ADMINISTRATIVE AND AUDIT FISCAL

2002-03 San Bernardino County Grand Jury Final Report ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE Human Resources Department Findings – Agree/Disagree Agree. The Grand Jury Report does indeed point out some of the contributors to the decision to place employees on Employee Relations Leave (ERL) and the county’s duty to protect the rights of the employees while an investigation is in progress. A recently completed audit of ERL for the four and one-half year period ending June 2003 showed a total cost of $1,706,000 during that period. The average cost or ELR is $379,000 per year. RECOMMENDATION 03-01. The Human Resources Department revise its policy on employee relations leave to allow some employees to be temporarily transferred to other departments rather than being placed on paid leave. RESPONSE The county agrees that this is an area in which improvements should be sought. The Human Resources Department will issue guidelines for departments to consider when an investigation or fitness for duty evaluation is being undertaken, encouraging the use of alternate work assignments in lieu of employee relations leave whenever practicable. Employees are customarily placed on Employee Relations Leave (ERL) when they are the subject of administrative investigations, criminal investigations, and fitness for duty evaluations. An employee under investigation may or may not continue on the job pending the investigation or evaluation depending upon the ...