§45-8-120.10. Performance rating.

(a) All employees shall maintain an above marginal performance rating to be able to retain employment with the county. No county employee under the Civil Service System, but not to include probationary status employees, shall be dismissed from service for unacceptable performance prior to their being given an official performance rating of less than fully acceptable; an explanation as to how they can improve their performance; and and at least a two-week period to allow the employee a chance to improve. This time period to allow the employee to improve may be longer depending on the situation and shall be left to the discretion of the appointing authority. But in no event shall this probationary improvement period exceed 45 days. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in all cases the employee shall be told the amount of time he or she has to improve at the time of the rating. Nothing in this section should be construed to preclude the termination of an employee by the appointing authority for either insubordination or unacceptable behavior.

(b) This section shall be construed to allow employees to be aware of their current performance rating and to enable and encourage employees to better their performance; department heads shall insure that all employees are provided performance evaluations on a periodic basis. These evaluations shall be documented on "performance rating" forms furnished by the civil service board and shall be filed in the employee's personnel file. These performance ratings shall be provided by the first level of supervision and shall be reviewed by the second level of supervision; also the rating shall be discussed with the employee by the supervisor. In this discussion, the employee shall be told such things as the results of the current rating, what the rating means to their continued employment as well as their chances of promotion, and how they could improve their performance. After this discussion, the employee shall be given a chance to make written comments on the valuation form then sign and date the form. The signature of the employee denotes that the rating was discussed with them and does not denote that they agree with the rating. Performance ratings are to be used as a management tool by the supervisor and may be given at the discretion of the supervisor but shall be given at a minimum as follows:

(1) PROBATIONARY EMPLOYEES. This is a critical time for the employer and frequent discussions should be held so that the employee is well aware of his or her performance as related to management expectations. This becomes more critical for those employees who are not performing at an acceptable level. The frequency of performance ratings for these employees shall be at the discretion of appointing authority.

(2) PERMANENT EMPLOYEES. Since these employees shall have had at least one prior performance rating of acceptable level or higher, it is assumed that they are capable of performing at this level. The performance ratings should be used to insure a continuing understanding of management's expectations and to enable and encourage the employee to increase his or her level of performance. The frequency of performance ratings shall be at the discretion of management with the exceptions that the supervisor shall discuss performance with employees semi-annually; provide an official performance rating annually; and if they are given a performance rating of below acceptable level, at least one month prior to dismissal for unacceptable performance.

(Act 96-479, p. 595, §11.)