Actions involving criminal matters

When an employee is suspended because of a pending criminal complaint or indictment, the Preliminary Notice must note that the forfeiture-of-office statute may apply. The appointing authority can impose an indefinite suspension that runs past six months, but not beyond the disposition of the criminal case. The section also covers what happens when a court enters, or declines to enter, an order of forfeiture. If the employee requests a hearing, it is limited to a single question: whether the public interest is best served by suspending the employee until the criminal case is resolved, judged by the same unfitness and safety standard used for immediate suspensions. Entering Pre-Trial Intervention or receiving a conditional discharge does not end the case for this purpose; the complaint or indictment counts as unresolved until those conditions are completed. If the criminal case ends without a forfeiture order, the appointing authority must issue a second Preliminary Notice covering whatever charges remain.