Grievance Steps Prior to initiating a formal written grievance pursuant to this Article, an employee or PEF is encouraged to resolve disputes subject to this Article informally with the appropriate immediate supervisor.
(a) Step One: The employee or PEF shall present the grievance to the facility or institution head or a designated representative not later than 30 calendar days after the date on which the act or omission giving rise to the grievance occurred. The facility or institution head or designated representative shall meet with the employee or PEF and shall issue a short plain written statement of reasons for the decision to the employee or PEF not later than 20 working days following the receipt of the grievance.
(b) Step Two: An appeal from an unsatisfactory decision at Step 1 shall be filed by the employee or PEF, on forms to be provided by the State, with the agency or department head or the designee within 10 working days of the receipt of the Step 1 decision. Such appeal shall be in writing and shall include a copy of the grievance filed at Step 1, a copy of the Step 1 decision and a short plain written statement of the reasons for disagreement with the Step 1 decision. The agency or department head or a designee shall meet with the employee or PEF for a review of the grievance and shall issue a short, plain written statement of reasons for the decision to the employee and to the President of PEF or the President’s designee no later than 20 working days following receipt of the Step 1 appeal.
(c) Step Three: An appeal from an unsatisfactory decision at Step 2 shall be filed by PEF through its President or the President’s designee, on forms to be provided by the State with the Director of the Governor’s Office of Employee Relations, or the Director’s designee, within 30 working days of the receipt of the Step 2 decision. Such appeal shall be in writing, and shall include a copy of the grievance filed at Step 1, and a copy of all prior decisions and appeals, and a short, plain written statement of the reasons for disagreement with the Step 2 decision. The Director of the Governor’s Office of Employee Relations, or the Director’s designee, shall issue a short, plain written statement of reasons for the decision within 30 working days after receipt of the appeal. A copy of said written decision shall be forwarded to the President of PEF, or the President’s designee.
(d) Step Four: Arbitration:
(1) Contract grievances which are appealable to arbitration pursuant to the terms of this Article may be appealed to arbitration by PEF, by its President or the President’s designee, by filing a demand for arbitration upon the Director of the Governor’s Office of Employee Relations within 15 working days of the receipt of the Step 3 decision. If the Step 3 decision has not been issued within the time period for the issuance of such decision, a demand for arbitration may be filed by the President of PEF or the President’s designee at any time after expiration of the time period established for the issuance of the Step 3 decision, except that in no case may a demand for arbitration be filed later than 15 working days after receipt of the Step 3 decision.
(2) The demand for arbitration shall identify the grievance, the department or agency involved, the employee or employees involved, and the specific term or provision of the Agreement alleged to have been violated.
(3) Within a reasonable time after the effective date of this Agreement, the Director of the Governor’s Office of Employee Relations and the President of PEF, or their designees, shall meet to agree upon a panel of arbitrators selected from lists submitted by the parties. The composition of the panel of arbitrators shall be agreed to by the State and PEF and such panel shall serve for the term of this Agreement. After receipt of the demand for arbitration, the parties shall meet to select an arbitrator from this panel. The essential method of selection of the arbitrator for a particular case shall be by agreement and, if the parties are unable to agree, the arbitrator shall be assigned from this panel on a rotating basis. Initial assignment for rotation shall be determined by lot.
(4) Arbitrators shall have no power to add to, subtract from or modify the terms or provisions of this Agreement. They shall confine their decision and award solely to the application and/or interpretation of this Agreement. The decision and award of the arbitrator shall be final and binding consistent with the provisions of CPLR Article 75.
(5) Arbitrators shall confine themselves to the precise issue or issues submitted for arbitration and shall have no authority to determine any other issues not so submitted to them nor shall they make observations or declarations of opinion which are not essential in reaching the determination.
(6) All fees and expenses of the arbitrator shall be divided equally between parties. Each party shall bear the cost of preparing and presenting its own case.
(7) Any party requesting a transcript at an arbitration hearing may provide for one at its expense and, in such event, shall provide a copy to the arbitrator and the other party without cost.
(a) The arbitration hearing shall be held within 60 working days after receipt of the demand for arbitration or as soon thereafter as is practicable.
(b) The arbitration decision and award shall be issued within 30 calendar days after the hearing is closed by the arbitrator.
Informal Grievance 1. Within fourteen (14) calendar days of the event giving rise to a grievance, the grievant shall present the grievance informally for disposition by the immediate supervisor or at any appropriate level of authority within the department.
2. Presentation of an informal grievance shall be a prerequisite to the institution of a formal grievance.
Informal Grievance Procedure Employees are encouraged to act promptly to attempt to resolve disputes with their manager/supervisor through an informal procedure. A meeting between the manager/supervisor and the employee should take place whenever requested by either party to assist, to clarify or resolve the grievance. The employee may be accompanied by his/her Union representative at the informal meeting. Any resolution reached at the informal step must be in accordance with the provisions of this agreement, or other rule or ordinance and shall not set precedent.
Group Grievance Where a number of employees have identical grievances and each employee would be entitled to grieve separately they may present a group grievance in writing signed by each employee who is grieving to the Administrator or her designate within ten (10) days after the circumstances giving rise to the grievance have occurred or ought reasonably to have come to the attention of the employee(s). The grievance shall then be treated as being initiated at Step No. 1 and the applicable provisions of this Article shall then apply with respect to the processing of such grievance.
Submission of Grievance Information a. Upon appointment of the arbitrator, the appealing party shall, within five (5) days after notice of appointment, forward to the arbitrator, with a copy to the School Board, the submission of the grievance which shall include the following:
1. The issues involved.
2. Statement of the facts.
3. Position of the grievant.
4. The written documents relating to Section 5 of the grievance procedure.
Policy Grievance – Union Grievance The Union may institute a grievance alleging a general misinterpretation or violation of this Agreement by the Employer by submitting a written grievance at Step No. 1 within twenty (20) days after the circumstances have occurred. This section shall not apply to disciplinary grievances or application of competitive clauses under this Agreement.
Submission of Grievances A. Any employee or group of employees shall have the right to present a grievance. No employee or group of employees shall be hindered from or disciplined for exercising this right.
B. If any two (2) or more employees have essentially the same grievance they may, and if requested by the County must, collectively present and pursue their grievance if they report to the same immediate supervisor.
C. If the grievant is a group of more than three (3) employees, the group shall, at the request of the County, appoint one (1) or two (2) employees to speak for the collective group. To be considered a grievant in a group grievance, each employee must be individually identified as a grievant when the grievance is submitted at Step 2.
Grievance Process (a) Either party, with the agreement of the other party, may submit a grievance to Grievance Mediation at any time within ten (10) working days after the Employer’s decision has been rendered at the step prior to arbitration. Where the matter is so referred, the mediation process shall take place before the matter is referred to Arbitrator.
(b) Grievance Mediation shall be scheduled within twenty (20) working days of the grievance being submitted to mediation, or longer period as agreed by the parties.
(c) No matter may be submitted to Grievance Mediation which has not been properly carried through the grievance procedure, provided that the parties may extend the time limits fixed in the grievance procedure.
(d) The parties shall agree on a mediator.
(e) Proceedings before the Mediator shall be informal. Accordingly, the rules of evidence will not apply, no record of the proceedings shall be made and legal counsel shall not be used by either party, unless otherwise mutually agreed.
(f) If possible, an agreed statement of facts will be provided to the Mediator, and if possible, in advance of the Grievance Mediation Conference.
(g) The Mediator will have the authority to meet separately with either party.
(h) If no settlement is reached within five (5) working days following Grievance Mediation, the parties are free to submit the matter to Arbitration in accordance with the provisions of the collective agreement. In the event that a grievance which has been mediated subsequently proceeds to arbitration, no person serving as the Mediator may serve as an Arbitrator, unless otherwise mutually agreed. Nothing said or done by the mediator may be referred to Arbitration.
(i) The Union and Employer will share the cost of the Mediator, if any.
COMPLAINT AND GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE 9.01 Where a difference arises between the parties relating to the interpretation, application or administration of this Agreement, including any questions as to whether a matter is arbitrable, or where an allegation is made that this Agreement has been violated or whenever an employee who has completed the required probationary period and has been accepted by the Employer for employment in the permanent service, claims that he/she has been disciplined or discharged without reasonable cause, such difference, allegation or claim being hereinafter referred to as the grievance, the grievance procedure set forth below shall apply.
9.02 The Association shall name, appoint or otherwise select a Grievance Committee of no more than three (3) who shall be members of the Association and shall have reached at least the rank of First Class Fire Fighter and other advisors as deemed necessary at the expense of the Association. The Employer shall recognize and deal with the Grievance committee with respect to any matter or dispute which properly arises from a breach of the Collective Agreement from time to time during its term. This committee shall suffer no loss as a result of their attendance at such grievance meetings, hearings, etc.
9.03 No grievance will be considered where the circumstances giving rise to it occurred or originated more than ten (10) full working days before the submission of the grievance.
Step 1 - An employee having a grievance will take the matter up through their Association representative. The President or designate shall contact Fire Management to seek a resolution.
Step 2 - If the grievance is not settled within five (5) working days, the Association shall submit the matter in writing to the Fire Chief or designate within five (5) working days of receiving the reply from Step 1. The Fire Chief or designate shall render the written decision to the Association within five (5) working days after receiving the written grievance. In the context of this Article a working day shall be deemed to be Monday to Friday excluding designated holidays.
Step 3 - If the reply of the Fire Chief is not acceptable to the Association the grievance may be referred to the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) or the Director of Human Resources within five (5) working days of the written decision of the Fire Chief. The CAO or the Director of Human Resources, who together with the Fire Chief and any other advisors deemed necessary, shall meet with the Association Representatives within 5 working days to consider the grievance. Within five (5) working days of the aforesaid, the CAO or the Director of Human Resources will render a written reply to the employee and the Association.
Step 4 - If no resolve is reached at Step 3, the matter shall be submitted to arbitration. Notice shall be given within 5 business days. The parties agree that, for the purposes of this collective agreement the words of the expedited arbitration provisions of the Labour Relations Act, 1995 as amended (Section 49), will be deemed to have been incorporated into this collective agreement. Accordingly and notwithstanding any other provisions of this article (the grievance/arbitration provisions); either party may refer a grievance to expedited arbitration in accordance with the provisions of Section 49. The parties further agree that neither party will raise any jurisdictional or other objection to the application of Section 49 to a grievance under this collective agreement as it pertains to the right to an expedited arbitration. Either party is entitled however, to raise any objection, with the arbitrator with respect to whether the provisions of Section 49 have been properly utilized in respect of any specific grievance (e.g. objections with respect to time limits etc.). Such an appointment by the Minister of Labour or his or her designate will be determined to be a joint appointment in accordance with Section 53(3) of the Fire Protection and Prevention Act.
9.04 Extensions to the time limits in 9.03 may not be unreasonably withheld.
9.05 The employee in all steps of the grievance procedure shall be confined to the grievance and redress sought as set forth in the written grievance initially filed as provided.
Grievance Policy While Acacia University endeavors to maintain a congenial and responsive atmosphere for its students conducive with its educational purposes, it recognizes that from time to time, misunderstandings and disagreements may arise during the course of a student’s enrollment. In response to this situation, Acacia University has established procedures to resolve problems and ensure fair adjudication of student rights. Initially, disagreements, complaints, misunderstandings, and grievances can be resolved by the University by using informal discussion, exchanges, persuasion, and other informal procedures. It is the intent of this policy to maximize these informal procedures so long as such measures prove effective. The formal procedure provisions of this policy should be set in motion only when the informal procedures prove to be or manifestly will be ineffective. It is expected that the great majority of cases will continue to be handled in accordance with informal procedures. If a student feels that he or she has been treated unfairly or unjustly by an employee, online mentor, instructor, or professor with regard to an academic process such as grading, testing, or assignments, the student must submit a written statement of the grievance, including the allegation; all relevant names and dates, a brief description of the actions forming the basis of the complaint; and copies of any available documents or materials that support the allegations, to the Office of Student Affairs (xxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx), who is the final authority on all academic matters. If a student has a grievance on the basis of race, color, gender, religion, age, marital status, national origin, physical disability, veteran’s status, any other basis prohibited by applicable US federal, state, or local laws or any other matter, the student must submit a written statement, including the allegation; all relevant names and dates, a brief description of the actions forming the basis of the complaint; and copies of any available documents or materials that support the allegations, to the Office of Student Affairs (xxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx). The student’s grievance will be assessed within 30 days. If the complaint cannot be resolved after exhausting the institution’s grievance procedure, the student may file a complaint with the Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education. The student must contact the State Board for further details. The State Board address is: 0000 X. Xxxxx, Ste. 3008 Phoenix, AZ 85007 Direct Line (000) 000-0000 Fax (000) 000-0000 Website: xxx.xxxxxx.xxx Students who are or were students of Acacia University and who believe that the school, or anyone representing the school, has acted unlawfully, have the right to file a complaint with the accrediting commission: Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC) 0000 00xx Xxxxxx XX, Xxxxx 000 Washington, DC 20036 Website: xxx.xxxx.xxx DEAC has an “Online Complaint System” that enables individuals to file a complaint directly from the DEAC website. The complaint form may be found at xxx.xxxx.xxx (select “Contact Us” and select the link in the left-hand column). All complaints should be submitted using this form. For those who cannot access the Internet, written complaints will be accepted provided they include the complainant’s name and contact information and a release from the complainant(s) authorizing the Commission to forward a copy of the complaint, including identification of the complainant(s) to the institution. Where circumstances warrant, the complainant may remain anonymous to the institution, but all identifying information must be given to DEAC. Written complaints must contain the following: the basis of any allegation of noncompliance with DEAC standards and policies; all relevant names and dates and a brief description of the actions forming the basis of the complaint; copies of any available documents or materials that support the allegations; a release authorizing the Commission to forward a copy of the complaint, including identification of the complaint(s) to the institution. In cases of anonymous complaints or where the complainant requests for his/her name to be kept confidential, the Commission considers how to proceed and whether the anonymous complaint sets forth reasonable and credible information that an institution may be in violation of the Commission’s standards and whether the complainant’s identity is not necessary to investigate.
