In the case of Career Service employees, disciplinary action may include, as appropriate: Official written reprimand; Suspension without pay; Loss of leave; Involuntary demotion; Suspension, with or without pay, pending charges for termination; Termination under charges from a Career Service position; or Rejection on promotional probation. Before imposing any disciplinary action, the appointing authority or designated representative shall: Investigate the alleged misconduct; Meet with the employee; Consider any mitigating circumstances; Determine the appropriate disciplinary action, if any, to be imposed; and Give the employee a written notice of the disciplinary action to be taken and the employee's appeal rights. Before a Career Service employee may be disciplined for performance-related reasons, the appointing authority or designee shall: Investigate the employee’s performance, including the employee’s most recent performance appraisal; and Provide notice to the employee, in writing, of the deficiency and provide an explanation of the employer’s position, which shall include: Specific instances of unacceptable performance by the employee on which the proposed action is based; The performance criteria and factors of the employee’s position involved in each specification of unacceptable performance; and A description of the effort made by the employer to assist the employee in improving performance. An appointing authority or designated representative may impose any disciplinary action for a Career Service employee no later than 30 days after the appointing authority or designated representative acquires knowledge of the misconduct for which the disciplinary action is imposed. The 30-day period includes the time necessary for the appointing authority or designated representative to conduct its investigation and meet the other requirements in §B of this regulation. The appointing authority or a designated representative and an employee may agree to hold a disciplinary action in abeyance for a period not to exceed 18 months in order to permit an employee to improve conduct or performance. Disciplinary action is not allowed because of the religious or political opinions or affiliations of any employee, or because of the failure to contribute to any fund. Police Officers. Police officers of the Department have specific rights in administrative actions which may result in discipline under the Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights, and therefore are subject to the provisions of Public Safety Article, Title 3, Subtitle 1, Annotated Code of Maryland. Nondisciplinary administrative terminations of police officers are not covered by the Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights and shall be conducted in accordance with Regulation .07-1 of this chapter.