Attendees of the 2017 MACo Summer Conference and students of the Academy for Excellence in Local Governance Certificate Program learned about hiring, firing, promoting and disciplining employees at the “Academy Core: Employment Issues” session.

Kevin Karpinski, Partner at Karpinski, Colaresi & Karp, PA, presented on who should conduct job interviews and how; what sorts of written policies should be in place and followed; the proper process for disciplining and terminating an employee; and all the important employment issues in between. Karpinski educated audience members on the types of lawsuits that can arise from failing to appropriately handle employment issues and how through smart management employers can avoid those litigation pitfalls.

For instance, Karpinski notes,”the most important person in an agency is a line supervisor” when it comes to employment discrimination cases. It is incumbent for that person to document issues with employees. If there is no documentation, the supervisor has failed to do his or her job, failed the company, and failed the employee as discrimination cases rise and fall on documentation.

The Academy for Excellence in Local Governance (The Academy) is a voluntary certificate program. The Academy is a collaborative effort involving MACo, the Maryland Municipal League (MML), the Local Government Insurance Trust (LGIT), and the School of Public Policy of the University of Maryland, College Park, that also serves as the program administrator. The Academy is provided as an educational response to the professional education needs of Maryland local government officials.

The Academy’s curriculum is designed to help local officials, especially newly elected officials, meet the challenges of their role. Specific objectives are (1) to increase understanding of local government and how it functions; (2) to promote high ethical standards in public service; (3) to provide an informational base for more informed policy making; (4) to develop capacity of local officials to govern effectively; and (5) to recognize local officials for their educational efforts. The Academy certificate program is voluntary. Enrolled county government officials are required to take 8 “core” classes and 6 “elective” classes, all available on a rotation basis during MACo Winter and Summer Conferences and at LGIT.

The session was moderated by Prince George’s County Council Member Deni Taveras and held on Wednesday, August 16, 2017.