TABLE OF CONTENTS Article Subject Page 1 Preamble and ...

a. Of the specific reasons for the proposed action,b. Of his/her status during the notice period,c. Of the right to reply orally and in writing to a deciding official and to furnish affidavits andother documentary evidence in support of the answer,d. Of the right to representation by the Union, ande. That a written decision on the proposed action will be issued by the deciding official.Section 6. The parties further agree the employee will have ten (10) workdays from receipt ofany notice of proposed discipline to reply orally and in writing to the deciding official. Theemployee may submit a written request for extension of the reply period to the deciding officialwhich states the length of extension desired and the reasons for requesting the extension. Theemployee will be informed in writing by the deciding official whether or not an extension isgranted.Section 7. The employee and his/her Union representative shall be granted a reasonable amountof official duty time to review the material relied on to support the reasons in the notice ofproposed discipline, to secure affidavits or other documentary evidence, and to prepare andpresent an answer to the proposed notice. When the amount of material relied on is notexcessive, an employee may request, and the Employer will provide, a copy of the material.Section 8. The deciding official of the Employer will consider the specific reasons for theproposed action and the employee's oral and written replies, if any, before issuing a writtendecision to the employee. The deciding official shall be at a higher level of supervision than theproposing official and shall not have been involved in the decision to propose the action. Thewritten decision will advise the bargaining unit employee of the specific action to be taken on theproposed discipline. If the decision sustains the proposed discipline, the bargaining unit employeeshall be advised of his/her grievance rights under the negotiated grievance procedure, and/orappeal rights to the Merit Systems Protection Board, as applicable.Section 9. Letters of suspension and letters of warning or instruction will not be placed in theemployee's Official Personnel Folder.Section 10. A bargaining unit employee will be given at least thirty (30) calendar days' advancewritten notice of any disciplinary action under 5 U.S.C. 7512, and at least fifteen (15) calendardays advance written notice of any other disciplinary action proposed. The advance notice of atleast thirty (30) calendar days shall not apply when there is reasonable cause to believe theemployee has committed a crime for which a sentence of imprisonment may be proposed.52