Level 4. If the Employee is not satisfied with the response of the Assistant Superintendent for Administrative Services, the Employee may submit the grievance to the Superintendent within ten (10) days of the receipt of the response to Level 3. The Superintendent shall sign and date all copies when he/she receives them. The Superintendent shall respond in writing within ten (10) days of the above date. Either party may be accompanied by one other Employee or administrator.
Level 4. An Employee at this level performs work above and beyond the skills of an Employee at Level 3.
Level 4. If the Association is not satisfied with the decision made by the Director of Human Resources, the Association may within ten (10) days of the receipt of the response from the Director of Human Resources request a hearing of the grievance by an Arbitrator, or may choose the Voluntary Mediation Process.
6.5.4.1 The request for a hearing shall be made in writing to the Director of Human Resources, or his/her designee, who shall request a list of seven (7) arbitrators from the State or shall request a similar list of mediators from the California State Mediation/Conciliation Service.
6.5.4.2 Once that list is received, the County and the Association shall promptly select the Arbitrator or Mediator by alternate striking of names. The party to strike first shall be determined by coin toss.
6.5.4.3 Upon selection of the arbitrator or mediator, the Director of Human Resources shall contact the Arbitrator or Mediator, obtain available hearing dates, and communicate those dates to the Association. The first available date permitted by the parties' schedules will be selected.
6.5.4.4 The Arbitrator shall conduct a hearing and, upon the mutual request of the parties, shall either issue an oral bench decision, or, if requested, shall, within sixty (60) days of the conclusion of the hearing (and submission of briefs, if any), render a written decision and/or order. Any decision and/or order of the Arbitrator shall be final and binding.
6.5.4.5 In the event that Voluntary Mediation Process is pursued, the mediation sessions shall be confidential in nature and attended only by parties at interest. There shall be no record made of such sessions. The Mediator’s proposed settlement shall not be binding upon the parties unless mutually agreed in advance. If full resolution is not achieved in mediation, the Mediator shall be charged with narrowing the issues remaining in dispute for pursuit of possible other forums.
6.5.4.6 The Association and the County agree to bear one-half (1/2) of the cost of the Arbitrator or Mediator and any mutually agreed upon ancillary fees, including transcript and reporter fees, that are incurred in the presentation of the appeal to the Arbitrator or Mediator except in those cases where the employee is not represented by the Association.
6.5.4.7 Any appeal which has not been scheduled within twelve (12) months of the request for arbitration or mediation shall be deemed to have been withdrawn with prejudice.
Level 4 a. If an employee is dissatisfied with a decision of the Board and if the grievance pertains to a violation between the Board and the Association, then the Association, at its sole option, may request the appointment of an arbitrator. This request shall be made known to the superintendent no later than two (2) weeks after the decision of the Board has been rendered.
b. The arbitration procedure shall not apply to a complaint by an employee relative to his not being re-employed, nor to any decisions relating to withholding of increments and salary adjustments, Sabbatical Leaves, Statement of Reasons or Board policy not related to terms and conditions of employment.
c. The following procedure shall be used to secure the services of an arbitrator:
1. A joint request shall be made to PERC to submit a roster of persons qualified to function as arbitrators in the dispute in question.
2. If the parties are unable to determine a mutually satisfactory arbitrator from the submitted roster, they shall request PERC to submit a second roster of names.
3. If the parties are unable to select a mutually satisfactory arbitrator from the second roster within ten (10) days of receipt of said second roster, PERC shall be requested by either party to designate an arbitrator.
d. All proceedings relative to the arbitration shall be held after regular school hours.
e. The arbitrator shall limit himself to the issues submitted to him and shall consider nothing else. He shall neither add to nor subtract from the Agreement between the parties. The findings of the arbitrator shall be binding. Only the Board, the Association, and the grievant together with his representatives shall be given copies of the arbitrator's findings. These findings shall be rendered within thirty (30) days of the completion of the arbitration proceedings.
f. Costs incurred by the arbitration proceedings shall be apportioned as follows:
1. Each party shall bear the total cost incurred by itself.
2. The fees and expenses of the arbitrator are the only costs which shall be shared by the two (2) parties and such cost shall be shared equally. The cost of a stenographic report of the arbitration proceedings shall be paid by the party requesting the stenographic report.
Level 4. If the Board of Education and the Association shall be unable to resolve any grievance, and it shall involve an alleged violation of a specific article and sec- tion of this Agreement, it may within ten (10) days after the decision of the Board of Education be appealed to binding arbitration. Such appeal shall be in writing and shall be delivered within the ten (10) day period, and if not so de- livered, the grievance shall be abandoned.
Level 4. Requires 15 Semester Units The employee may utilize not more than six (6) academic units to meet this requirement.
Level 4. Employees who have completed an apprenticeship or passed the appropriate trade test who undertake cooking duties including a la carte, baking, pastry cooking and butchering or Employees responsible for assisting in training and supervision of front office Employees of a lower grade.
Level 4. A unit member may be suspended without pay, for up to fifteen (15) days, or have other corrective disciplinary action(s) consistent and appropriate for the type and severity of the offense. The unit member is entitled to a hearing upon written request.
6.3.4.1 If a unit member requests a hearing, a panel of three (3) Oxnard Union High School District certificated unit members shall be appointed to review the evidence and determine whether discipline is appropriate. It shall be within the authority of the panel after having reviewed the evidence to recommend private or public reproval, to determine whether suspension is appropriate, or to shorten the length of the recommended suspension.
6.3.4.2 The panel shall be composed of one (1) certificated unit member appointed by the District, one (1) certificated unit member appointed by the Federation, and one (1) unit member selected from a list of six (6) names, three (3) submitted simultaneously by the District and three (3) by the Federation. If a name appears on both lists, a coin will be flipped to see which party gets to add a name so that the list is comprised of 6 names. The order of striking shall be determined by coin toss with the winning side choosing whether to strike first or defer.
6.3.4.3 All of the unit members shall be taken from a list of trained disciplinary panel members appointed bi-annually by Federation and the District. The training for panel members shall include but not be limited to rules of conduct for panel members, topics of importance such as ex parte contact, burden of proof, questioning strategy, credibility determinations, rules of evidence, and other concepts of elemental fairness. If this disciplinary procedure is required prior to the training, the selected employees shall be trained prior to the hearing.
6.3.4.4 Unit members shall be entitled to a hearing at which no attorneys would be present. The District and the Federation intend to balance the possible deprivation of unit member interests with the hearing process. Hearings are not intended to be courtroom dramas. The formal rules of evidence don't apply, and only key witnesses will be allowed to testify in front of the panel. All others will have their testimony conveyed to the panel by oath or affirmation given under penalty of perjury. In the event of a dispute over whether a witness may testify, the panel's determination shall be final. The total time for the hearing is restricted to four (4) hours (unless the panel s...
Level 4. Grieving parties may appeal the decision of Level 3 to the School Board. The appeal must be made within ten (10) days following the decision of Level 3. If ten (10) days pass without appeal, the grieving parties shall be assumed to be in agreement with the decision. The School Board shall hear this appeal at its next regularly scheduled meeting. A written response shall be given to the grieving parties within seven (7) days of the completion of the hearing.
Level 4. If either party is not satisfied with the disposition of the grievance at Level 3 or the Level 3 time limits expire without the issuance of the School Board's written answer, then the Exclusive Representative and/or teacher may submit the grievance to final and binding arbitration under the rules of the PELRA. The arbitrator shall act as the administrator of the proceedings. If a demand for arbitration is not filed within 30 days after the date for the School Board's Level 3 reply, the grievance will be deemed withdrawn. Both parties agree to be bound by the award of the arbitrator.
