Senate Bill No. 432
(By Senators Kessler, Unger, Boley, Snyder and Yost)
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[Introduced March 3, 2009; referred to the Committee on
Government Organization; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §8-14-11 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to the ability of Class I and Class
II cities to terminate law-enforcement officers prior to the
end of their probationary period.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §8-14-11 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 14. LAW AND ORDER; POLICE FORCE OR DEPARTMENTS; POWERS,
AUTHORITY AND DUTIES OF LAW-ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS
AND POLICEMEN; POLICE MATRONS; SPECIAL SCHOOL ZONE
AND PARKING LOT OR PARKING BUILDING POLICE
OFFICERS; CIVIL SERVICE FOR CERTAIN POLICE
DEPARTMENTS.
§8-14-11. Rules
and regulations for all examinations; probationary
appointments.
The policemen's Civil Service Commission in each Class I and
Class II city shall make rules
and regulations providing for both competitive and medical examinations for appointments and
promotions to all positions in the paid police department in such
city, and for such other matters as are necessary to carry out the
purposes of the civil service provisions of this article.
Any such
commission shall have the power and authority to require by rules
and regulations a physical fitness examination as a part of its
competitive examination or as a part of its medical examination:
Provided, That after the thirtieth day of June, one thousand nine
hundred eighty-one, the medical requirements for appointment to all
All positions in the paid police department in such city shall
include, but not be limited to, the medical requirements stated in
section sixteen, article twenty-two of this chapter. Due notice of
the contents of all such rules
and regulations and of any
modifications thereof shall be given, by mail, in due season, to
the appointing officer; and said rules
and regulations and any
modifications thereof shall also be printed for public
distribution. All original appointments to any positions in a paid
police department subject to the civil service provisions of this
article shall be for a probationary period of one year.
Provided,
That at any time during the probationary period the probationer may
be discharged for just cause, in the manner provided in section
twenty of this article. If, at the close of this probationary
term, the conduct or capacity of the probationer has not been
satisfactory to the appointing officer, the probationer shall be
notified, in writing, that he will not receive absolute
appointment, whereupon his employment shall cease; otherwise, his retention in the service shall be equivalent to his final
appointment. The right to appeal a removal, suspension or
discharge or to hearing under section twenty of this article shall
not apply to any individual until after the completion of the one
year probationary period.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to change new police hires
to an at will employee during the one year probationary period.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.