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Appeal Process – Quick Reference


By filing an appeal with the Personnel Review Commission (PRC), you are initiating a quasi-judicial process and are required to comply with the PRC Administrative Rules (the Rules). The Rules include a number of timelines and deadlines which are described in detail in Section 13 of the Rules.

Each party to an appeal is responsible for understanding the PRC’s appellate procedure described in Section 13. A party who files an appeal is not required to have legal counsel; some appellants represent themselves in the process, and others seek legal counsel to represent them in their appeals.

The basic steps in the appeal process are listed below. Each step refers to the corresponding Rule that includes additional details regarding parties’ rights and responsibilities in the appeal process.

Please note that this Quick Reference is not a substitute for the procedures, requirements, and deadlines contained in the Rules. You are responsible for complying with the Rules.

APPELLANT: The employee (or former employee) filing the appeal
APPELLEE: The employer (e.g., the County Executive, County Prosecutor’s Office, County Planning Commission, the Public Defender, etc.)

  1. Filing an Appeal – See Administrative Rules 13.01 and 13.02 for details.
    1. Please utilize the Initial Appeal Form.
    2. Appeals must be filed in writing and submitted to the PRC. The easiest way to ensure the PRC has all the information it needs to process your appeal is to use the Initial Appeal Form. You can download the form and submit it directly to the PRC; send it via U.S. mail, email or fax according to the instructions on the form; or you may come to the PRC office and manually complete a form within 10 days of the employment action you are appealing. (If the 10th day falls on a holiday or weekend, appeals received the following business day will be deemed timely filed.)
  2. PRC Jurisdiction Review – The PRC Staff Attorney will review the appeal to ensure it is within the PRC’s jurisdiction. See Administrative Rule 13.04 for details.
  3. Hearing – If the PRC Staff Attorney determines the appeal is within the PRC’s jurisdiction, the appeal will be assigned to a Hearing Officer, who will contact the parties to coordinate scheduling of a hearing. See Administrative Rule 13.05 for details.
  4. Report & Recommendation (R&R) – After the Hearing Officer completes the hearing and reviews the evidence, he will submit an R&R to the PRC Commissioners and the parties to the appeal. See Administrative Rule 13.05 under “Reports and Recommendations” subheading for details.

    Objections – If either party objects to the R&R, they have timelines and deadlines during which they can file their objections to the R&R. See Administrative Rule 13.05 under “Reports and Recommendations” subheading for details.

    Extensions – In some cases, parties may have legitimate reasons for requesting extensions of time for certain steps in the appeal process. The Hearing Officer and PRC Commissioners have the discretion to grant or deny time extensions. See Administrative Rule 13.05 under “Reports and Recommendations” subheading for details.
  5. Final Order – The PRC Commissioners will consider the R&R or the PRC Director’s recommendation for dismissal at a regularly scheduled meeting. Once the Commission makes a decision on the Hearing Officer’s Report and Recommendation, the PRC will issue a Final Order. The Final Order may be appealed to common pleas court, and such an appeal is governed by additional timelines and deadlines.

    If the Commissioners approve of the PRC Director’s recommendation for dismissal, a Final Order will be issued. If the Commissioners do not approve the PRC Director’s recommendation for dismissal, the Commissioners will direct the PRC Director to assign the appeal to the Hearing Officer. See Administrative Rules 13.06 and 13.07 and the last page of the Final Order for details.

Attorneys Note: File your Notice of Appearance at personnelreviewcommission@cuyahogacounty.us