Montana Title 7. Local Government § 7-32-108. Hearing procedure for employee discharged by appointed director

(1) A director appointed by the public safety commission shall at the time of the discharge or termination of the employment of any subordinate employee provide the employee with a written statement, subscribed and sworn to by the director, setting forth the cause or causes for the discharge or termination of employment.

(2) Within 30 days from the date of discharge or termination of employment, the employee may make application to the public safety commission for a hearing before the commission on the charges resulting in the employee's discharge or termination of employment. The employee may be present at the hearing in person and may be represented by legal counsel. The commission shall keep a record of the proceedings, and the records are a matter of public record. For the purpose of keeping a record of the proceedings, the department of public safety shall provide the commission with a person qualified to keep a record of the proceedings. The person may be an employee of the department.

(3) The commission shall, after the conclusion of the hearing, decide whether the charges resulting in the employee's discharge or termination of employment have been proven.

(4) The commission has the power, in all cases in which a majority of the commission members find the charges not proven, to reinstate any employee to the same position previously held and at the same salary received prior to discharge or termination of employment.

(5) In all cases in which a majority of the commission members find the charges proven, the employee may appeal the decision of the commission to the district court of the county in which the employee was employed. The appeal must be initiated within 60 days of the ruling of the commission.