§ 9-1-708 — Certificate required for permanent employment; temporary employment; waiver or modification of training requirements; wages during training; grandfather provisions

(a) Notwithstanding any general, specific or local law or
charter to the contrary, except as provided in subsection (b) of
this section, no person shall be employed as a dispatcher on a
permanent or temporary basis unless the person has been awarded
a certificate by the director of the peace officer standards and
training commission attesting to his satisfactory completion of
a commission approved dispatcher basic training program. No
county, sheriff, mayor, municipality, state agency or any other
person authorized by law to employ dispatchers in this state
shall employ any person as a dispatcher who does not meet the
employment standards established by commission rule.
(b) A person shall only be employed as a dispatcher on a
permanent or temporary basis for two (2) years unless within two
(2) years from the original date of employment he is awarded a
certificate by the peace officer standards and training
commission attesting that he satisfactorily completed a
commission approved dispatcher basic training program. The
commission may extend the two (2) year time requirement of this
section upon the written application of the dispatcher and his
employer. The application shall explain the circumstances which
make the extension necessary. Factors which the commission may
consider in granting or denying the extension include the
illness of a dispatcher or a member of his immediate family or
the absence of reasonable access to the basic course. The
commission shall not grant an extension exceeding two hundred
ten (210) days.
(c) Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (b) of this
section, the commission may waive the basic dispatcher training
program and certify those applicants who pass a written
examination provided by the commission and an oral interview
attesting to the applicant's ability in law enforcement, fire
and ambulance dispatching. The applicant shall prove that he
satisfactorily completed a basic dispatcher training program
which in the commission's opinion is comparable to that required
by this section before waiver is granted.
(d) Any dispatcher attending any school or training
program authorized by the commission for the purpose of meeting
the requirements of this section shall be paid his wages as a
dispatcher by his employer. He shall also receive reimbursement
for reasonable expenses as determined by his employer.
(e) Any person who has been employed on a permanent basis
as a dispatcher for three (3) consecutive years prior to July 1,
1991, or who has attended and successfully completed the peace
officer's standards and training commission "communications
personnel basic course" offered within the state of Wyoming, and
who is currently employed as a dispatcher, shall be certified as
a dispatcher by the director without having complied with
subsection (b) or (c) of this section.
(f) A person who is convicted of a felony after his
employment as a dispatcher is ineligible for continued
employment as a dispatcher. If the person has been certified
under this section, his certification shall be automatically
revoked on the date of his conviction. The director shall
notify the person and the person's employing agency upon
revocation of certification under this section.
(g) Nothing in this section shall be construed to except
any dispatcher from any civil service provision or requirement.
(h) The portion of a personnel file that is specifically
related to a complaint and relevant to any of the qualifications
specified in W.S. 9-1-704(b) or prescribed by the commission
under W.S. 9-1-702(f)(iv) or (v) for any person employed as a
dispatcher required to be certified under this section shall be
made available to the commission not later than thirty (30) days
after the commission makes a written request to the employing
agency for the personnel file information. The commission shall
request records under this subsection only for purposes of
investigating or determining a dispatcher's initial
certification, continuing certification, suspension, revocation
or termination. The personnel file information received by the
commission under this subsection shall not be disclosed by the
commission to any other person except as otherwise required by
law. If the employing agency fails to provide the personnel file
information within thirty (30) days of the commission's written
request, the commission may file a petition with the district
court for the release of the requested personnel file
information.