pound ridge library director marilyn tinter's disciplinary charges

8/16/2019 Pound Ridge Library Director Marilyn Tinter's Disciplinary Charges

1/7

POUND

RIDGE

LTBRARY

Pound Ridge Library

District

27

I

\flescchester

Avenue

Pound Ridge,

NY

10i76-1714

9t4-764 5085/Tel

914-764 5319lFax

www.poundridgeli brary. org

March

10,2016

Ms.

Marilyn

Tinter

100

Parkview

Road

Pound Ridge,

NY 10576

Re: Amended

Civil Service Law

Section 75

Charges

Dear

Ms. Tinter:

In

accordance with

Civil Service

Law

Section

75,

you

are

hereby

notified

that the

following

charges

are

preferred

against

you:

CHARGE

I

_MISCONDUCT NEGLECT

OF

DUTY

AI\D/OR

INCOMPETENCE

Specification

l.

On one or more occasions

between

and

including

on

or about October 1,

2014

and

December

1,2015,

you

directed

one

or more employees

to check

books out

of

and

back

into

the

Library

for the

purposes

of

giving

the book

a

circulation.

Specification 2.

On

one

or

more

occasions between

and

including

on or about

October

1,

2014

and

December

I,20I5,

you

directed

one or more

employees

to

check

books out

of and

back

into

the

Library

in connection

with

the

Library's weeding

process.

Specification

3.

When

you

engaged

in

the conduct

set

forth in

Charge

I,

Specification

1

andlor Specification2,you

caused the Library's

circulations

statistics

to be inflated

and/or

inaccurate

and,

in

doing

so, caused the

library

to

provide

the

public

with misleading

circulation

statistics.

CHARGE

II

-

INSUBORDINATION

AND/OR MISCONDU

CT

AI\D/OR

N-EGLECT

OF

DUTY AND/OR

INCOMPETENCE

Specification 1

. Between on or

about November 25, 2015

and on or

about December

I

,

2015,

you

discussed Library's

Consultant Ronni

M.

Travers' Executive

Draft

November

25,

2015

Organizational

Review

and

Worþlace Environment

Assessmenf'report

( the

Report )

with

one or more members

of

the

Library

staff

andlor Junemarie

Darwish

and/or

Alan

Ramsey

when

you

knew or should have

known

that

the Report and

its

contents were

confidential and not

to

be discussed

with Library staff

at

that

time.

Specification

2. Between on

or

about

November

25,2015

and

on

or

about December l,

2015, when

you

engaged in the

conduct

set

forth in

Charge II, Specification

1,

you

violated

the

Library's

Personnel

Policy,

Section 4.17

( Confidentiality

Statement ),

which

provides,

in


2/7

Ms. Marilyn Tinter

March

10,20L6

Page2

relevant

part,

and

in

sum and substance,

that

[a]ny

personnel

information of a confidential

nature should only

be

discussed within executive session of the Board, and should

only

be

discussed with

parties

outside

the Board

who

are

involved in

Board related

duties on a

'need

to

know'

basis,

as determined by the

Board. Any form

of

public

distribution of staff

or

patron

non-

public

information

is

prohibited.

Specification 3. On or about January 7,2016,

you

lied

and/or

were untruthful to

the

Library Board's investigator, Ronni M. Travers, when

you

stated, in sum and substance, that

you

did

not

discuss

arry

part

of

the Report with one

or

more members

of

the Library

staff.

Specification

4.

On

or

about January

7,2016,

when

you

engaged in the conduct

set

forth

in Charge

II,

Specification

3,

you

violated a directive

from Ms.

Travers

that,

in

sum and

substance,

you

were to truthfully answer all of her

questions.

Specification

5.

On or about

January

7,2016,

when

you

engaged

in

the conduct set

forth

in

Charge

II,

Specification

3,

you violated your own

representation

to Ms.

Travers that,

in

sum

and substance,

you

would

answer truthfully

all of

her

questions.

Specification 6. On or about November

27,2015,

you

sought to intimidate andlor

rctaliate against Alan Ramsay for comments he

allegedly

made

to Ms.

Travers in connection

with

her

preparation

of the Report when

you

stated

to

Mr.

Ramsay,

in

sum

and substance,

that

you

were

sad

about

negative comments in

the

Report

that

you

attributed to him.

Specification 7. On or about December 1,2015,

you

sought to intimidate and./or retaliate

against

Alan

Ramsay

for

comments

he

allegedly

made

to

Ms. Travers

in

connection with

her

preparation

of

the Report, when

you

sent

Mr. Ramsay

an

e-mail

about a

job

opening

in

another

library.

Specification 8. On or about December 1,2015, in

a

discussion regarding the Report,

you

stated

to

one

or more Library employees that, in sum

and substance,

employees should not

go

to

the

Library Board

with their

grievances

andlor

issues

they had with the Library.

Specification

9. On

or

about December

1,2015,

when

you

engaged

in

the

conduct

set

forth in

Charge

II,

Specification 8,

you

violated

Library Personnel Policy

Section

4.13

( Open

Door

Policy ),

which

provides,

in

relevant

part,

and

in

sum and substance, that

[i]f

an employee

believes that a decision affecting him/her is unjust or inequitable,

he/she

should

speak

promptly

with

the Director. If

an issue

remains unresolved after speaking with

the

Library

Director,

the

employee

may

contact

the

President

of

the Board

of

Trustees.

DUTY

AIÍD/OR

INCOMPETENCE

Specification

1.

On

or

about August 20,2015,

you

sent a

letter

to'Westchester

County

Department

of

Human Resources representative

Christopher

Burkart,

dated

August 19,2015,

requesting, in

sum and substance

and in relevant

part,that

Jeffrey Robinette

be

reinstated to the


3/7

Ms. Marilyn Tinter

March 10,2016

Page

3

title

of

Library

Clerk

and, in

doing

so,

violated

an

August 19,2015 directive from

the

Board

directing

you,

in

sum

and substance and in

relevant

part,

not

to

undertake

arry

staffrng

moves

that would trigger

a

Civil Service

commitment until further input can be

obtained

from

the

HR

consultants.

Specification 2.

Between on or about October

23,2015

and on or about November

10,

2015,

you

failed

to

rescind

your

August

19, 2015 letter

to

Mr.

Burkart

requesting,

in

sum and

substance and in relevant

part,thatJeffrey

Robinette

be

reinstated to the

title of Library Clerk,

despite being directed

to do so on or about October 22,2015.

CHARGE TV

_

NEGLECT OF'

AND/OR TNCOMPETN,NCE

Specification

l.

On one

or more occasions between and

including

on

or

about January 1,

2015

and

on or about October

31,2015,

you

failed to ensure

that

one

or more

Library

employees

recorded

andJor

submitted accurate

records

of their

hours

worked.

Specihcation

2. On one or more occasions between and

including

on or about January l,

2015

and

on

or

about

October 31,2015,

you

failed to sign andlor certifu the accuracy of one or

more

part-time

employees' time sheets.

Specification

3. On

one or more occasions between and including on or about January l,

2015

and on or about

October 31,2015,

you

failed to monitor

and/or

track the amount

of

overtime

worked by one

or more employees, as

a

result

of which

you

were unable

to ensure that

one or

more

employees

were

properly

compensated for overtime.

Specification

4. On one or

more

occasions

between

and including

on

or about

January I,

2015

and

on

or

about

October 31,2015, you failed to

ensure

that

one

or more employees

recorded and/or

reported when they

took

meal

periods.

Specification

5. On one or more occasions between and

including

on or about

January l,

2015

and on or about

October

31,2015,

you

allowed

one

or

more employees

to

be

paid

for

their

meal

periods

in violation of

Library

Personnel

Policies

Section 4.33

( Breaks ),

which

provides,

in relevant

part,

and

in

sum and substance,

that meal

periods

are

to be unpaid.

Specification

6.

On

one or more occasions between and

including

on

or about

January 1,

2015

and on

or

about

October

31,2015,

you

failed to

accurately

track

and/or

monitor

one

or

more employee's

accruals and/or use

of

paid

leave

time.

Specification

7. On

one or more occasions between and

including

on

or

about January 1,

2015

and on

or

about

October 3I,2015,

you

failed to maintain

orgarrjzedand/or complete

personnel

files for one or more members of the Library's staff.


4/7

Ms.

Marilyn Tinter

March 10,2016

Page 4

CHARGE V

_MISCONDUCT

AND/OR

NEGLECT

OF

DUTY AND/OR

INCOMPETENCE

Specification

I . On

or

about

November

13

,

2015

,

you

lied

or

\Mere untruthful

when

you

stated,

in

sum

and

substance,

that Junemarie

Darwish

had submitted

work

logs documenting the

work that

she

had

performed

off-site for

the

Library.

CHARGE

VI

_

INSUBORDINATION A¡ID/OR

MISCOI\DUCT

AND/OR NEGLECT OF

DUTY

Specification

1.

On or about November

12,2015,

you

violated

a

directive from the

Library

Board

issued on

or

about

November 10,2015

that

you

were

to

send President Trostle the

Westchester

County

Department

of

Human Resources Personnel Transaction

Form

(LJ-l)

for

Deborah

Kivisalu s resignation from

fuIl-time Library Clerk.

Specification 2.

On

or

about

November 12,2015, you violated

a

directive from

the

Library Board

issued

on

or about November

10, 2015

that

you

were

to send

President

Trostle

the

Westchester

County

Department

of

Human Resources Personnel Transaction

Form

(LJ-l)

for

Deborah Kivisalu s appointment

to

part-time

Library

Clerk.

Specihcation

3. On

or

about

November

12,2015,

you

violated

a

directive from

the

Library Board issued

on

or aboutNovember 10,

2015 that

you

were

to send

President

Trostle

the

Westchester

County

Department

of

Human

Resources

Personnel Transaction

Form

(LJ-l)

for

Jefïrey

Robinette s temporary appointment

to

increased hours

as a

Library Clerk.

CHARGE VII

_

NEGLECT OF DUTY AND/OR INCOMPETENCE

Specification

l. On

or

about

November 12,2015,

you

failed

to

properly

report

to

the

Westchester County

Department

of

Human

Resources

Deborah

Kivisalu s

resignation

from her

position

as

full-time Library

Clerk,

when

you

did

not

send the Department

a

completed


Form

(LJ-1)

with

an attached

copy of

Ms.

Kivisalu s

resignation letter.

CHARGE VIII

_INSTIBORDINATION

AI\D/OR MISCONDUCT AND/OR

NEGLECT

OF

DUTY

Specification

1. On

or

about

November 12,2015,

you

violated

a

directive from

the

Library Board

issued on

or

about

November 10,2015

that

you

were

to

properly

report

to

the

Westchester

County

Department

of

Human

Resources

Deborah

Kivisalu s

resignation

from

her

position

as full-time Library

Clerk,

when

you

did not

send the Department

a

completed


Form

(LJ-1)

with an attached copy of Ms. Kivisalu s

resignation letter.


5/7

Ms. Marilyn Tinter

March 10,2016

Page

5

CHARGE IX

_

INSUBORDINATION AND/OR MISCONDUCT

AND/OR

NEGLECT

OF

DUTY AND/OR INCOMPETENCE

Specification

l. On one or more

occasions

between

and

including

on or about

September

5,2015

through

and

including

on or

aboutNovember 24,2015, you permitted

Library Clerk

Deborah Kivisalu to work

on days other than Saturday and/or in excess

of

eight hours

per

week

in

violation of

one or more directives

from

the

Library

Board.

Specification

2.

On or about October

29,2015,

you

lied and/or were

untruthful to

President

Trostle

when

you

told

her,

in

sum and substance, that Deborah

Kivisalu

was

present

at

the

Library

on

or

about October

29,2015 to

attend

aLibrary

program

but not in her capacity

as a

Library

employee,

when

she was

in fact

working

in

her

capacity as a Library

Clerk.

CHARGE X_ INST]BORDINATION AND/OR MISCONDUCT AND/OR

NEGLECT OF

DUTY AIID/OR INCOMPETENCE

Specification

1. You

did

not

report

your

April 9,2015 workplace injury in

a

timely

manner

Specif,rcation

2.

When

you

engaged

in

the conduct

set

forth in Charge X, Specification l,

you

violated Library Personnel Policy Section 4-16

( Accident

Reporting Procedures ),

which

provides,

in relevant

part,

and

in

sum and

substance,

that

[w]hen

work

related

injury or illness

occurs, it is the

employee's

responsibility to inform hislher

supervisor

immediately.

Specification

3. When

you

engaged

in

the conduct set

forth

in Charge

X, Specification

1,

you

violated Library

Personnel

Policy

Section

4.46

( Workers'

Compensation Insurance ),

which provides, in relevant part,

and

in

sum

and substance,

that

[t]o

ensure

your physical

well-

being

and the correct

processing

of

these claims,

you

must notiff

your

Supervisor

immediately

about

any

injury

occurring during and

as

a

result

of employment, no matter how

slight.

Specification 4.

On

or about

April22,20l5,

you

filed

workers'

compensation

forms on

behalf of

the

Library with regard

to

your

April

9,

2015

worþlace injury, even though

you

\ /ere

not

authorizedto

do

so.

Specification

5. On

or

about

May

l,

2015,

you

returned

to work from a medical leave

without

hrst

providing

the

Library Board

with a

doctor's

note verifiing

your

fitness

to return

to

work.

Specification

6. Your conduct as set

forth

in Charge X,

Specification 5 violated Library

Personnel Policy

Section 4.51

( Family

Medical

Leave

Act ),

which

provides,

in relevant

part,

and in

sum and substance,

that [e]mployees retuming

from medical

leave must submit

a

health

care

provider's

verification of their

fiûress

to

return

to

work.

Specification

7. On

or

about May 13, 20t5,

you

emailed then Board President

Diane

Mazzantithat, I

am able

to

resume

my

full duties

without

any

restrictions

necessary

in

order

to


6/7

Ms. Marilyn Tinter

March 10,2016

Page

6

fulfill

my responsibilities

and/or

my

doctor/health care

provider

prepared

a letter

stating that I

was able to return

to

work and

perform

my

regular

duties as

Director ,

even though

the

May l,

2015 letter

from

your

doctor/health

care

provider

indicated

restrictions on

your

retum

to work.

Specification

8.

Your

failure

to

provide

and/or

have

provided

to the Board

in

a

timely

manner the

May

l,2015letter

from

your

doctor/health care

provider

resulted in the Board

being

unable

to

accurately determine the timing

of

your

anticipated return

to work

and, as

a

result, the

need and extent for coverage for

your

work.

Specification

9. Despite being directed

to

do

so

by

President

Trostle

on

or

about

November

17,2015,

you

refused and/or were unable

to

produce

any

of

the

workers'

compensation documents

associated with

your

workers' compensation claim.

Specification 10.

Despite being

directed

to

do

so

by

President

Trostle

on or about

November 17,2015,

you

refused and/or

were unable to

produce

the Library's current

workers'

compensation

policy.

CHARGE

XI

_

INSUBORDINATION

ANDiOR MISCONDUCT

AND/OR NEGLECT

OF

DUTY AND/OR

INCOMPETENCE

Specification

l.

On one or

more

occasions between on

or

about

September 16,2014

through

and

including

on

or

about October

7,2014,

you permitted

books sales

to

occur inside the

Library notwithstanding

one or more

Board

directives that

you

discontinue them.

You

are

entitled to

answer these

charges.

The answer

is

due eight days after the

charges

are served on

you,

excluding

the day on

which

you

receive

them.

You

are

entitled to a

hearing on these charges

and

to

be represented at the hearing

by

counsel or

a

representative

of a recognizedor

certihed employee organization.

A

transcript

will

be made

of the

proceeding.

You

should be

prepared

at the hearing to

present

witnesses and other

proof

as

you

may have

in

your

defense against the charges.

The hearing

will

be conducted on March 24,2016 at 10:00 a.m.,

before

Hearing

Officer

Steven Kasarda, Esq.,

at

the Pound Ridge Library

District,

271

V/estchester Ave,

Pound Ridge,

NY 10576.

If

you

are

found

guilty

of

any

of

these

charges, the

penalty

or

punishment

imposed

on

you may

consist

of

dismissal

from

the service,

demotion in

grade and

title,

suspension

without

pay,

a

fine,

or

a

reprimand.

Pending

the

determination of these charges,

you

are

hereby

suspended with

pay,

effective

the day after

you

receive the charges.

All

further

notices

and communications addressed to

you

in

connection with these

charges will be

mailed to

your

latest address on record

with the Library,

which

is 100

Parkview


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pound ridge library director marilyn tinter's disciplinary charges

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