Pennsylvania Civil Service Commission Appeals
When Wrongful Termination and Discipline Can be Challenged under Pennsylvania law
If you’re in Pennsylvania’s civil service, your state government employer has certain obligations toward you. The contract you have with your employer is governed by state law, and you have a presumptive right to ongoing employment in many circumstances. If you’re terminated or disciplined, you have a right, within a very tight timeframe, to appeal to have the punishment or termination reversed. Your appeal goes to the Pennsylvania Civil Service Commission, which is made up of three members who hear these appeals and consider whether an employer had “just cause” to make a termination decision.
Who is covered by the civil service rules?
Civil service jobs include many of the jobs offered by government agencies in Pennsylvania, including DEP, Department of Revenue, the Pennsylvania Game Commission and many more.
Most civil service appeals deal with termination. Did the government employer have “just cause” to terminate the employee? The employee has a right to a prompt appeal, and the employer bears the burden of demonstrating the cause that it had at the time of the termination. The state is limited to those grounds raised in the termination letter, and they’ve got to show that they had sufficient evidence of the infractions at issue, and that those infractions violated clearly-established policy in the workplace.
Even where the employee is partially in the wrong, the employer may have been obligated to engage in progressive discipline before termination. This means the employer had to initiate lesser punishment first and see if the employee responded appropriately. If the employer skipped straight to firing you, you may have the right to be reinstated with discipline—a suspension or other reprimand, but with your job still intact.
What is an “Adverse Employment Action?”
To begin with, you may appeal adverse employment actions to the Civil Service Commission. This includes firing, not being hired, discriminatory practices including demotions or denied promotions, transfers, compensation changes and more. You should consult with an employment law attorney for more information on what constitutes an adverse employment action.
Don’t miss your (fast) deadline to appeal!
It’s important that you get your appeal in right away. You have only 20 days to appeal an adverse employment action. If you’re considering an appeal, it’s important that you see an attorney right away. Your attorney will want to help you craft the appeal correctly, so it’s important not to wait until the last minute to meet with someone.
What to expect at your Civil Service Commission Appeal Hearing
The Civil Service Commissioner or Hearing Officer assigned to your case will act as an Administrative Law Judge during your hearing, deciding which evidence is admissible, what questions can be asked and generally overseeing the conduct of the hearing. The Commissioner or Hearing Officer also serves as the “trier of fact,” which means this Commissioner, along with the other two Commissioners not present at the hearing, will review the final transcript, read the submissions by the parties, and make credibility determinations about the witnesses.
Civil Service Commission hearings are, as a matter of law, open to the public. Some are conducted in person, and some are conducted virtually. This is up to the Commissioner hearing the case. Either way, this hearing is your one chance to present your evidence. Every appeal after this hearing will be solely argument based on the transcripts of the hearing. It’s vital to present all the evidence which you think is relevant at the hearing.
How do you Appeal the Appeal?
If you lose your Civil Service Commission Appeal, you have a right to one more appeal. This appeal goes to the Commonwealth Court—one of our two intermediate appellate courts in Pennsylvania. The Commonwealth Court will limit its review to considering errors of law or of misapplication of law to the facts developed at the hearing. This is why it is important to get all of the relevant evidence on the record at the Civil Service Commission hearing. Anything not developed there can’t be used in front of the Commonwealth Court. After the Commonwealth Court’s decision, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania can be asked to weigh in—but our Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has a discretionary docket and takes less than 10% of the cases presented to it.
Conclusion: Contact Cornerstone Law Firm Today
If you’ve been terminated or punished by a government agency in Pennsylvania, you may have a right to a Civil Service Commission hearing on your termination and alternative punishments. The Commission can award backpay, restoration of seniority rights and even reinstatement to your position. To explore your rights, contact the attorneys at Cornerstone Law Firm for a consultation today.