Article 43
Disciplinary Actions

Section 43.01

A. Disciplinary actions include oral and written reprimands, letters of warning, and suspensions for 14 days or less.

B. Employees shall be disciplined for such cause as will promote the efficiency of the service.

Section 43.02

The parties agree to the concept of progressive discipline designed primarily to correct and improve employee behavior rather than to punish. However, each situation warranting discipline must be evaluated individually and, in instances involving serious offenses, progressive discipline may not be appropriate.

Section 43.03

A. NTEU shall be given the opportunity to be present at any examination of an employee in the unit by a representative of the Employer in connection with an investigation if the employee reasonably believes that the examination may result in disciplinary action against him/herself and the employee requests NTEU representation.

B. A meeting between an employee and the Employer, during which the principal topic of discussion is discipline or potential discipline of the employee, will entitle the employee to request to be accompanied by the area steward during such meeting.

C. The Employer will semi-annually notify employees of their rights of representation as set out in A. above.

Section 43.04

When the Employer takes a disciplinary action against an employee more serious than a reprimand, the following procedures will apply:

A. The written proposal will be delivered prior to taking an action and will contain the specific reasons for the proposed action stated in detail. It will also inform the employee of the right to review all material which was relied upon to support the reasons for the action. Copies of this material will be provided to the employee upon

B. The employee will be given ten workdays from the date the employee received the notice of proposed disciplinary action in which to deliver an oral and/or written reply. Reasonable requests for extensions will be granted if submitted in writing prior to expiration of the time allowed stating the reasons for desiring more time. The proposal notice will specify who will receive the oral and/or written reply. This official will be the person who will be making the decision, or designee.

C. The employee and his/her representative will receive a reasonable amount of official time to prepare the reply.

D. When management has relied upon witnesses to support the reasons for the proposed action, the Employer will make their identity known to the employee.

E. In delivering a reply, the employee may set forth mitigating circumstances and give reasons as to why the proposed action should not be effected.

F. The final decision in a disciplinary action covered by this section must be made by a higher level DOE Headquarters management official than the official who issued the notice of proposed action. The decision letter will state which charges are sustained.

Section 43.05

In deciding what action may be appropriate, the Employer will give due consideration to the relevance of any mitigating and/or aggravating circumstances. The "Douglas factors," included herein for purposes of illustration, are neither meant to be exhaustive nor intended to be applied mechanically, but rather to outline the tolerable limits of reasonableness:

A. The nature and seriousness of the offense, and its relation to the employee's duties, position, and responsibilities, including whether the offense was intentional or technical and inadvertent, or was committed maliciously or for gain, or was frequently repeated;

B. The employee's job level and type of employment including supervisory or fiduciary role, contacts with the public, and prominence of the position;

C. The employee's past disciplinary record;

D. The employee's past work record; including length of service, performance on the job, ability to get along with fellow workers, and dependability;

E. The effect of the offense upon the employee's ability to perform assigned duties;

F. Consistency of the penalty with those imposed upon other employees for the same or similar offenses;

G. The notoriety of the offense or its impact upon the reputation of the agency;

H. The clarity with which the employee was on notice of any rules that were violated in committing the offense, or had been warned about the conduct in question;

I. Potential for the employee's rehabilitation;

J. Mitigating circumstances surrounding the offense such as unusual job tensions, personality problems, mental impairment, harassment, or bad faith, malice or provocation on the part of others involved in the matter; and

K. The adequacy and effectiveness of alternative sanctions to deter such conduct in the future by the employee or others.

Section 43.06

An employee subject to disciplinary action may grieve the action within 15 workdays of receipt of the Decision under the negotiated grievance procedure in Article 11 of this agreement. Such grievance must be filed with a management decision maker at least one level higher in the supervisory chain of command than the Deciding Official in the decision to discipline. Such grievance shall be filed at a step in the negotiated grievance procedure higher than Step 1. This grievance right shall be stated in the decision letter.

Section 43.07

A. Letters of reprimand will be placed in the employee's Official Personnel Folder for the period of time specified in the letter but not to exceed one year.

B. Letters of warning will not be placed in the employee's Official Personnel Folder. A copy will be maintained only by the employee's immediate supervisor and will be destroyed one year following the date of issuance or sooner, if appropriate.

Section 43.08

NTEU will receive sanitized copies of any advance notice letters that are issued pursuant to this Article when the employee receives such letter. NTEU will also receive any decision letters, when the employee receives such letter, where it has not previously been designated as the employee representative in the matter.

Section 43.09

Each advance notice letter and final decision letter issued pursuant to this Article will contain a notification of the right to representation, including NTEU representation and the name, telephone number and mail routing symbol of the current NTEU Chapter president.