Miami-Dade Corrections Employee Confrontations PDF 2012

MIAMI-DADE CORRECTIONS AND REHABILITATION DEPARTMENT VOLUME: 6 DSOP: 6-048 YEAR: 2012 VERSION: 1 SUBJECT: EMPLOYEE CONFRONTATIONS EFFECTIVE DATE: December 6, 2012 SUPERSEDES: January 16, 2001...

MIAMI-DADE CORRECTIONS AND REHABILITATION DEPARTMENT VOLUME: 6 DSOP: 6-048 YEAR: 2012 VERSION: 1 SUBJECT: EMPLOYEE CONFRONTATIONS EFFECTIVE DATE: December 6, 2012 SUPERSEDES: January 16, 2001 MODIFICATIONS: All Pages TABLE OF CONTENTS I. POLICY II. DEFINITION III. PROCEDURES A. Supervisory Options B. Case Review IV. CROSS REFERENCES V. RELATED REFERENCES VI. ACCREDITATION STANDARDS VII. REVOCATIONS I. POLICY It is the policy of Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department (MDCR) to provide preventive measures to avoid employee confrontations, use resources to resolve conflicts, and minimize the opportunity for conflicts to emerge or reoccur. II. DEFINITION Confrontation A situation of mutual hostility; discord resulting from a clash of ideas or opinions; a conflict involving 2 or more people. III. PROCEDURES Each employee’s conduct shall at all times be consistent with the maintenance of a professional environment or that provides for proper security and welfare of the facility and of the inmates under their supervision. Specific rules of conduct that govern every employee’s action or behavior cannot be established. An employee may be subject to disciplinary action for any act or omission that results in disorder or unacceptable conduct in accordance with Departmental Standard Operating Procedures (DSOP) 2.2.000 “Rules - General Conduct and Responsibilities.” Page 1 of 4 MIAMI-DADE CORRECTIONS AND REHABILITATION DEPARTMENT VOLUME: 6 DSOP: 6-048 YEAR: 2012 VERSION: 1 SUBJECT: EMPLOYEE CONFRONTATIONS Employees shall be separated for the shortest time necessary to prevent confrontations such as verbal assault, personality conflicts, etc., and provide a “cooling down” period. This administrative tool provides for a rational and objective evaluation of the situation for an appropriate remedy. The goal is to prepare all employees for resuming full and unrestricted participation in departmental activities. A. SUPERVISORY OPTIONS 1. Separate individuals for the shortest period necessary while pursuing conflict resolution and document the incident on a MDCR Incident Report in accordance with DSOP 10-003 “Major Incident Reporting Procedures”; 2. Immediate supervisors may assign affected employees to other duty stations, different floors, etc., on the same shift for a "cooling down" period. However, separating individuals is the initial step that must be taken. Long-term separation may be a viable solution in some cases; 3. If the supervisor feels the short-term separation does not resolve the conflict, he/she shall refer the situation through the chain of command to the Facility/Bureau Supervisor. In an effort to prevent a reoccurrence between the involved employees, the Facility/Bureau Supervisor may elect to transfer the employees, e.g., change their shift, work location, etc. An individual trained in conflict management/counseling may be useful in mediating the problem between the affected employees; 4. Supervisors shall advise employees of MDCR and/or Miami-Dade County programs and training available to address conflict issues e.g., Conflict Management, Conflict Resolution, Stress Reduction, etc. Employees seeking assistance, counseling, or guidance may contact the MDCR Mental Health and Medical Services Unit or Miami-Dade County Employee Support Services (ESS) when appropriate; 5. The ESS is a resource to resolve conflict and to determine the participants’ needs. This policy does not replace or negate the authority to initiate disciplinary action in accordance with DSOP 6-013 “Employee Counseling and Discipline Procedures.” If warranted, an employee may be relieved of duty to protect the safety of other employees; 6. If a minor disagreement or confrontation is not resolved at the Facility/Bureau Supervisor level, documentation shall be forwarded to the Security and Internal Affairs Bureau (SIAB). The SIAB will review and process the incident as a Personnel Complaint in accordance with DSOP 4-015 “Complaints, Investigations and Dispositions.” Page 2 of 4 MIAMI-DADE CORRECTIONS AND REHABILITATION DEPARTMENT VOLUME: 6 DSOP: 6-048 YEAR: 2012 VERSION: 1 SUBJECT: EMPLOYEE CONFRONTATIONS B. CASE REVIEW 1. Each situation will be evaluated and remedied on a case by case basis; 2. The transfer of employees, change in shift, work location, assignment, etc., shall be reviewed every 30 days. The review will be used to determine whether the involved employees are prepared to work as cooperative, respectful co-workers, or if there is a need for additional time and/or intervention; 3. The review shall be made by disinterested parties, e.g., a representative from each of the following: a. Mental Health and Medical Services Unit; b. Security and Internal Affairs Bureau; c. Executive Assistant; d. Office of Fair Employment Practices; e. Division Chief and/or Assistant Director in employee's chain of command; f. Personnel Management Bureau; g. Applicable union representative. 4. All reviews shall be conducted upon the request of the affected employee and before the end of the prescribed period. Employees not submitting a request will have their case reviewed and the effected change may remain active until the employee requests a change through established methods, e.g., bid selection process, etc.; 5. The recommendations resulting from the review shall be forwarded to the Director for approval. Upon closure of each case, the mediator/case worker shall retain a file with all documentation of each intervention attempt and method. IV. CROSS REFERENCES DSOP 4-015 “Complaints, Investigations and Dispositions” DSOP 6-013 “Employee Counseling and Discipline Procedures” Page 3 of 4