commission shall hold meetings
at
such times and places as specified by a call of the majority or the Chairperson.
Except in the
case of an actual emergency, Commission meetings shall be held with
at least twenty-four
(24) hours notice. The notice shall be posted in at least one (1)
public place in the Mohave
County Courthouse. In case of an actual emergency as
determined by the Commission or its
Chairperson, a meeting may be held upon lesser
or other notice as is appropriate under the
circumstances. Notice required under this
section shall include an agenda of the matters to be
discussed or decided at the
meeting or information on how the public may obtain a copy of
such agenda. Such
agenda shall be available to the public not less than twenty-four (24) hours
prior to
the meeting except in the case of an actual emergency.
9.
QUORUM: The presence of five (5) Commission members in person or via
telephonically
shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, including the
conduct of hearings,
provided that any such quorum include no fewer than three (3)
non-employee Commissioners.
10.
AGENDA: All matters to be presented for consideration by the Commission at any
meeting
shall be placed upon the Commission's agenda. The agenda will be mailed
to each member of
the Commission, any employee(s) having a grievance before the
Merit Commission where such
grievance is to be heard by the Commission at such
meeting, and such employee(s)' Division
Head prior to such meetings.
11.
NOTICE: The Court Administrator will, unless extenuating circumstances prohibit,
at least
five (5) working days prior to the meeting, mail or cause to be mailed to each
involved Division
Head and to each interested party having previously requested
same in writing, a copy of the
notice of the meeting of the Commission, and either
an agenda for the meeting or information as
to how an agenda may be obtained.
Failure of a division or Division Head or involved party to
receive the notice and/or
agenda shall not affect the validity of the meeting or of any action
taken by the
Commission at the meeting, if notice was properly posted pursuant to Rule
104(D)(8) herein. In a case of an actual emergency, as determined by the Commission or its
Chairperson, a meeting may be held upon lesser or other notice as is appropriate
under the
circumstances.
12.
MINUTES: The Court Administrator shall provide for the recording of official
action of
the Commission in its meetings. The time and place of each meeting, the
Commissioners present,
all official acts of the Commission, and, when requested, a
Commissioner's dissent and reasons
will be recorded in the minutes. The Court
Administrator shall transcribe the minutes and
present them for approval or amendment on or before the next Commission meeting. The
minutes will be open to public
inspection three (3) working days after the subsequent meeting,
except as otherwise prohibited by law.
D. HEARING OFFICER:
1. ESTABLISHMENT: The Office of Hearing Officer is hereby created for the sole and 2. QUALIFICATIONS OF THE HEARING OFFICER: The Hearing Officer shall
have any
combination of education, training and/or experience, that qualifies them
to review the
implementation and administration of disciplinary practices in
employment settings and/or, in
those situations in which the Hearing Officer is to
hear appeals involving allegations of illegal
discrimination or harassment, with
fundamental statutory and administrative premises of
discrimination theory. Hearing
Officers need not be trained as attorneys. Hearing Officers may
not be appointed or
elected officials of the Superior Court, or Superior Court divisions in Mohave
County. Hearing Officers also may not be attorneys or other individuals who are
likely to conduct
business or have judicial matters before the Superior Court in
Mohave County within twenty-four
(24) months of the period during which they
serve as a Hearing Officer.
3. SELECTION OF HEARING OFFICER: The Court Administrator shall maintain
a list or lists
of individuals and/or organizations available to provide Hearing Officer
services. Hearing Officers
shall be selected based on their actual or apparent
expertise as pertains to the appeal to be heard.
4. POWER AND DUTIES OF THE HEARING OFFICER:
a. The Hearing Officer shall act in an advisory capacity to the Presiding Judge in all assigned
b. The Hearing Officer may administer oaths, compel attendance of and
examine witnesses, and
compel production of and review documents as
provided for in these Rules.