Section 32 Redetermining the Decision of the Appointing Authority

• Library: Personnel Hearings 2011

When due process requires a full evidentiary hearing, at least after the effective date of the disciplinary action, the administrative tribunal conducting the hearing makes a new determination of whether there is cause to discipline based on the evidence presented at the hearing. Comparing the PAB to the AHC as a neutral administrative tribunal, the court in Prenger v. Moody, 845 S.W.2d 68 (Mo. App. W.D. 1992), held that the PAB determines the dismissal decision of the appointing authority. “The PAB’s role, on evidence heard, was to determine the administrative decision of the OA [the appointing authority]. The decision of the PAB became the administrative action of the OA.” Id. at 75 (citation omitted).
In Prenger, the employee argued that there was no evidence that the appointing authority had determined that the dismissal was required in the interests of efficient administration as required by § 36.380, now RSMo Supp. 2010. The court agreed that the evidence failed to show this but concluded that the PAB had made that determination. Because the PAB has the authority to make the appointing authority’s decision for it, the PAB may provide any component of the decision...