HomeMy WebLinkAboutRESPONSE - RFP - 7439 HEARING OFFICER - EMPLOYEE DISCIPLINARY HEARINGS (2)13133 East Arapahoe Road ▪ Suite 100 ▪ Centennial, CO 80112
Tel 303.754.3399 ▪ Fax 303.754.3395 ▪ www.wmcattorneys.com
SENT VIA EMAIL TO: purchasing@fcgov.com
November 7, 2012
Janet Miller
Acting Human Resources Director
City of Fort Collins
215 North Mason Street, 2nd Floor
Fort Collins, Colorado 80524
Re: RFP 7439 – Hearing Officer Services – Employee Disciplinary Hearings
Dear Ms. Miller:
On behalf of Widner Michow & Cox LLP (the “Firm”), I am pleased to submit the Firm’s
proposal for Hearing Officer Services in employee disciplinary hearings for the City of Fort
Collins. I look forward to meeting with you to discuss this proposal in greater detail and to
demonstrate our sincere interest in serving the City.
I am well-qualified to serve the City of Fort Collins as a hearing officer in employee disciplinary
proceedings. I have represented public entities exclusively over the course of my legal career,
and the majority of this practice has been in the area of employment law. As a result, I have the
knowledge, skill, and breadth of experience with public sector employment issues that will
enable me to be efficient in identifying legal and practical issues and to ensure that due process
is properly provided to employees in the course of their disciplinary hearings. My résumé is
included with this proposal.1
Background on Widner Michow & Cox LLP
Widner Michow & Cox LLP dedicates its practice exclusively to the representation of
Colorado local governments, special districts, and quasi-governmental authorities. The Firm
was founded in 2004 by Bob Widner and Linda Michow, who were partners in the Public Law
Department of the former large Denver law firm of Gorsuch Kirgis LLP. Our Firm is committed
to delivering high quality legal advice and services on all issues of interest to our clients. The
philosophy of the Firm is to provide professional and cost-effective legal representation by
maintaining a close knit group of experienced attorneys with a passion for representing local
governments.
1 I am not rated by Martindale-Hubbell as our Firm is not a subscriber.
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All of our attorneys possess substantial experience in local government law. We have
served as the town attorney, city attorney, county attorney, and general or special counsel for a
diverse array of communities and governmental organizations. The Firm’s seven attorneys
have more than 85 years of combined municipal and government law experience and we
currently serve as general counsel for the statutory and home rule municipalities of Lakewood,
Centennial, Central City, Leadville, Lyons, Lochbuie, Castle Pines and Hot Sulphur Springs.
We also serve as either general or special counsel to other municipalities, special districts, and
a county.
The specialization of our practice and the breadth of municipal clients that our Firm
represents provide advantages to our clients. In particular, I devote most of my practice to
advising and advocating for the Firm’s clients in employment law matters. In addition, I have the
benefit of drawing upon the firm’s collective experience in a wide variety of municipal issues.
Our Firm is also conscientious about controlling legal costs, as all of our existing municipal
clients are necessarily budget-conscious. When new legal issues arise that affect all of our
clients’ interests, such as the recent foray into medical marijuana and its impact on the
employment relationship, our clients enjoy the direct benefit of sharing legal costs associated
with addressing these new issues.
You are also aware that public employment law is a field that requires constant vigilance
in order to stay current on the most recent judicial and regulatory developments. To address this
reality, our Firm maintains several employment law resources that are updated monthly. I also
regularly attend seminars regarding employment and municipal legal issues and I maintain
comprehensive research files on federal, state, and municipal employment law. My
specialization in the public employment law field allows me to draw upon a great deal of relevant
experience and resources, which in turn facilitates the delivery of cost-effective legal advice.
Summary of Qualifications: Kathie B. Guckenberger
I am licensed to practice law in two states and have in-depth experience in employment
law. Upon becoming licensed to practice law in 1992, I began working for the Hillsborough
County Attorney’s Office in Tampa, Florida. In 1993, I assumed the role of in-house counsel for
all employment matters for the County, which had approximately 4,000 employees. Many of
those employees were covered by the Hillsborough County Civil Service Board rules, with a
large subset of those employees also covered by one of three union contracts. For the next
three and one-half years, I worked closely with the human resources department, department
directors, and line managers to provide advice and counsel regarding the entire spectrum of
issues that arise in the employment context. I frequently advised staff regarding the following:
• recruiting, hiring, and performance management;
• employee discipline and terminations, including pre-disciplinary hearings;
• violations of City drug and alcohol policies and other policy violations;
• application of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act
(“ADA”), and the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”);
• political activity of employees, including a resign-to-run provision in state law;
• workers’ compensation issues when they implicated the ADA and/or FMLA;
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• workplace violence issues;
• benefits and compensation design, negotiation, and delivery;
• Sunshine Law (Florida’s government open records act);
• Department of Labor recordkeeping and I-9 compliance; and
• investigations of allegations of discrimination and sexual harassment.
As a part of my duties, I routinely represented the County in employee appeal hearings
before the Hillsborough County Civil Service Board. These hearings were lengthy quasi-judicial
proceedings in which the appointed board of laypersons determined whether a suspension,
demotion, or termination was justified. In order to represent the County most effectively, I
identified and researched legal issues, prepared relevant testimony and cross-examination, and
drafted proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law for the Board’s consideration. For more
information about these proceedings, please visit Hillsborough County Civil Service Board. I
also participated in the development of summary judgment procedures for Civil Service Board
hearings, which significantly contributed to the efficiency of the appeals process.
The County prevailed in every appeal in which I served as its advocate, whether the
decision was reached after a full hearing or upon a grant of summary judgment. I also
successfully defended the County against every EEOC charge lodged against it during my
tenure, prevailed in contested unemployment compensation proceedings at the administrative
and appellate court level, and served as second chair in a labor arbitration with the County’s
firefighters.
Following my work at the County, I worked as an Associate Writer/Analyst on CCH’s
Employment Practices Guide. I also served as an adjunct professor in the Human Resources
degree program at the Tampa campus of St. Leo’s College. These experiences provided me
with additional knowledge regarding issues, judicial decisions, and regulatory developments in
federal and state employment law that I apply every day in my legal practice.
I became licensed to practice law in Colorado in 2010 and have been with the Firm for
the past three years assisting in representing its municipal clients, primarily in the public
employment and human resources arena. I also provide research, advice, and policies
regarding ADA compliance, elections law and the Fair Campaign Practices Act, technology law,
open records and open meetings compliance, and develop general regulatory programs to
achieve our municipal clients’ goals. The Firm represents clients of varying sizes, which has
required me to acquire in-depth knowledge of applicable employment laws and how they impact
a particular client. Some of my pertinent accomplishments at the Firm include:
• prevailing in an employee appeal of a termination after a lengthy hearing process in
which the employee alleged age discrimination, gender discrimination, and violation
of their First Amendment rights;
• developing procedures and providing counsel to ensure due process in several
terminations and demotions of property right employees;
• assistance in revising employee handbooks to enhance legal compliance and
minimize liability;
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• successful resolution of a sexual harassment investigation;
• counseling on compensation realignment and conversions from vacation and sick
leave to PTO (personal time off) policies;
• drafting social media policies;
• drafting policies and providing recommendations for achieving compliance with Titles
I and II of the ADA;
• assisting with staffing management and consulting on hiring, reorganization, and
workforce reduction;
• drafting numerous severance agreements;
• providing recommendations on compliance with federal and state laws in managing
independent contractor, intern, and volunteer relationships with municipalities;
• providing general advice and counsel to ensure compliance with federal, state, and
local employment laws; and
• serving as counselor at municipal liquor licensing hearings when the primary attorney
was not available.
Being both counselor and advocate for many different clients, ranging in size from 15 to
4,000 employees, I have become proficient in providing timely and knowledgeable advice and
work product in the fast-paced environment of employment law matters and appeal hearings. In
particular, my experience has taught me that employee appeals are sensitive matters due to an
employee’s potential loss of income. They also require careful consideration of the interests of
all the parties involved in order to provide adequate due process without consuming
unnecessary time and effort by those parties. I am well acquainted with the issues and
demands that such a position requires and feel my knowledge and experience have prepared
me to assume this role.
My primary goal as an attorney is to offer legal services and strategic advice that will directly
contribute to the success of my clients. I am experienced in drafting findings of fact and
conclusions of law in support of a decision, and understand the importance of conducting myself
in a judicious and professional manner as a representative of the City.
If selected to serve as a hearing officer for the City, I would devote my highest professional
efforts to maximizing the City’s valuable time and resources. I would do this by:
• attending all hearings as requested by the City;
• conducting impartial post-disciplinary appeal hearings pursuant to all applicable
policies, procedures, rules, and collective bargaining agreements;
• communicating effectively, both orally and in writing, with the City Manager, the Fire
Chief of the Poudre Fire Authority, City Staff, City employees, and attorneys before,
during, and after hearings;
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• conducting a thorough review of all documentation relevant to the issues on appeal,
including personnel and disciplinary records, collective bargaining agreements, and
other relevant material;
• offering calm, measured, and tactful communications within the sometimes tense
and stressful environment of an employee appeal hearing;
• issuing detailed, well-founded findings of fact and conclusions of law that will
accomplish the City’s mission of ensuring that all aspects of the appeal proceedings
are conducted in accordance with the principles of fair play and due process; and
• upon request, and outside the context of a particular hearing, making
recommendations on procedures and processes that may enhance the efficiency of
the hearing process.
Firm’s Support Services
The Firm provides general administrative support to enable its attorneys to work
efficiently and cost effectively. Our administrative assistants routinely handle correspondence,
scheduling meetings and telephone conferences, facsimile transmissions, conversion of
documents to PDF, and other support services typically offered by similarly sized firms. In
addition, our administrative assistants are accomplished at supporting hearing officers due to
the fact that our attorneys frequently serve municipalities in that capacity.
Proposed Fee Structure
Our Firm’s fee structure can be tailored to fit within our individual client’s needs and
budgets. My proposed hourly billing rate would be $170.00/hour. This rate would be effective
until December 31, 2013. Historically, the firm has periodically evaluated its billing rate for its
clients based upon a review of applicable Consumer Price Indices. Prior to any increase in the
hourly billing rate, the City will be informed of that possibility and the Firm will entertain
discussion to ensure that the billing rates fit within the City’s budgetary needs.
Costs and expenses are billed at actual cost without administrative mark-up. These
costs and expenses typically include service of process, court reporter or transcript fees,
publication fees, computerized legal research, long-distance telephone charges, postage and
delivery services exceeding $10.00, and outside photocopying (we do not charge for day-to-day,
small volume photocopying of projects of less than 50 pages each). Large photocopying
projects performed within the Firm (typically more than 50 pages) are charged at a rate of $.10
per page. We customarily seek to process unusually large copying projects through commercial
vendors at rates less than $.10 per page. The firm does not charge separate or additional fees
for standard clerical services. However, work of a paralegal nature will be charged at a rate of
$60/hour.
For these services, the Firm will only charge the standard hourly attorney rate for time
expended traveling one-way from the Denver metro area to all meetings and appearances at
the City’s offices. The Firm will also charge mileage for all travel at the then-current mileage
rate approved by the Internal Revenue Service for business travel deduction. Although the Firm
understands that hearings may take one or more days to complete, it will not charge for any
overnight stays in Fort Collins should such a stay be required.
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All of us at Widner Michow & Cox LLP are well aware that our clients often face limited
budgets and seek to secure experienced legal services at competitive rates. We believe that
the Firm’s experience, level of service, and fee structure make it uniquely suited among
Colorado’s municipal attorneys to provide the highest quality legal representation at competitive
rates.
Client References
Although the City’s Request for Proposal did not require any references, I encourage
you to contact the following individuals concerning my qualifications to serve as a hearing officer
for the City of Fort Collins in employee appeal hearings:
City of Centennial
13133 E. Arapahoe Road
Centennial, Colorado 80113
John Danielson, City Manager, (303) 754-3455
jdanielson@centennialcolorado.com
Ann Crossey, Interim Human Resources Director, (303) 754-3337
acrossey@centennialcolorado.com
City of Lakewood
480 S. Allison Parkway
Lakewood, CO 80226
Ken Milano, Director of Employee Relations, (303) 987-7700
kenmil@lakewood.org
Park County Assessor’s Office
501 Main Street
Fairplay, Colorado 80440
David Wissel, County Assessor, (719) 836-4331
dwissel@parkco.us
The Firm would be proud to serve the City of Fort Collins, and I would very much enjoy the
opportunity to act as hearing officer in employee disciplinary appeals. Thank you for your time
and consideration, and we look forward to meeting with you.
Sincerely,
Kathie B. Guckenberger
KATHIE B. GUCKENBERGER
WIDNER MICHOW & COX LLP
EDUCATION
B.A., University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 1989
J.D., Boston College Law School, Boston, MA, 1992
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Ms. Guckenberger is an attorney with Widner Michow & Cox LLP. In addition to serving as an
Assistant City Attorney for the City of Centennial, Ms. Guckenberger assists with the firm’s
legal representation of the Cities of Castle Pines, Central, Lakewood, Leadville, and Lochbuie.
Her work focuses on employment matters, contracts, elections, technology, and other
municipal issues.
Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Guckenberger practiced law with the Hillsborough County Attorney’s
Office in Tampa, Florida, where she was responsible for legal advice concerning employee
relations, benefits, and contractual issues for over 4,000 public employees. On behalf of the
County, she handled adversarial employment proceedings, counseled on a variety of personnel
matters, and acquired property under eminent domain proceedings. She subsequently worked at
CCH, Inc. in St. Petersburg, Florida as an Associate Writer/Analyst on their Employment
Practices Guide. Ms. Guckenberger also served as an adjunct professor at St. Leo’s College in
Tampa, teaching in the Human Resources degree program.
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS AND PUBLICATIONS
• Colorado Municipal League. “Privacy and Privilege in Personnel Matters,” Breckenridge,
June 2012.
• Colorado Municipal League. “Legal Implications of Social Media,” Vail, June 2011.
• “ADA 101”, a primer on compliance with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act for
local government ADA Coordinators.
• “Title II of the ADA—The Basics”, a presentation designed to raise employee awareness of
Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act in a large municipality.
• Articles published in the Widner Michow & Cox newsletter (available at
http://www.wmcattorneys.com/news.html):
o “Facing Up to Social Media,” January 2011.
o “Employee or Independent Contractor: Avoiding Legal and Financial Risk”, April
2011.
o “Case Summaries and Recent Developments” (Supreme Court employment law
decisions), April 2011.
o “An Easy ‘A’ on Title II of the ADA,” November 2011.
o “Avoiding Doomsday: Personnel Strategies for 2012,” March 2012.
o “Tag, You’re It: Recent Developments Related to Liability and Municipal
Playgrounds,” September 2012.
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS AND BAR ADMISSIONS
Colorado Bar Association
Florida Bar Association
Denver Bar Association
Colorado Municipal League