3-01/030.29 - Supervisor Responsibilities

Supervisors shall monitor their work sites and personnel to maintain a violence-free environment. The goal is to prevent the maturation of violent behavior in the workplace by taking appropriate action and facilitating timely intervention. Supervisors shall intervene to prevent incidents of workplace violence. In addition, supervisors are responsible for investigating all alleged incidents of workplace violence, documenting such incidents, and forwarding a preliminary report to the unit commander.

Supervisors shall notify unit commanders via office correspondence form (SH-AD-32A).

Intake Responsibilities

The supervisor who receives the initial notification from a “complainant” and/or “witness” is responsible for ascertaining whether the complainant and/or witness is in need of medical attention, protection, voluntary transfer, leave, or other assistance. The person receiving the report also must advise the complainant and/or witness that:

• The Department takes workplace violence and retaliation seriously and will take steps to investigate, resolve, prevent workplace violence or retaliation, and administer appropriate corrective actions for violations of this policy;

• The complainant and/or witness may seek confidential counseling or assistance from Psychological Services Bureau and/or the ombudsperson/Intake Specialist Unit;

• The complainant may also pursue a complaint with the ombudsperson or the Internal Affairs Bureau;

• Notifications of workplace violence and retaliation shall be handled as expeditiously, thoroughly, fairly, and, to the extent allowed by law, as confidentially as possible; however, absolute confidentiality cannot be guaranteed;

• The complainant and/or witness shall record as much factual detail about the events in question as possible, as they will be asked to prepare or assist in preparing a written complaint or statement about the events;

• The ombudsperson/ Intake Specialist Unit is responsible for maintaining contact with the complainant and/or witness during the resolution of the complaint and for 90 days thereafter; and

• The supervisor receiving the report shall notify other appropriate supervisors, unit commanders and/or the ombudsperson/ Intake Specialist Unit, of the notification.

The person receiving the notification is responsible for acting promptly and impartially in all workplace violence and/or retaliation matters. In addition, all such matters shall, to the extent allowed by law, be handled as confidentially as possible.

Supervisor’s Responsibilities

A "supervisor" is defined, for purposes of these procedures, as the sworn rank of sergeant and above, and civilian supervisors as defined in Manual of Policy and Procedures section 2-02/170.00, Civilian Supervisors. Supervisors are explicitly responsible for:

• Being familiar with and understanding the Workplace Violence Policy and the procedures for handling workplace violence and retaliation complaints;

• Monitoring the work environment for evidence of behavior that encourages or creates a climate for workplace violence;

• Taking immediate steps to correct any questionable behavior and reporting their actions to the unit commander via written memorandum (office correspondence form SH-AD32A); and

• Handling questions, complaints or reports concerning workplace violence or retaliation in a prompt, thorough, impartial and, to the extent allowed by law, confidential manner.

When receiving a notification under these procedures, supervisors are responsible for:

• Informing and advising the complainant and/or witness as described in the "Intake Responsibilities" section of the procedures; and

• Making immediate contact with the ombudsperson/ Intake Specialist Unit on behalf of the complainant and/or witness and, with extreme priority, reporting the notification to the unit commander.

Unit Commander’s Responsibilities

Unit Commanders shall be responsible for the following:

• Maintaining compliance with the Department’s Workplace Violence Threat Assessment and Management Plan;

• Ensuring that all supervisors are familiar with this policy and the Department’s Workplace Violence Threat Assessment and Management Plan;

• Immediately reporting any allegation of retaliation for reporting fraud, waste or misuse of County resources to the County Director of Personnel via the Department of Human Resources’ Human Resources Support Division;

• Immediately notify the Personnel Administration Bureau’s Disability Management and Compliance Unit at the conclusion of each investigation or when appropriate professional mental health consultations are needed;

• Assuring complainants that their complaint will receive equitable supervisory attention;

• Taking appropriate measures to avoid a recurrence of the alleged misconduct;

• Advising the subject that a complaint has been filed and that an inquiry will be initiated;

• Admonishing the subject regarding the Department’s Workplace Violence Policy, with special emphasis on the prohibition against retaliation;

• Monitoring to ensure that retaliation against the complaining party, witness, or the subject(s) does not occur; and

• Facilitating debriefings and/or counseling for the subject and victim with assistance from the ombudsperson/ Intake Specialist Unit and/or Employee Support Services.

The unit commander shall ensure that, when appropriate, a unit level, Internal Affairs Bureau, and/or Internal Criminal Investigations Bureau investigation is conducted. In all cases, the appropriate division chief or director and commander shall be notified immediately. Requests for all Internal Affairs Bureau or Internal Criminal Investigations Bureau investigations must have the approval of the appropriate division chief or director.