COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 4185
(By Delegates Staggers, Perry, Boggs, Ellem, T. Walker,
Phillips, Marshall, Longstreth, Fleischauer and Doyle)
(Originating in the House Committee on Finance.)
[February 22, 2010]
A BILL amend and reenact §7-14-17 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to mandatory retirement age of
deputy sheriffs; and authorizing continued employment beyond
age sixty-five years if approved in writing by the sheriff.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §7-14-17 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 14. CIVIL SERVICE FOR DEPUTY SHERIFFS.
§7-14-17. Removal, discharge, suspension or reduction in rank or
pay; hearing; attorney fees; appeal; reduction in
force; mandatory retirement age.
(a)
No A deputy sheriff of any county subject to the
provisions of this article may
not be removed, discharged,
suspended or reduced in rank or pay except for just cause, which
may not be religious or political, except as provided in section fifteen of this article; and
no such a deputy may
not be removed,
discharged, suspended or reduced in rank or pay except as provided
in this article and in no event until the deputy has been furnished
with a written statement of the reasons for the action. In every
case of such removal, discharge, suspension or reduction, a copy of
the statement of reasons therefor and of the written answer
thereto, if the deputy desires to file such written answer, shall
be furnished to the civil service commission and entered upon its
records. If the deputy demands it, the civil service commission
shall grant a public hearing, which hearing shall be held within a
period of ten days from the filing of the charges in writing or the
written answer thereto, whichever shall last occur. At the
hearing, the burden shall be upon the sheriff to justify his or her
action, and in the event the sheriff fails to justify the action
before the commission, then the deputy shall be reinstated with
full pay, forthwith and without any additional order, for the
entire period during which the deputy may have been prevented from
performing his or her usual employment, and no charges may be
officially recorded against the deputy's record. The deputy, if
reinstated or exonerated, shall, if represented by legal counsel,
be awarded reasonable attorney fees to be determined by the
commission and paid by the sheriff from county funds. A written
record of all testimony taken at the hearing shall be kept and
preserved by the civil service commission, which record shall be sealed and not be open to public inspection unless an appeal is
taken from the action of the commission.
(b)
In the event If the civil service commission sustains the
action of the sheriff, the deputy has an immediate right of appeal
to the circuit court of the county.
In the event If that the
commission reinstates the deputy, the sheriff has an immediate
right of appeal to the circuit court.
In the event If either the
sheriff or the deputy objects to the amount of the attorney fees
awarded to the deputy, the objecting party has an immediate right
of appeal to the circuit court. Any appeal must be taken within
ninety days from the date of entry by the civil service commission
of its final order. Upon an appeal being taken and docketed with
the clerk of the circuit court of the county, the circuit court
shall proceed to hear the appeal upon the original record made
before the commission and no additional proof may be permitted to
be introduced. The circuit court's decision is final, but the
deputy or sheriff, as the case may be, against whom the decision of
the circuit court is rendered has the right to petition the Supreme
Court of Appeals for a review of the circuit court's decision as in
other civil cases. The deputy or sheriff also has the right, where
appropriate, to seek, in lieu of an appeal, a writ of mandamus.
The deputy, if reinstated or exonerated by the circuit court or by
the Supreme Court of Appeals, shall, if represented by legal
counsel, be awarded reasonable attorney fees as approved by the court and the fees shall be paid by the sheriff from county funds.
(c) The removing sheriff and the deputy shall at all times,
both before the civil service commission and upon appeal, be given
the right to employ counsel to represent them.
(d) If for reasons of economy or other reasons it is
deemed
determined necessary by any appointing sheriff to reduce the number
of his or her deputies, the sheriff shall follow the procedure set
forth in this subsection. The reduction in the numbers of the
deputy sheriffs of the county shall be effected by suspending the
last person or persons, including probationers, who have been
appointed as deputies. The removal shall be accomplished by
suspending the number desired in the inverse order of their
appointment:
Provided, That
in the event if the number of deputies
is increased in numbers to the strength existing prior to the
reduction of deputies, the deputies suspended under the terms of
this subsection shall be reinstated in the inverse order of their
suspension before any new appointments of deputy sheriffs in the
county are made.
(e)
Notwithstanding any other provision of this article to the
contrary, no A deputy sheriff
in any county subject to the
provisions of this article may
not serve as a deputy sheriff in any
county subject to the provisions of this article after attaining
the age of sixty-five years
unless the sheriff of the county
specifically designates a particular purpose and need of the sheriff's office and approves the continued employment of that
deputy sheriff and that this continued employment fulfills the
stated need and purpose in writing.