Principles for Public Safety Employment

Neves eventually received the formal notice of adverse action on either February 1 or 2, 2010. Neves filed a petition for writ of mandate, arguing that because he did not receive the notice of adverse action within 30 days of the December 30, 2009 Sulier Notice, the Department could not impose discipline on him. The trial court agreed with Neves, but the Court of Appeal reversed. On appeal, the Court concluded that Neves had failed to demonstrate any violation of the POBR, since the 30-day notification requirement of Government Code section 3304(f) was triggered by the date of the Department’s final decision to impose discipline, which was the same date as its formal notice of adverse action, signed and dated January 27, 2010, and not the December 30, 2009, Sulier Notice. The Court of Appeal relied on Mays v. City of Los Angeles 241 , in which the California Supreme Court held that the 30 day requirement in Government Code section 3304(f) does not begin to run until the employing agency completes the pre-disciplinary process and decides the specific level of discipline that will be imposed. The Court noted that the Sulier Notice provided to Neves made clear that a decision to dismiss Neves had not yet been made, but was merely being recommended.

Under the FBOR, Government Code section 3254(f) has this same thirty (30) day deadline but there is no exception based on the firefighter’s unavailability. This deadline does not mean that an agency must make a decision regarding imposition of discipline within thirty (30) days of completing the investigation or the pre-disciplinary “Skelly” meeting. 242 What it means is that once an agency has decided to impose specific discipline, then the agency has thirty (30) days to serve notice of that decision upon the employee. Given the problems of proof inherent in showing when the decision was made, we recommend that notice of actual discipline be served within thirty (30) days of conclusion of the pre disciplinary “ Skelly ” meeting. This notice must state the date(s) on which discipline will be imposed. Government Code section 3254(f) requires that the final notice of discipline be given to a firefighter no less than 48 hours prior to imposing the discipline 243 , but the POBR does not require that the discipline actually be imposed on an officer within any specified period of time. 3. F INAL N OTICE OF D ISCIPLINE The FBOR incorporates the Administrative Procedures Act for disciplinary procedures. Consequently, the documents required for firefighter discipline are discussed in depth in Section 5, B, 2 below. On the other hand, peace officer discipline is not governed by the Administrative Procedures Act’s requirements. Law enforcement agencies should follow these guidelines. After conducting the Skelly meeting/conference, the Skelly officer must decide whether the proposed discipline should be sustained, modified or rejected. If the disciplinary action is going to be sustained or modified in such a manner that significant punitive action will be imposed ( e.g. , reducing a termination to a demotion), the employer must provide the employee with

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