Right to Grieve Disciplinary Action Employees shall have the right to grieve written censures or warnings, and adverse employee appraisals. Employees shall have the right to rebut in writing any disciplinary notice and that rebuttal will be placed in the employee file, but will not be part of the formal disciplinary record. Should an employee dispute any such entry in his/her file, he/she shall be entitled to recourse through the Grievance Procedure and the eventual resolution thereof shall become part of his/her personal record.
Progressive Discipline Both parties endorse the principle of progressive discipline as applied to professionals.
Formal Grievance Procedure 1. In the event that a complaint cannot be resolved informally, the parties shall pursue the first step in the formal grievance procedure before making any application for arbitration, unless the College and the AAUP agree in writing to alter the procedure or waive one or more of the steps by proceeding directly to arbitration.
2. Upon written request of the AAUP Contract Compliance Officer, the College shall submit any requested documents in its possession which may be necessary for investigation of the grievance. The College shall deliver such documents as soon as is reasonably possible, but no later than seven (7) days after receipt of a written request.
3. Internal Steps in the Procedure
a. Step One: The Director of Human Resources
(1) Within thirty (30) days of when the AAUP learns of, or in the exercise of reasonable diligence should have learned of, an alleged violation of the provisions of this Agreement, the AAUP shall submit to the Director of Human Resources a completed Faculty Grievance Form or a dated, signed, written description of the grievance, clearly labeled "grievance" containing substantially the same information as provided for on the Faculty Grievance Form.
(2) Within eight (8) days of receipt of the written grievance, the Director of Human Resources shall convene a meeting to discuss the grievance. Such meeting shall include the grievant(s) and/or the designated representative(s) of the AAUP and shall be scheduled at a time which is mutually convenient to the parties.
(3) The Director of Human Resources shall attempt to determine the facts pertaining to the grievance and shall notify the grievant and the AAUP in writing of his/her decision within eight (8) days in a Grievance Disposition Form or in a document containing substantially the same information as contained in a Grievance Disposition Form, which shall include written details of the reasons which support the decision.
(4) Within eight (8) days after receipt of the disposition of the Director of Human Resources, the AAUP may appeal the decision in writing to the College Grievance Officer, by submitting a Grievance Disposition Reaction Form or a document containing substantially the same information as contained in a Grievance Disposition Reaction Form.
(5) By agreement, the parties may decide to advance the grievance to step two of the procedure, or to appeal directly to arbitration at step D(4) of this article.
Disciplinary Action (A) An employee who has attained permanent status in his current position may be disciplined only for cause.
(B) An employee who has not attained permanent status in his current position shall not have access to the grievance procedure in Article 6 when disciplined.
(C) Each employee shall be furnished a copy of all disciplinary actions placed in his official personnel file and shall be permitted to respond thereto.
(D) An employee may request that a PBA Staff Representative be present during any disciplinary investigation meeting in which the employee is being questioned relative to alleged misconduct of the employee, or during a predetermination conference in which suspension or dismissal of the employee is being considered.
(E) Letters of counseling or counseling notices are documentation of minor work deficiencies or conduct concerns that are not discipline and are not grievable; however, such documentation may be used by the parties at an administrative hearing involving an employee’s discipline to demonstrate the employee was on notice of the performance deficiencies or conduct concerns.
(F) If filed within 21 calendar days following the date of receipt of notice from the DHSMV, by personal delivery or by certified mail, return receipt requested, an employee with permanent status in his current position may appeal a reduction in base pay, involuntary transfer of over 50 miles by highway, suspension, demotion, or dismissal to the Public Employees Relations Commission under the provisions of section 110.227(5) and (6), F.S. In the alternative, such actions may be grieved at Step 2 and processed through the Arbitration Step without review at Step 3, in accordance with the grievance procedure in Article 6 of this Agreement. The DHSMV may have special compensatory leave equal to the length of a disciplinary suspension deducted from an employee’s leave balance in lieu of serving the suspension. An employee may indicate his preference as to whether to serve the suspension or to have special compensatory leave deducted, which preference shall be taken into consideration by the DHSMV in making its decision. If the employee does not have sufficient special compensatory leave, annual leave may be deducted. If there is not sufficient special compensatory or annual leave, the remainder of the period will be leave without pay. Employees from whom leave is deducted will continue to report for duty. The employee’s personnel file will reflect a disciplinary suspension regardless of whether the employee serves the suspension or has leave deducted.
(G) Oral reprimands are not grievable. A written reprimand shall be subject to the grievance procedure in Article 6 if the employee has attained permanent status in his current position; the decision is final and binding at Step 2.
Disciplinary Actions Disciplinary Actions and Appeals shall be governed by SP&P, TSHRS regulations and TSHRS Disciplinary Action Policy 7G.l.
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.
Notice of Disciplinary Action The Employer shall advise an Employee in writing of any disciplinary action taken including, but not limited to warning, reprimand, suspension, discharge or termination and the reasons in full for such action, at the time of taking any such action. The Employer shall also promptly provide the Union with a copy of each such disciplinary notice. If the matter is grieved by the Union, or otherwise litigated in any manner, the Employer shall be limited to those grounds (reasons) specified in the disciplinary notice for the action(s) taken.
GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE A. A grievance shall be defined as an alleged violation, misinterpretation, or misapplication of this Agreement or written Board policies affecting working conditions of the member. Should a member/Association feel that there has been a violation, he/she will take the following steps:
Step 1: The member/Association, with or without a designated representative, shall discuss the grievance with the Supervisor informally within five (5) work days of the alleged violation and, if not resolved, shall file a written grievance with the Supervisor within fifteen (15) work days of the alleged violation and discuss the written grievance with the Supervisor within five (5) work days after the grievance is filed. If no satisfactory conclusion is reached within five (5) work days following the discussion of the written grievance with the Supervisor, the member/Association shall submit the written grievance within five (5) work days of the discussion with the Supervisor to Step 2. A grievance which is not within the scope of a Supervisor's authority may be filed initially at step 2. The written grievance, as required herein, shall contain:
a. it shall be signed by the grievant(s)/Association.
b. it shall be specific;
c. it shall contain a synopsis of the facts giving rise to the alleged violation;
d. it shall cite the section or subsections of this contract or written Board policy alleged to have been violated;
e. it shall contain the date of the alleged violation;
f. it shall specify the relief requested;
g. it shall indicate approval or disapproval by the Association.
Step 2: The Superintendent or his/her designated agent shall arrange a meeting with the grievant and/or the designated Association representative within ten (10) work days after receipt of the grievance to discuss the grievance. Within ten (10) work days of the discussion, the Superintendent or his/her designated agent shall render his/her decision in writing, transmitting a copy of the same to the grievant, the Association representative, and appropriate Supervisor, and place a copy of same in a permanent file in his/her office. If the decision of the Superintendent is unsatisfactory to the Association, the Association may appeal same to the Board of Education by filing a written grievance, along with the decision of the Superintendent, with the officer of the Board in charge of drawing up the agenda for the Board's meeting, within ten (10) work days of receipt of the Superintendent's decision.
Discipline Procedure 1. Disciplinary action may be imposed for violation of written rules and regulations as set forth by the Board, incompetence, inefficiency, dishonesty, drunkenness, immoral conduct, insubordination, discourteous treatment of the public, neglect of duty, misfeasance, malfeasance, nonfeasance, any other failure of good behavior, or conviction of a felony.
2. No employee shall be disciplined without first having had the opportunity for a hearing, if the employee so requests, with an OAPSE representative of his/her choice present. The employee shall be given a written statement containing the charges and the time and place of the hearing. The written statement shall notify the employee of his/her rights to OAPSE representation. The employee must be given the opportunity to sign the statement acknowledging receipt of the statement and date received. Under emergency conditions as determined by the supervisor (including, but not limited to, health and/or safety of the employee or other employees; blatant insubordination; or refusal to work), the supervisor may immediately suspend an employee without pay for a period of up to three (3) work days without the formal hearing described above. An opportunity for a formal hearing with the supervisor must be provided within the suspension period. Failure to provide an opportunity for a hearing during the suspension period shall preclude the right of further discipline for the offense causing the initial suspension. Emergency suspensions will not be subject to Section 6 of this Article.
3. Disciplinary action of less than discharge should generally be progressive and corrective in nature.
A. Disciplinary actions shall be grievable. This Section shall supersede existing state law governing termination of employment (O.R.C. 3319.081).
B. In determining progressive and corrective action, just cause shall be construed and limited to the nature and seriousness of the offense, the effect the alleged conduct has on the Board’s operation, the discipline or lack thereof used in other similar situations known to the Board, and the appropriateness of the proposed penalty in view of the record and length of service of the charged employee. The enumeration of these factors is not intended to preclude either the exercise of good and sound business judgment or to minimize the importance of an employee’s property interest in his job.
Causes for Disciplinary Action For purposes of this article, disciplinary action shall mean an unpaid suspension not to exceed thirty
