HP0719
LD 1021
Session - 126th Maine Legislature
 
LR 1373
Item 1
Bill Tracking, Additional Documents Chamber Status

An Act To Establish as a Public Record the Performance Evaluation of a Municipal Employee

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

Sec. 1. 30-A MRSA §2702, sub-§1, ¶B,  as amended by PL 1997, c. 770, §3, is further amended to read:

B. Municipal records pertaining to an identifiable employee and containing the following:

(1) Medical information of any kind, including information pertaining to diagnosis or treatment of mental or emotional disorders;

(2) Performance evaluations and personal Personal references submitted in confidence;

(3) Information pertaining to the creditworthiness of a named employee;

(4) Information pertaining to the personal history, general character or conduct of members of an employee's immediate family; and

(5) Complaints, charges or accusations of misconduct, replies to those complaints, charges or accusations and any other information or materials that may result in disciplinary action. If disciplinary action is taken, the final written decision relating to that action is no longer confidential after the decision is completed if it imposes or upholds discipline. The decision must state the conduct or other facts on the basis of which disciplinary action is being imposed and the conclusions of the acting authority as to the reasons for that action. If an arbitrator completely overturns or removes disciplinary action from an employee personnel file, the final written decision is public except that the employee's name must be deleted from the final written decision and kept confidential. If the employee whose name was deleted from the final written decision discloses that the employee is the person who is the subject of the final written decision, the entire final written report, with regard to that employee, is public.

For purposes of this subparagraph, "final written decision" means:

(a) The final written administrative decision that is not appealed pursuant to a grievance arbitration procedure; or

(b) If the final written administrative decision is appealed to arbitration, the final written decision of a neutral arbitrator.

A final written administrative decision that is appealed to arbitration is no longer confidential 120 days after a written request for the decision is made to the employer if the final written decision of the neutral arbitrator is not issued and released before the expiration of the 120 days; and

Sec. 2. 30-A MRSA §2702, sub-§2,  as enacted by PL 1987, c. 737, Pt. A, §2 and Pt. C, §106 and amended by PL 1989, c. 6; c. 9, §2; and c. 104, Pt. C, §§8 and 10, is further amended to read:

2. Employee right to review.   On written request from an employee or former employee, the municipal official with custody of the records shall provide the employee, former employee or the employee's authorized representative with an opportunity to review the employee's personnel file, if the municipal official has a personnel file for that employee. These reviews shall must take place during normal office hours at the location where the personnel files are maintained. For the purposes of this subsection, a personnel file includes, but is not limited to, any formal or informal employee evaluations and reports relating to the employee's character, credit, work habits, compensation and benefits which that the municipal official may possess. The records described in subsection 1, paragraph B , may also be examined by the employee to whom they relate, as provided in this subsection.

summary

This bill removes from the list of records that are confidential the performance evaluation of a municipal employee.


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