Personnel Procedure 5270P: Resolution of Staff Complaints

The following procedure has been established for resolving a complaint filed by a member of the staff:

Certificated Employees

Definitions

1. A grievance is an alleged misinterpretation of, misapplication of, or deviation from, the terms and/or provisions of this Agreement by the Employer.
2. Every effort shall be made to settle a grievance at the lowest possible level of the grievance procedure.
3. A grievant shall mean an individual, a group of individuals and/or the Association.
4. Nothing contained herein shall be construed as limiting the right of any employee having a complaint to discuss the matter informally with any appropriate member of the administration.
5. For the purpose of processing grievances, the Association representatives shall not be harassed or discriminated against because of their participation in these proceedings. When such proceedings are scheduled during working hours, the Association representative will suffer no loss in pay.
6. Accelerated Grievance - Any Association grievance, class action grievances and grievances involving the evaluation procedures will be lodged at Step II of this procedure.

Procedure for Processing Grievances

Step I

1. The grievant and the Association representative or the Association may, orally, present a grievance to the immediate supervisor. If the grievance is not settled orally, the grievance shall be presented in writing to the immediate supervisor within twenty (20) working days after the occurrence of the grievance or within twenty (20) working days from the time the grievant or the Association should have reasonably became aware of the occurrence of the events giving rise to the grievance, whichever is later.
2. The “Statement of Grievance” (Appendix 5) shall name the grievant(s) involved, the facts giving rise to the grievance, provision or provisions of the Agreement alleged to be violated, and the remedy (specific relief) requested.
3. The immediate supervisor, upon receipt of the written grievance, shall sign and date the grievance form and shall give a copy of the grievance form to the grievant(s), Association representative and the Superintendent. The immediate supervisor shall answer the grievance in writing. The answer shall include the reasons upon which of the grievance, his decision, if any, and all supportive evidence to the grievant(s), Association representative and the Superintendent.
   

Step II

1. If no satisfactory settlement is reached at Step I, the grievance may be appealed to Step II, Superintendent, or his/her designated representative, within ten (10) working days of receipt of the decision rendered in Step I.
2. The Superintendent or his/her designated representative shall arrange for a grievance meeting with the grievant(s) and/or Association representative and such meeting shall be scheduled within ten (10) working days of the receipt of the Step II appeal. The purpose of this meeting shall be to affect a resolution of the grievance.
3. The Superintendent or his/her designated representative shall provide a written decision, incorporating the reasons upon which the decision was based to the grievant(s), and/or Association representative within ten (10) working days from the conclusion of the meeting. The decision rendered at Step II shall be considered the final decision of the Employer.

Step III

1. If the Association is not satisfied with the disposition of the grievance at Step II, or if no written decision has been received from the District within the time limits prescribed in Step II, then the grievance may be referred to mediation at the option of the Association.
   • The District and the Association must mutually agree to submit a grievance to mediation. The Association must notify the District in writing within five (5) working days of the conclusion of Step II of the Association’s desire to refer the grievance to mediation. The District shall respond to the Association whether or not the District agrees to the mediation of the grievance no later than two (2) working days after receipt of the Association’s written request.
   • Within five (5) working days following the agreement of the District and the Association to mediate the grievance, the Association shall so notify Mediation Research and Education Project, Inc. (MREP). MREP shall schedule a mediation conference at the earliest possible date. Mediation conferences will take place at a mutually convenient location and time.
   • There shall be one (1) person from each party designated as spokesperson for that party at the mediation conference.
   • The mediator will have the authority to meet separately with either party but will not have the authority to compel the resolution of a grievance.
   • The presentation of facts and considerations shall not be limited to those presented at Step II of the grievance procedure. Proceedings before the mediator shall be informal in nature. There shall be no formal evidence rules. No transcript or record of the mediation conference shall be made. The mediator shall attempt to assure that all necessary facts and considerations are revealed to him/her.
   • Written material presented to the mediator shall be returned to the party presenting that material at the termination of the mediation conference, except that the mediator may retain one (1) copy of the written grievance to be used solely for the purposes of statistical analysis.
   • The fees and expenses of the mediator and the Administrative Office shall be shared equally by the parties.
   • The parties agree upon the following Rules for Mediation:
     • Notification of the intent to mediate a grievance should be made to the Mediation Research and Education Project, Inc. (MREP).
     • The MREP will schedule a mediation conference as soon as possible upon receipt of notification of a grievance or grievances to be mediated.
     • The MREP will appoint a mediator from a panel consisting of neutrals formally trained in the process of grievance mediation.
     • The MREP will notify the mediator of his/her appointment and determine his/her willingness and ability to serve.

      

Step IV

1. If no satisfactory settlement is reached at Step II or at Step III the Association, within ten (10) working days of the receipt of the Step II decision or within ten (10) working days of the conclusion of the mediation process in Step III, may appeal the final decision of the Employer at Step II to the American Arbitration Association for arbitration under the voluntary rules. Any grievance arising out of or relating to the interpretation or application of the terms and/or provisions of this Agreement may be submitted to arbitration unless specifically and expressly excluded within this Article.
2. The arbitrator shall hold a hearing within twenty (20) working days of his appointment. Ten (10) working days notice shall be given to both parties of the time and place of the hearing. The arbitrator will issue his decision within twenty (20) days from the date final written briefs have been submitted or if revised by both parties, twenty (20) days after the completion of the hearing.
3. The arbitrator’s decision will be in writing and will set forth his/her findings of fact, reasoning, and conclusions on the issued submitted to him/her. The decision of the arbitrator shall be final and binding upon the Employer, the Association and the grievant(s).

Powers of the Arbitrator

1. It shall be the function of the arbitrator, and he/she shall be empowered, except as his/her powers are limited below, after due investigation, to make a decision in cases of alleged violation of the specific articles and sections of this Agreement.
   • He/she shall have no power to add to, subtract from, disregard, alter, or modify any of the terms of this Agreement.
   • He/she shall have no power or authority to rule on any of the following:
     • The termination of services of or failure to re-employ any provisional employee.
     • The termination of services of or failure to re-employ any employee to a position on the supplemental salary schedule.
     • Any matter involving employee evaluation except procedural matters. It is understood that application of the evaluation criteria and the performance rating are not grievable matters.
     • Any matter involving employee probation procedures, discharge, non-renewal or reduction-in-force.
   • The arbitrator shall decide all substantive and procedural arbitrability issues arising under this Agreement. Upon request of either party, the merits of a grievance and the substantive and procedural arbitrability issues arising in connection with that grievance shall be consolidated for hearing before the arbitrator.
   • The arbitrator shall have no power or authority to make any decision which requires the commission of an act prohibited by law.
   • Petition by either party to a court of competent jurisdiction, on any arbitration decision or award shall be limited to:
     • The arbitrator exceeded the jurisdiction or authority under this Agreement.
     • The arbitrator’s decision is based on an error of law.

Time Limits

1. Time limits provided in this procedure may be extended by mutual agreement when signed by the parties.
2. Failure on the part of the Employer at any step of this procedure to communicate the decision on a grievance within the specific time limit, shall permit the Association to lodge an appeal at the next step of this procedure.
3. Any grievance not advanced by the grievant from one step to the next within the time limits of that step shall be deemed resolved by the Employer’s answer at the previous step.

Accelerated Grievance Filing

1. Any or all of the initial steps of the grievance procedures may be waived with the written consent of the Employer and the grievant(s).

Reprisals

1. No reprisal of any kind will be taken by the Employer against any employee because of his/her participation in any grievance.

Costs

1. The fees and expenses of the mediator and/or arbitrator shall be shared equally by the parties. All other expenses shall be borne by the party incurring them.

Classified Employees

Procedure for Processing Grievances
Step I

1. Within twenty (20) calendar days of the time a grievance arises or the time when the grievant should reasonably have had first knowledge of its occurrence, the grievant will commit the grievance to writing and send the grievance to his/her immediate supervisor.
2. The written statement should include 1) the nature of the grievance, 2) the section(s) that allegedly have been misinterpreted or misapplied, and 3) the recommended solution to the grievance. A copy of the Grievance Review Request form also shall be sent to the Superintendent.
3. Within fourteen (14) calendar days after receipt of the written grievance, the immediate supervisor shall communicate his/her written response to the grievant and the Union.

Step II

1. If the grievant is not satisfied with the resolution at Step I, he/she may, within fourteen (14) calendar days after receipt of the written response in Step I, submit the grievance to the Superintendent.
2. Within fourteen (14) calendar days after receipt of the grievance, the Superintendent or his/her designee shall communicate a written response to the grievant and the Union.

Step III

1. If the grievance is not satisfactorily resolved at Step II, the Union may, within fourteen (14) calendar days after receipt of the written response from Step II, submit the grievance to either the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service or the American Arbitration Association for arbitration under their voluntary labor arbitration rules and within the following guidelines:
   • The arbitrator shall limit his/her decision strictly to disputes involving the application or interpretation of the express terms of this Agreement. The arbitrator shall have no power to change, alter detract from, or add to the provisions of this Agreement.
   • The arbitrator’s decision shall be final and binding on the Union, the employees involved, and the District.
   • The fees and expenses of the arbitrator shall be shared equally by the District and the Union. All other expenses shall be borne by the party incurring them, and neither party shall be responsible for the expenses of witnesses called by the other.

The number of days within each step is the maximum, and every effort shall be made to expedite the process. Failure on the part of the District to act within the time limits will move the grievance to the next step automatically. Failure of the grievant or the Union to comply with any time limits specified in this procedure shall constitute withdrawal of the grievance.

The District and the Union may mutually agree in writing to extend the time limits at any one of the steps.

ADOPTED: March 27, 2000
REVISED: April 28, 2003