Civil Service Appeals

What You Need To Know Now That You Have Filed An Appeal Or Are Involved In A Public Investigation

1. Parties: The persons involved in the appeal/investigation are called parties. The parties to an appeal are the employee who filed the appeal (the appellant) and the Agency which took the action complained of (the appellee). The parties to an investigation are the person who filed the charges (the complainant) and the person accused of violating the Civil Service Rules (the respondent). Occasionally, other people or agencies are made parties to an appeal/investigation because they have a direct interest in the outcome of the case. These extra parties are indicated on the Notice of Docketing or are added later by letter. 

2. Procedure: Civil Service appeal and investigative hearings are conducted like trials In civil court. The appeal hearing procedure is governed by Chapter 13 of the Civil Service Rules; the investigative hearing procedure is governed by Chapter 16 of the Rules. Copies of these Rules are available upon request from the Appeals Division of the Department of State Civil Service. Ignorance of the Rules does not excuse non-compliance.

3. Burden of Proof: In an appeal of a disciplinary action against a permanent employee, the agency must prove, by a preponderance of evidence, the charges in the letter of disciplinary action and that there was cause for the discipline imposed. In all other appeals, the employee must prove that the action was discriminatory or in violation of the Civil Service Rules. In investigations, the complainant must prove the charges he or she filed.

4. Attorneys: A party may hire an attorney licensed to practice law in Louisiana to represent him or her in the appeal/investigation. There are no court appointed attorneys; if you hire an attorney, you are responsible for paying the fee. A successful employee in an appeal may be awarded up to $1500 in attorney's fees if the Commission/Referee concludes that the agency acted unreasonably. An employee who does not know an attorney can call an Attorney Referral Service listed in the phone book; he or she may also qualify for legal aid from a local Legal Services Corporation. An agency which does not have counsel should contact the Attorney General's Office. If you are going to hire an attorney, do so as soon as possible. Do not wait until the hearing is scheduled before you begin looking for an attorney; the hearing will generally not be continued (postponed) if you decide at the last minute that you want to hire an attorney or if you wait until the last minute to look for an attorney and the one you find already has a conflict. A person other than an attorney (friend, spouse, union representative, paralegal, etc.) may sit with a party to assist the party, but may not represent him or her. This non-attorney assistant may not question witnesses, raise objections, present oral argument, or otherwise actively participate in the hearing. 

5. Change of Address: All correspondence about the appeal/investigation, including the agenda scheduling the hearing, will be mailed to the most recent address furnished by the party/attorney in writing to the Appeals Division. If your address changes, you must notify the Appeals Division in writing. (Notifying other Divisions of the Department of State Civil Service will not accomplish changing your address in the appeal file.) 

6. Correspondence: Correspondence concerning an appeal/investigation should contain the docket number and should be sent to the attention of the Appeals Division. Any time you send correspondence about an appeal/investigation to the Appeals Division, you should also send a copy of the correspondence to the other parties or, if they are represented, their attorney of record. The names and addresses of the parties to the appeal/investigation and their attorneys (if known) are listed on the Notice of Docketing. If this information changes, the Appeals Division will send written notice of the change. All correspondence about the appeal/investigation should end with a statement certifying that a copy has been mailed, delivered or faxed to the opposing counsel or opposing party. For example:

                    __________________.

Correspondence which fails to contain this certificate may be disregarded or returned without action. 

7. Fax: Any type of pleading/motion/request can be filed by fax (appeals, continuance requests, motions, subpoena requests, applications for review, applications for appeal to the Court of Appeal, etc.). The fax number is (225) 342-8058. A faxed pleading is considered filed the date it is transmitted. Therefore, even if something is received by fax at 11:00 p.m., it is still considered filed that day. (If you file something by fax, please do not mail another copy of what you faxed).

8. Withdrawal of Appeal/Recision of Action/Withdrawal of Charges: Upon written request approved by the Commission or a Referee, the employee may withdraw his or her appeal or the agency may rescind the action that has been appealed. With the approval of the Commission, a complainant in an investigation may withdraw the charges. If you decide to withdraw your appeal, rescind the action, or withdraw the charges to be investigated, please notify the Appeals Division in writing, immediately, so it will not spend the time scheduling an unnecessary hearing.

9. Settlements: With the approval of the Commission or a Referee, an appeal may be settled on the terms agreed to by the parties. Settlements are encouraged! Generally, the parties are more satisfied with a solution that they have come up with rather than a decision imposed upon them. Please do not wait until you receive an agenda (or worse, the day of the hearing) to start talking about settlement. The parties are encouraged to meet with each other shortly after the appeal is filed to see if they can settle their differences without an adversarial hearing. If settlement appears likely, please notify the Appeals Division immediately, so it will not spend time and money scheduling an unnecessary adversarial hearing. If an agreement is reached, it needs to be reduced to writing, signed by the parties or their attorneys, and then submitted to the Appeals Division for approval. 

10. Summary Disposition: Sometimes a disciplinary action is reversed or an appeal/investigation is dismissed without hearing the merits of the dispute because the legal requirements for taking disciplinary action or for filing an appeal/investigation were not met. This is called summary disposition. The grounds for summary disposition are listed in Rules 13.14 and 16.11. These grounds can be raised orally at the hearing, but it would help the Appeals Division immensely if all grounds for summary disposition were raised by the parties by written motion filed as soon as possible after docketing.  If you receive a Motion for Summary Disposition, an Order to Show Cause or a Notice of Defective Appeal, this does not mean that the case has been decided -- it means that a ground for summary disposition has been raised. If an appeal/investigation is dismissed or a disciplinary action is reversed, it will be by written decision. 

11. Location of Hearings: The State Civil Service Commission conducts most of its hearings in Baton Rouge. Civil Service Referees conduct hearings in Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Shreveport, Ruston, Monroe, Alexandria, Lafayette and Lake Charles.

12. Scheduling of Hearings: Appeals involving separations from employment are given preferential scheduling; otherwise, within each geographical area, appeals are generally scheduled for hearing in the order filed. Investigations must be heard by the Commission and are generally scheduled in the order filed. 

13. Notice of Hearings: Notice of the hearing is mailed by certified mail at least 30 days in advance of the hearing date. (This requirement can be waived by the parties.) If the employee does not appear (either in person or through counsel) at his or her hearing, the appeal will be dismissed. If the agency does not appear (either in person or through counsel) at the hearing, the action that has been appealed may be reversed. (If you do not get notice of the hearing because you failed to notify the Appeals Division of a change of address or because you failed to claim your certified mail, this will not prevent dismissal of the appeal/reversal of the action.)  

14. Continuance (postponement) of Hearing: If you cannot attend a scheduled hearing or need the hearing postponed for other reasons, you must submit to the person who will hear the case (Commission or Referee) a written request for a continuance (postponement) explaining why it is needed. This request should be submitted as soon as you learn that you need a continuance. (A telephone request for a continuance is only accepted in case of emergency.) Requests for continuances are not automatically granted; there must be good cause for the continuance. Therefore, assume that your request has been denied unless you have been notified by the Commission or a Referee that the hearing has been continued.  

15. Research: Court decisions concerning Civil Service matters can be found in West's LSA Constitution under Article X, Part I and in West's Louisiana Digest under various topics, primarily Officers and Employees. 

16. Preparation for Hearings: The best way to prepare for a hearing is to watch other hearings. Call the Appeals Division at (225) 342-8070 to find out when and where hearings will be conducted in your area. 

17. Obtaining Documents Prior to the Hearing: Most of the documents needed in Civil Service appeal/investigative hearings are public records available from the custodian of the documents. Access to public records is governed by state statute (LSA R.S. 44:1-41). 

18. Witnesses and Documents at the Hearing/Subpoenas: Any person within the state can be ordered to appear at an appeal/investigative hearing and/or to produce documents within his or her custody. To have any witness ordered to appear and/or to produce documents (even if the witness is a state employee), you must file a written subpoena request so that the Appeals Division receives it no later than 15 days before the hearing. The subpoena request must identify the witnesses and documents and must explain what facts will be proved by each witness and document requested, or the witnesses will not be ordered to appear. Failure to submit a timely and complete subpoena request is not considered good cause for a continuance. You may arrange for a witness to voluntarily appear at the hearing. But if the voluntary witness does not appear, the hearing will not be held open to take his or her testimony at a later date. 

19. Presenting the case: The person who has the burden of proof is usually asked to go first. Evidence is presented through witnesses and documents. Each party is expected to question the witnesses he or she calls in his or her behalf and has the right to question (i.e., cross examine) any witnesses called by the other side. 

20. Objections: A party has the right to object to testimony or documentary evidence if it is not relevant, if the witness is not competent, if a document has not been properly authenticated, or on any other proper ground. The purpose of an objection is to exclude inappropriate evidence; it is not for the purpose of arguing with the witness. An objection to oral testimony should be made as soon as the question is asked; an objection to a document should be made when the document is offered into evidence. 

21. Decisions: After the hearing is completed or after the deadline for submitting argument on legal issues has passed, the parties will be mailed a written decision in the case. Most decisions are rendered within 60 days of the day the case is submitted for decision, although complex cases take longer. Please do not call the Appeals Division inquiring about the status of your decision unless it has been more than 60 days since the case was submitted for decision.

NOTE: THE REFEREES AND STAFF OF THE APPEALS DIVISION ARE PROHIBITED FROM GIVING LEGAL ADVICE CONCERNING APPEALS/INVESTIGATIONS.

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