City of Seattle
Civil Service Commission’s Monthly Meeting
May 23, 2000
1. Call to Order:
The monthly meeting of the City of Seattle Civil Service Commission was called to order by Chairperson
Nina A. Harding on Tuesday, May 23, 2000 at 9:35 a.m.
2. Introduction of Attendees:
The Chair introduced the attendees:
Commission Chair Nina A. Harding, jd/mpa
Commissioner Kenneth M. Lowthian
Commissioner Ken Morgan
Miriam Israel Moses, Executive Director
Marilyn Sherron, Director, Employment Division, City Attorney’s Office
Steve Gross, Assistant City Attorney
3. Approval of Minutes:
The Minutes of the April 28, 2000 meeting were read. Chair Harding read into the record proposed
revisions to Section 5 (c) and Section 8(a). The Commission adopted the revisions and the April 28,
2000 minutes were approved as revised.
4. Council Activity:
a. The Commission reviewed a 4/24/00 joint memo from Dwight Dively, ESD Director and Norma
McKinney, Personnel Director, to City Council President Margaret Pagler. The memo presents the
changes to the City’s Workplace Harassment Policy procedures that were adopted by Council
Resolution No. 30044. The resolution placed a one-year limitation on performance award sanctions
imposed on a supervisor who fails to report or take other action regarding incidents of workplace
harassment. The proposed changes to the Municipal Code mirror this one-year limitation on
performance award sanctions. Prior to this proposed change, there was no time limit on sanctions.
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b. The Commission reviewed a draft of Resolution 30184 which was to be introduced on May 22,
2000. The draft adopts the City Council’s and Mayor’s top budget priorities for the 2001-2002
biennial budget and the 2001-2006 Capital Improvement Program.
5. Personnel Department Activity:
a. The Commission reviewed a 3/7/2000 memo from Labor Relations Director Mike Schoeppach to
Chair Harding contending that the Commission has no jurisdiction over out-of-class appeals filed by
employees who are members of the I.F.P.T.E., Local 17 because, in such instances, the collective
bargaining agreement prevails. It was noted that this memo resulted from the Commission’s
determination that it had jurisdiction over the appeal of Shama King, a City Light employee who had
previously filed a reclassification grievance but was now filing an appeal based on work out-of-class
issues.
b. The Commission reviewed a 5/23/00 proposed letter from Chair Harding to Mike Schoeppach,
responding to his memo and advising him that the Commission strongly believes that the City
Charter allows employees the right to select the forum through which they will resolve their
grievances and that the right to select the forum cannot be bargained away. Attached to the letter
was a copy of the Commission’s 3/3/2000 Order staying Ms. King’s appeal until she exhausted her
administrative procedures.
c. The Commission reviewed the City’s policy and methodology for its Drug and Alcohol Testing
Program for Drivers of Commercial Motor Vehicles. The information included the specific
methodology utilized by the City’s contractor to perform random drug tests along with the name of
the contractor that is responsible for administering the program. This information was submitted in
response to concerns expressed by Chair Harding that the random drug tests may not be completely
random and, as such, may have a disparate impact on minorities.
The information provided outlined the random process as follows:
Each year, at least 50% of the average total number of Commercial Drivers will be randomly
selected to take a drug test and at least 25% of the average total number of Commercial Drivers will
be randomly selected to take an alcohol test. On an unannounced basis, the City’s contractor will
generate a list of persons to be tested. The contractor will use a scientifically valid, random number
selection method which will ensure that covered employees have an equal chance of being selected.
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May 23, 2000
Commissioner Morgan asked whether the results of tests taken while an employee was in the
hospital (at the time they were selected for testing) could be used or reported. Most specifically, he
was concerned with results that revealed the presence of alcohol or drugs.
The Executive Director explained that during a regular drug test, if the test results were positive for
certain types of drugs, the employee would have been required to provide a Dr.’s note explaining
that the positive result was due to a prescribed medication. With respect to hospital exams, she
explained that the results of the tests would be confidential and the hospital would not be allowed to
release them to the City. City Attorney Marilyn Sherron confirmed the Executive Director’s
response.
6. Related Policy/Administrative Issues:
a. The Commission reviewed a 4/25/200 memo from Norma McKinney, Personnel Director, to Human
Resources Managers/Representatives, attaching a revised “Dear Job Applicant” letter that explains
the City’s drug testing program. The revised letter outlines the process an applicant must follow to
request a retest and advises applicants that they are personally required to pay for the retest.
b. The Commission reviewed a series of documents related to the payment of overtime. These
included:
1. Hard copy e-mail – 4/28/00, from Kathy Steinmeyer, Sr. Personnel Policy Analyst, to Miriam
Moses, Executive Director, responding to a request for clarification of the City’s overtime policy
with respect to having the Commission’s elected position filled by a City employee. Ms.
Steinmeyer’s analysis concluded that work on the Commission is City work and therefore must
be counted as part of the employees total number of hours for the purposes of payment of
overtime wages. Further, Ms. Steinmeyer stated that the employing department (in this case
Parks) is the one which must pay the overtime wages.
2. Overtime Pay Requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which says: “Unless
specifically exempted, employees covered by the Act must receive overtime pay for hours
worked in excess of 40 in a work week at a rate not less than time and one-half of their regular
rates of pay.
3. Court Decisions involving the Fair Labor Standards Act.
4. Frequently Asked Questions/Fair Labor Standards Act.
The Executive Director reported that the issue of State law having an impact on this issue, which had
been previously expressed by City Attorney, Steve Gross, was moot because public employees are
exempt from State law. She advised the Commission that she checked all of the facts that she was
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reporting with the State Department of Labor and Industries, Employment Standards Division, and
with the U. S. Department of Labor, which administers the FLSA.
Assistant City Attorney Steve Gross advised the Commission that while he respected Kathy
Steinmeyer, she was not in a position to speak for the City and that while he respected the work of
the Executive Director, he had not had an opportunity to verify it. He noted that from the materials
he had seen, and from the definitions of “penalty,” (which involves the applicable ordinance) the
Executive Director’s report would appear to be correct, but he noted that he wanted to verify the
Executive Director’s research.
Chair Harding requested that City Attorney Steve Gross prepare and submit his findings on the
FLSA issues. Mr. Gross noted that at the April meeting, the Commission directed him to present his
findings and analysis on this issue. Chair Harding reaffirmed that Mr. Gross would present his
findings and analysis at the next regular Commission meeting to be held on June 23, 2000 whether or
not his findings and analysis augments or contrasts the Executive Director. The Commission
concurred in this directive, although no vote was taken.
c. The Commission reviewed a 5/9/2000 letter from Stephanie Bell, Alternative Dispute Resolution
Coordinator, to the Executive Director, thanking her for her input in the Alternative Dispute
Resolution Design Team Workshop and stating that her input as a mediator and as the Executive
Director of the Commission was imperative to the design process.
The Executive Director gave the Commission a verbal synopsis of the ADR design conference.
Among the areas of focus were making determinations as to how the ADR program would fit into
the City’s existing systems for dispute resolution, inclusive of the Civil Service Commission, among
others, how to promote the program, provide training, and establish the inherent elements necessary
(trust, confidentiality, etc.) for employees to be willing to utilize the program.
7. Budget:
a. The Commission reviewed hard copy of an Excel document titled 2001-2002 CURRENT
SERVICES BUDGET. The document shows the City Budget Office’s allocated budget for the next
biennium and proposes an increase to the CSC Personal Services Budget of approximately $50,000
in 2001and $55,000 in 2002. The Executive Director reminded the Commission that this was only a
proposed allocation until the City Council voted to adopt the biennial budget, but she expressed
great satisfaction in having received the allocation. She noted that she and Commissioner Lowthian
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had begun the process of increasing the budget and separating it from the Public Safety Civil Service
Commission in December, 1997 and that the results of their work had finally come to fruition. She
also noted that the CSC Budget Analyst, Pascal St. Gerard was a great help in accomplishing this.
b. The Commission reviewed a 5/8/2000 memo from Budget Director Joan Walters, presenting the
instructions for completing the 2001-2002 Budget Request by July 5, 2000. The memo explains that
there will be no across-the-board increase for non-personal services inflation during this budget cycle
and that it is anticipated that the savings projected through the Copernicus project will offset the
need for an inflationary increase.
c. The Commission reviewed the Spring 2000 Budget Bulletin provided by Councilmember Jan
Drago’s office. The newsletter provides a schedule of events involving the budget process, along
with graphs that show where and how the City’s funds and subfunds are spent, and a graph that
shows the sources from which the general subfunds are received.
d. The City reviewed a memo from Chief Technology Officer Marty Chakoian, reviewing IT Project
Descriptions for the next biennium and noting those that will not require completion of a Project
Description form. The Executive Director noted that the Commission will not be directly affected by
this action.
8. New Business:
a. The Commission reviewed the May, 2000 City of Seattle Weekly Personnel Bulletin which
contained a short article about a recent Supreme Court decision on Compensatory Time. The
decision stated that public employees who accrue compensatory time instead of overtime pay can be
forced to use that time off at their employer’s convenience. The newsletter quotes the City’s statute
and notes that this will have no immediate impact on the City because it’s policy is that the use of
accrued compensatory time provides for mutual agreement between the employee and management
with respect to scheduling. Commissioner Morgan asked what would happen if a manager simply
decided that there never was a convenient time for an employer to take time off. Assistant City
Attorney Marilyn Sherron responded that she believed that there would have to be some type of cash
out payment. Chair Harding noted that in her ten year experience as an employee at Seattle
University, and as a lawyer, an employer has allowed an employee to tack on accrued compensatory
time to vacation leave or sick leave.
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b. The Executive Director advised the Commission that she would be taking leave the week of May 29,
2000. Chair Harding asked her whether this would be vacation leave, religious leave or sick leave.
The Executive Director responded that it would most likely be “use it or lose it” leave.
9. Progress Toward 1999-2000 Goals:
a. The Executive Director reported that the budget request for an increase in the baseline budget for
Personal Services was allocated by CBO and that it represented an increase of approximately
$50,000 for 2001 and $55,000 for 2002. She reminded the Commission of the long path to
achieving this increase and noted that the Council still needed to vote to appropriate it.
b. The Executive Director reported that the Commission was still on target with Customer Service
goals – both in turn around time and case processing time.
c. The Executive Director reported that she participated in the City’s ADR Design Forum and
discussed the importance of this to the Commission.
d. The Executive Director reported that she participated in the City’s Corrective Action Progressive
Discipline Process Conference which focused on what supervisors were being taught with respect to
the implementation of these programs.
10. Director’s Monthly Case Status Report:
a. The Executive Director reported that there were no appeals pending before the Commission.
b. The Executive Director informed the Commission that a Writ of Certiorari had been received in the
case of Israel Gregorio v. SPU/City of Seattle, and that the Commission had until June 30, 2000 to
comply. Commissioner Morgan asked what was meant by a “Writ of Certiorari “ and Chair Harding
asked Steve Gross to explain. Mr. Gross explained that it was a legal process through which the City
requested that a court require the Commission to certify the record that will be reviewed. The
Executive Director advised the Commission that City Attorney Danford Grant was kind enough to
call and remind us that his office already had a full legal transcript of the hearing and that the
Commission was welcome to use it for the purposes of complying with the Writ.
Commissioner Lowthian inquired as to whether Steve Gross would be representing the Commission.
Mr. Gross responded that the Commission was not a party to the case. Commissioner Morgan
inquired as to whether it was necessary for Mr. Gregorio to have an attorney since the decision
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May 23, 2000
would be made on the record. Mr. Gross responded that the burden of proof rested with the
department to show the court that the Commission’s decision was incorrect. Chair Harding
commented that the Gregorio matter raised significant issues that challenged the role of the
Commission and its discretionary powers; she and the Executive Director, therefore, labored
diligently to assure that all issues were addressed to affirm the Commission’s powers granted by the
Charter and Seattle Municipal Code. There was some further discussion about this case, especially
with respect to the City as an employer and the issue of whether the Commission’s decisions should
be binding on the City as a whole. The Commission was reminded that the Municipal Code, as
currently written, does not preclude one department from seeking a judgment against another. The
Commission noted that this is an issue it might like to revisit as a result of the issues surrounding the
Gregorio appeal.
c. The Executive Director reported that three appeals were closed since the last report: two were
withdrawn and the third was settled by attorneys with the Hearing Examiner mediating between the
parties.
d. One new appeal has been filed since the last report and it was referred to SOCR.
e. The Executive Director reported that there were a total of 9 active appeals. Four from 1999 and five
from 2000. She reported that this put the Commission in excellent shape to resolve all of its 1999
appeals before the end of 2000. This, she noted, is one of the Commission’s goals in terms of
completing all appeals within a year of their filing.
f. The Executive Director reported that four cases, including Gregorio, were open in the Law Dept.
11. Chair and Commissioner Comments:
a. The Chair asked Commissioner Morgan for an update on the progress of the elephant pregnancy at
Woodland Park Zoo. Commissioner Morgan responded that it has been confirmed that the elephant
calf will be a female.
b. Chair Harding noted that she has recently become a “great aunt” of a niece in Massachusetts named
Kendall.
c. The Chair asked Commissioner Lowthian about his trip to Arizona. Commissioner Lowthian
responded that Arizona is very hot this time of year and that his trip was fine.
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May 23, 2000
d. Chair Harding read into the record the following report of her activities since the April meeting:
On May 5, 2000, she achieved an enviable and proud solid WIN record of all her King County
arbitrations, irrespective of her role as a moving party with the burden of proof, or as the
opposing party having to defend.
On May 12, 2000 she attended the 9th Annual Youth and Law Seminar. The theme was “From
Tubman to Tupac? – Learning from Yesterday’s Heroes to Fight Today’s Battles.” She
informed the Commission that she was a member of the planning committee for this event and
that the focus of the event is to educate all youth (particularly youth of color) on how to avoid
the criminal justice system. She noted that the participants included youth, parents, King County
Superior Court judges, lawyers, and law enforcement personnel, including police and jail
officers. She explained that the program was designed for the 8-18 year old age group, as well as
for parents and guardians. She noted that last year, the guest speaker was Johnnie Cochran.
On May 13, 2000 she participated in Seattle’s version of the Washington D.C. Million Mom
March. The 2.5 miles march began at First AME Church and ended at the Martin Luther King
Memorial in Sam Smith Park. She noted that the March was sponsored by First AME Church
with the cooperation of other local African American churches and, although there were fewer
women than those who attended the Washington D.C. March, the issues were the same. The
event concluded with a short rally and prayer.
On May 15, 2000 she attended a Community Rally for Police Accountability. The event, which
was held at First AME Church, was a dialogue with local community groups and other interested
persons. It focused on civil rights, the sanctity of human life, and the killing of African
American men (like David Walker) by the Seattle police. Among those in attendance were
Mayor Schell, Councilman Richard McIver, Councilwoman Judy Nicastro, several Pastors from
local churches and about 500 persons. She noted that the rally was televised and that it can be
viewed on Channel 28.
On May 17, 18 and 19th she participated in the Pacific Coast Labor and Employment Law
Conference, 2000: New Challenges, Options and Solutions. The conference was held at the
Washington State Convention Center. Chair Harding informed the Commission that she is a
member of the planning committee for this conference, which consists of 50 of the lead labor
and employment lawyers in King County. She explained that it takes a year to plan this three-
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May 23, 2000
day event and that it draws the local, regional and national participation of 350-375 attorneys.
The profits from the event are donated to King County Bar Association Law School
Scholarships. She told the Commission that she assisted in the coordination of the conference in
concert with the University of Washington School of Law. The opening reception was held in
Sullivan Hall at Seattle University School of Law.
On May 26, 2000, Chair Harding will attend the Loren Miller Bar Association Annual Dinner.
The event is sponsored by the local African American Bar Association and will be held in the
Grand Ballroom of the Westin Hotel. This years honorees will be William Gates, Senior, King
County Executive Ron Sims, and Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer.
Chair Harding shared with the Commission the programs and bookmarks from a play entitled
“When I Grow Up I’m Gonna Get Some Big Words” (A Life WITH Martin Luther King Jr.).
She told the Commission that this was an excellent play and said “For those of us who have lived
the Civil Rights Movement and was an activist, there are a lot of memory pieces; for others, this
is an excellent piece of American history.” She told the Commission that the play is constructed
from songs, essays, speeches and diary entries, and it explores Dr. King’s call for non-violent
protest irrespective of the brutality waged against him. Additionally, the youngster who plays
Dr. King, Jr. as a child is Brandon Vaughn, who is a member of First AME Church. She noted
the similarity of the actor’s face to the face on the program cover, which is actually that of Dr.
King, Jr. The play runs through June 11, 2000 at the Seattle Children’s Theatre.
The Executive Director informed the Commission that the theatre is offering a discount to City
employees to encourage them to attend.
12. Adjourn to Closed Session:
a. Discussion of method of notification to Commission when Executive Director takes leave for
religious holidays. It was agreed that Executive Director would notify Commissioners in advance.
b. Discussion of whether the City is bound by the decisions of the Commission.
c. Discussion of a 12/7/2000 letter from Mike Schoeppach that was placed on the agenda as item 6(c)
was moved to closed session.
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13. Executive Session:
a. Discussion of e-mail requested by Commissioner.
b. Other items as appropriate.
All business pending before the Commission having been completed, the Commission meeting was
adjourned at 1:00 p.m. The next meeting will be held on Friday, June 23, 2000 at 9:30 a.m.
Respectfully Submitted, Approved by:
_____________________________________ ____________________________________
Miriam Israel Moses Date Nina A. Harding, jd/mpa Date
Executive Director Chairperson