Level Four. A. If within ten (10) school days following the formal third step the Association submits a request to the Superintendent to enter into arbitration, the Superintendent and the Association shall attempt to agree upon a mutually acceptable arbitrator and shall obtain a commitment from said arbitrator to serve. If the parties are unable to agree upon an arbitrator or to obtain such a commitment within ten (10) school days, a written request for a list of arbitrators shall be made to the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) by either party. The list shall consist of seven (7) potential arbitrators and the parties shall determine by lot which party shall have the right to remove the first name from the list. The party having the right to remove the first name shall do so within two (2) school days. Then the parties shall have one (1) school day alternately to remove until one (1) name remains. The person whose name remains shall be the arbitrator.
B. The arbitrator so selected shall confer with the Superintendent and the Association and hold hearings promptly and shall issue his/her decision not later than fifteen (15) school days from the date of the close of the hearings, or, if oral hearings have been waived, then from the date the final statements and proofs on the issues are submitted to him/her. The arbitrator's decision shall be in writing and shall set forth his/her findings of fact, reasoning, and conclusions of the issues submitted. The arbitrator's decision shall have no power to alter, add to, or detract from the specific provisions of the Agreement. No decision of the arbitrator shall in any way be derogation of the powers, duties, and rights established in the Board by constitutional provisions, statue, ordinance, or special legislative acts. The decision of the arbitrator shall be submitted to the Superintendent and the Association and shall be final and binding on the parties.
C. The costs of the services of the arbitrator will be borne equally by the Board and the Association.
D. If the grievant files any claim or complaint in any forum other than under the grievance procedure of this Master Contract Agreement, then the school district shall not be required to process the same claim or set of facts through this grievance procedure.
Level Four. If not resolved at Level Three, the grievance may be submitted to binding arbitration or to the New Hampshire Courts. The aggrieved, through an election of forum, must choose (in writing) either arbitration or the Courts (and in doing so is then precluded from attempting to follow the second route also). If the grievance is submitted to arbitration, the following procedure shall apply. The School Board shall be notified in writing within ten (10) days after the date of its decision that the grievance is being submitted for arbitration. The following procedure shall be used to secure the services of an arbitrator:
26.9.1 The parties will attempt to agree upon a mutually satisfactory third party to serve as arbitrator. If no agreement is reached within ten (10) days, the Public Employee Labor Relations Board (PELRB) will be notified and requested to submit a roster of persons qualified to function as arbitrator.
26.9.2 If the parties are unable to determine within ten (10) days of receipt of the list, a mutually satisfactory arbitrator, the PELRB may be requested by either party to designate an arbitrator.
26.9.3 The arbitrator shall limit him/herself to the issues submitted to him/her. The arbitrator shall be bound by, and must comply with, all of the terms of this Agreement. The arbitrator shall have no power to add to, delete from, or modify in any way any of the provisions of this Agreement. The decision of the arbitrator shall be binding.
26.9.4 The School Board, the aggrieved, and the Association shall receive copies of the arbitrator's report. This shall be accomplished within thirty (30) calendar days of the completion of the arbitrator's hearing.
26.9.5 The costs for the services of the arbitrator, including per diem expenses, if any, and actual and necessary travel, subsistence expenses, and the cost of the hearing room shall be borne equally by the School Board and the Association. Any other expenses incurred shall be paid by the party incurring the same.
Level Four a. If the aggrieved person is not satisfied with the disposition of his/her grievance at Level Three, he/she may within five duty days after a decision by the superintendent request in writing that the Association submit his/her grievance to arbitration. If the grievance is not submitted to arbitration within the above-stated time limit, the grievance shall be deemed to be waived and shall not be subject to further discussion or appeal. If any question arises as to whether a grievance involves the interpretation, meaning, or application of any of the provisions of this Agreement, such question will be ruled upon by the arbitrator before hearing the case.
b. The parties shall agree to a standing list of arbitrators who are mutually acceptable and who agree to be readily available. Cases appealed to arbitration shall be submitted to one of those arbitrators by mutual agreement of the parties.
c. If agreement on selection of a panel arbitrator cannot be reached, then within 10 duty days after such a written notice of a failure to agree, a request for a list of arbitrators may be made to the American Arbitration Association by either party. The parties will then be bound by the rules and procedures of the American Arbitration Association.
d. The arbitrator so selected will confer with the representatives of the superintendent and the Association and hold hearings promptly and will issue his/her decision not later than 10 days from the date of the close of hearings, or, if oral hearings have been waived, from the date the final statements and proofs are submitted to him/her. The arbitrator's recommendations will be in writing and will set forth his/her findings of fact, reasoning, and conclusions on the issues submitted. The arbitrator will be without authority to make any recommendation beyond the terms of this Agreement. The recommendation of the arbitrator shall be binding upon both parties.
e. The costs for the services of the arbitrator, including per diem expenses, if any, and actual and necessary travel and subsistence expenses, and the cost of any hearing room, will be borne equally by the Board and the Association. All other expenses will be paid by the party incurring them.
Level Four i. If the aggrieved person is not satisfied with the disposition of his/her grievance at Level Three, he/she may file the written grievance within ten (10) days of the Level Three response with the Board.
ii. Within five (5) days after receipt of the written grievance, the Board will meet with the aggrieved person in an effort to resolve it. The Board shall submit its decision in writing to the aggrieved person within five (5) days of the meeting.
Level Four. If SEIU/FPSU or the grievant is not satisfied with the disposition of the grievance at Level three, grievance may be submitted to arbitration before an impartial arbitrator, using the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services (FMCS). In order to submit the grievance to arbitration, FMCS and the Superintendent or designee must receive written notice that the grievance is proceeding to arbitration within thirty (30) days following receipt of the Level Three disposition, and that SEIU/FPSU or the grievant has submitted the grievance to arbitration within that time limit. The arbitrator shall have no power to add to, subtract from, modify, or alter the terms of this agreement. The arbitrator shall render his/her written decision within thirty (30) days or as soon as possible after the close of the hearing or after the deadline for filing post-hearing briefs and shall furnish a copy to the grievant, SEIU/FPSU and to the District.
Level Four. Within ten days after receiving the Board’s decision at Level Three, the Association may submit the grievance to arbitration. The Association shall notify the Board of its intention to submit the matter to arbitration within this ten-day period. After such notification, the following procedure shall be followed:
a. The Association shall make a written request for the grievance’s arbitration by requesting the American Arbitration Association to submit to the parties the names of at least nine qualified arbitrators. The parties shall select the arbitrator according to the rules of the AAA.
b. Each party shall provide the other with a copy of its arbitration demand.
c. The arbitrator shall have no power to amend, subtract from, or add to this Agreement’s terms. The parties’ past practice in interpreting or applying this Agreement’s terms may only be relevant if the Agreement’s language is vague or ambiguous.
d. If either party claims before the arbitrator that a particular grievance fails to meet the test of arbitrability, as set forth in this Grievance Procedure, the arbitrator shall first rule on such claim and, if sustained, shall not proceed further except to render the decision based upon sustaining the claim. The arbitrator’s jurisdictional authority is defined as and limited to determining any grievance between the parties to the grievance which concerns compliance with any of this Agreement’s terms, as provided in Section A(I) of this Article, and submitted to the arbitrator pursuant to this Agreement’s terms. The arbitrator shall not have authority to render a decision on any issue not submitted under these grievance procedures. Unless the parties expressly agree otherwise in writing, the arbitrator is limited to hearing only one grievance upon its merits at any one hearing.
e. Neither party shall be permitted to assert in an arbitration proceeding any ground or to rely on any evidence not previously disclosed to the other party. At least ten days before the arbitration hearing the parties shall disclose (and provide copies of if at all possible) all exhibits, and a list of witnesses to be called and the anticipated nature of their testimony.
f. The arbitrator’s decision on the grievance is binding and final.
g. The cost of arbitration shall be divided equally between the Board and the Association.
h. All documents, communications, and records dealing with the processing of a grievance shall be filed separately from the participant’s personnel file.
Level Four. If the aggrieved person is not satisfied with the disposition of the grievance at Level Two and either 1) the Board and the Association have not agreed upon facilitation at Level Three, or 2) facilitation at Level Three has been completed but has not resulted in resolution of the grievance, the Association, at the grievant's request, may request a hearing before an arbitrator. The request for arbitration shall be made within fifteen (15) school days following receipt of the disposition of grievance in Level Two, or if facilitation has been requested, within (15) school days following either the facilitation meeting or the Board’s rejection of the facilitation request at Level Three. The request for arbitration shall be by certified mail with return receipt requested to the Treasurer of the Board. Within five (5) days following receipt of the grievant's request for arbitration by the Treasurer, the Board or its designated representative and the grievant or his designated representative shall mutually petition the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") to provide both parties with a list of seven (7) names. Within five (5) days following receipt of the list of names from the AAA, the Board or its designated representative and the grievant or his designated representative shall attempt to select the arbitrator. If an arbitrator cannot be mutually agreed to, he/she shall be selected by the alternate striking of names from the American Arbitration Association list by first one party, then the other party. When six (6) names have been stricken from the list, the remaining name shall be the arbitrator. The first party to strike a name from the list shall be decided by the flip of a coin. Once the arbitrator has been selected, he/she shall be immediately notified, and he/she shall conduct a hearing on the grievance in accordance with the rules and regulations of the American Arbitration Association. If, and only to the extent that, the decision is limited to determining that there has been a violation, misinterpretation, or misapplication of a specific term of this Agreement, the decision of the arbitrator shall be binding on both parties. The cost of the arbitrator shall be fully paid by the losing party, which shall be so determined by the arbitrator in his/her written report.
Level Four a. If the Association is not satisfied with the Level Three disposition of the grievance by the Board, or if no disposition has been made within the period above provided, the grievance may, at the option of the Association, be submitted to arbitration.
b. If the parties cannot agree upon an arbitrator within seven (7) calendar days of the date the Board of Education’s decision was due and the Association still desires to proceed to arbitration, the Association must file a demand for arbitration with the American Arbitration Association within thirty (30) calendar days from the date of the Board of Education’s decision or the due date of the Board of Education’s decision. If a timely demand for arbitration is filed, the arbitrator shall be selected by the American Arbitration Association in accordance with its rules which shall likewise govern the arbitration proceedings. If a demand for arbitration is not filed in a timely fashion, the grievance shall be deemed to be settled on the basis of the last response given.
c. The Board and the Association shall not be permitted to assert in such arbitration proceeding any ground or to reply on any evidence not previously disclosed to the other party.
d. The arbitrator shall have no power to: • add to, subtract from, disregard, alter or modify any terms of this Agreement, • establish wage schedules or change any wage rate, • award monetary relief where there has been no loss or reduction in wages, • interpret state or federal law except as may be necessary to determine whether a grievance is arbitrable, • award interest or punitive damages, • award relief retroactive beyond the date the grievance was filed, • change any practice, policy or rule of the Board nor to substitute his/her judgment for that of the Board regarding the reasonableness of any such practice, policy, rule or any action taken by the Board.
e. The arbitrator’s decision shall be final and binding on the Association, all employees covered by this Agreement, and on the Board.
f. In the event a case is appealed to an arbitrator and he/she finds that he/she has no power to rule on such case, the matter shall be referred back to the parties without decision or recommendation on the merits of the case.
g. The expenses of the arbitrator shall be paid by the loser. The Association shall be deemed to be the loser if the relief sought by the Association is not awarded.
Level Four. If the SCEA is not satisfied with the disposition of the grievance at Level Three on a grievance alleging a violation, misinterpretation or misapplication of this agreement, the SCEA shall, within five (5) work days after receipt, review the grievance and the answer and, if it desires, advise in writing the Superintendent of its desire to proceed to arbitration. Within five (5) work days after receipt of the request for arbitration by the Superintendent, representatives of the Board and the Association shall meet to select an arbitrator. If they are unable to agree on an arbitrator, the parties shall jointly petition the American Arbitration Association for a list of fifteen (15) names from which the arbitrator shall be selected according to the rules of AAA. Either party shall be entitled to request a second list. Once the arbitrator has been selected, he/she shall conduct a hearing on the grievance in accordance with the rules and regulations of the American Arbitration Association. The arbitrator shall have authority to consider only a single grievance or several grievances involving a common question of interpretation or application. The arbitrator shall hold the necessary hearing promptly and issue the decision within thirty (30) calendar days or such time as may be agreed upon. Decisions shall be in writing and a copy sent to all parties present at the hearing. The decision of the arbitrator shall be binding on the Board, the administration, the Association and the grievant(s). The arbitrator shall not have the authority to add to, subtract from, modify, change, or alter any of the provisions of this Collective Bargaining Contract, nor add to, detract from or modify the language therein in arriving at a determination of any issues presented that is proper within the limitations expressed herein. The arbitrator shall expressly confine himself/herself to the precise issue(s) submitted for arbitration and shall have no authority to determine any other issue(s) not so submitted to him/her or to submit observations or declarations of opinion which are not directly essential in reaching the determination. The arbitrator shall in no way interfere with management prerogatives involving the Board's discretion, nor limit or interfere in any way with the powers, duties and responsibilities of the Board under its policies, applicable law, and rules and regulations having the force and effect of law. Costs for services of the arbitrator, including per diem expens...
Level Four a. Within fourteen (14) days after receipt of the decision of the Superintendent or his/her designee, the grievance may be appealed, in writing, to the Board of Education. This level may be waived with mutual agreement of the parties.
b. At the next regularly scheduled Board meeting at least fourteen (14) days after delivery of the appeal, the Board of Education shall hear the grievance.
c. Within twenty-one (21) days after the hearing, the Board of Education shall communicate its decision in writing.
