VI.B.4. Due Process (Excluding Probation-See VI.B.1 and Summary Suspension – See VI.B.5)

All communication regarding due process will occur by either official campus email, certified letter, or hand delivery. (December 2009) Dismissals, non-reappointments, or non-promotion (June 2007) are subject to appeal and the process shall proceed as follows:

Recommendation for dismissal, non-reappointment, and non-promotion shall be made by the Program Director in the form of a Request for Adverse Action. The Request for Adverse Action shall be in writing and shall include proposed disciplinary action, a written statement of deficiencies and/or charges registered against the House Officer, a list of all known documentary evidence, a list of all known witnesses and a brief statement of the nature of testimony expected to be given by each witness. The Request for Adverse Action shall be delivered in person to the Department Head. If the Department Head finds that the charges registered against the House Officer appear to be supportable on their face, the Department Head shall give Notice to the House Officer in writing of the initiation of proceedings (July 2019) which might result in dismissal, non-reappointment, summary suspension, or other adverse action. The Notice shall include the Request for Adverse Action and shall be returned to the Program Director for delivery to the resident. The delivery of the Notice and Request for Adverse Action shall be sent by campus email, certified mail to the address appearing in the records of the Human Resource Management, or may be hand delivered to the House Officer. GMEC December 2009 Probation which is included as part of one of these appealable actions delineated above is appealed as part of this Due Process and not as a separate appeal process (see Probation section of this manual). (June 2017)

Upon receipt of Notice, the House Officer shall have five (5) working days to meet with the Department Head and present evidence in support of the House Officer's challenge to the Request for Adverse Action. Following the meeting, the Department Head shall determine whether the proposed adverse action is warranted. The Department Head shall render a decision within five (5) working days of the conclusion of the meeting. The decision shall be sent by campus email, certified mail to the address appearing in the records of the Human Resource Management, or hand delivered to the House Officer and copied to the Program Director and Academic Dean. (December 2009)

If the House Officer is dissatisfied with the decision reached by the Department Head, the House Officer shall have an opportunity to prepare and present a defense to the deficiencies and/or charges set forth in the Request for Adverse Action at a hearing before an impartial Ad Hoc Committee, which shall be advisory to the Academic Dean. The House Officer shall have five (5) working days after receipt of the Department Head's decision to notify the Academic Dean in writing or by email (December 2009) whether the House Officer would challenge the Request for Adverse Action and desires an Ad Hoc Committee be formed. If the House Officer contends that the proposed adverse action is based, in whole or in part on race, sex (including sexual harassment), religion, national origin, age, veteran status, and/or disability discrimination, the House Officer shall inform the Academic Dean of that contention. The Academic Dean shall then invoke the proceedings set out in the section entitled "Sexual Harassment Policy" of this manual. The hearing for adverse action shall not proceed until an investigation has been conducted pursuant to the section entitled "Sexual Harassment Policy."
The Ad Hoc Committee shall consist of three (3) full-time (75% or greater effort) clinical faculty members who shall be selected in the following manner:

The House Officer shall notify the Academic Dean of the House Officer's recommended appointee to the Ad Hoc Committee within five (5) working days after the receipt of the decision reached by the Department Head. The Academic Dean shall then notify the Department Head of the House Officer's choice of Committee member. The Department Head shall then have five (5) working days after notification by the Academic Dean to notify the Academic Dean of his recommended appointee to the Committee. The two (2) Committee members selected by the House Officer and the Department Head shall be notified by the Academic Dean to select the third Committee member within five (5) working days of receipt of such notice; thereby the Committee is formed. Normally, members of the committee should not be from the same Program or department, In the case of potential conflicts of interest or in the case of a challenge by either party, the Academic Dean shall make the final decision regarding appropriateness of membership to the ad hoc committee. (July 2005) Once the Committee is formed, the Academic Dean shall forward to the Committee the Notice and shall notify the Committee members that they must select a Committee Chairman and set a hearing date to be held within ten (10) working days of formation of the Committee. A member of the Ad Hoc Committee shall not discuss the pending adverse action with the House Officer or Department Head prior to the hearing. The Academic Dean shall advise each Committee member that he/she does not represent any party to the hearing and that each Committee member shall perform the duties of a Committee member without partiality or favoritism.

The Chairman of the Committee shall establish a hearing date. The House Officer and Department Head shall be given at least five (5) working days notice of the date, time, and place of the hearing. The Notice may be sent by campus email, certified mail to the address appearing in the records of the Human Resource Management, or may be hand delivered to the House Officer, Department Head, and Academic Dean. Each party shall provide the Academic Dean five copies of the witness list, a brief summary of the testimony expected to be given by each witness, and a copy of all documents to be introduced at the hearing at least three (3) working days prior to the hearing. The Academic Dean will assure that all parties will receive the other parties' documents.

The hearing shall be conducted as follows:

The Chairman of the Committee shall conduct the hearing. The hearing shall include the following persons: the House Officer appealing the action, the members of the AdHoc Committee, the Program Director with or without the Department Head, counsel if present and any other persons deemed by the Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee to carry out the hearing. Each party shall have the right to appear, to present a reasonable number of witnesses, to present documentary evidence, and to cross-examine witnesses. The parties may be excluded when the Committee meets in executive session. The House Officer may be accompanied by an attorney as a nonparticipating advisor. Should the House Officer elect to have an attorney present, the Program may also be accompanied by an attorney. The attorneys for the parties may confer and advise their clients upon adjournment of the proceedings at reasonable intervals to be determined by the Chairman, but may not question witnesses, introduce evidence, make objections, or present argument during the hearing. However, the right to have an attorney present can be denied, discontinued, altered, or modified if the Committee finds that such is necessary to insure its ability to properly conduct the hearing. Rules of evidence and procedure are not applied strictly, but the Chairman shall exclude irrelevant or unduly repetitious testimony. The Chairman shall rule on all matters related to the conduct of the hearing and may be assisted by University counsel.

There shall be a single verbatim record, such as an audio recording, of the hearing (not including deliberations). Deliberations shall not be recorded. The record shall be the property of the School of Medicine. (Revised March 2010)

Following the hearing, the Committee shall meet in executive session. During its executive session, the Committee shall determine whether or not the House Officer shall be terminated, or otherwise have adverse actions imposed, along with reasons for its findings; summary of the testimony presented; and any dissenting opinions. The Academic Dean shall review the Committee's report and may accept, reject, or modify the Committee's finding. The Academic Dean shall render a decision within five (5) working days from receipt of the Committee's report. The decision shall be in writing and sent by campus email or certified mail to the House Officer, and a copy shall be sent to the Department Head and Dean. (December 2009)

If the Academic Dean's final decision is to terminate or impose adverse measures and the House Officer is dissatisfied with the decision reached by the Academic Dean, the House Officer may appeal to the Dean, with such appeal limited to alleged violations of procedural due process only. The House Officer shall deliver Notice of Appeal to the Dean within five (5) working days after receipt of the Academic Dean's decision. The Notice of Appeal shall specify the alleged procedural defects on which the appeal is based. The Dean's review shall be limited to whether the House Officer received procedural due process. The Dean shall then accept, reject, or modify the Academic Dean's decision. The decision of the Dean shall be final.

A House Officer who at any stage of the process fails to file a request for action by the deadline indicates acceptance of the determination at the previous stage.

Any time limit set forth in this procedure may be extended by mutual written agreement of the parties and, when applicable the consent of the Chairperson of the Ad Hoc Committee.