No. The HR Department is part of the County Executive administration and the PRC Commissioners are appointed by County Council.

The easiest way to file an appeal is to complete the Initial Appeal Form. You can download the form and submit it directly to the PRC; send via U.S. mail, email, or fax according to the instructions on the form; or you may come to the PRC offices and manually complete a form.

Please be sure to complete the form in its entirety and attach the appropriate requested documentation. Failure to complete the form accurately may result in a delay of processing your appeal.

Please see the Appeals Process for a condensed version. Full details can be found in the Administrative Rules.

A Hearing Officer is an attorney employed by the PRC who serves as a neutral third party in the appeal process. A Hearing Officer cannot provide either party in the appeal with legal counsel or advice.

No, an employee filing an appeal with the PRC is not required to retain legal counsel. However, should an appellant decide to use legal counsel to represent him/her in the appeal, the attorney who represents the appellant before the Commission must first file a Notice of Appearance* with the PRC.

To reiterate, an appellant may retain an attorney to represent him/her in the appeal, and that attorney can provide the appellant with legal counsel and advice throughout the process, but the Hearing Officer cannot (see “What is a Hearing Officer?” above).

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

Either party may request a continuance, or a rescheduling, of the hearing. The Hearing Officer has full discretion to either grant or deny the request, and the parties will be notified in writing of his decision.

If you fail to attend the scheduled hearing in your appeal or fail to timely seek a rescheduling of the hearing, the Hearing Officer may dismiss your appeal. See Administrative Rule 13.04.

If you are a party to an appeal, you have the right to subpoena witnesses’ presence and documents from the opposing party. If you want to exercise this right, you need to contact the Hearing Officer to request a subpoena. Each party is responsible for determining how to serve subpoenas correctly. Generally, parties will be expected to limit their requests to five subpoenas.

The PRC and its staff cannot provide you with legal advice. However, if you have any general questions regarding the appeal process and the status of your appeal, please contact the PRC at (216) 698-2975.