Common use of STATEMENT/LIMITATIONS Clause in Contracts

STATEMENT/LIMITATIONS. The purpose of the grievance procedure is to establish channels of communications between employees, supervisors, and management. The City encourages any employee having a grievance related to working conditions to informally discuss the matter with his or her immediate supervisor without undue delay. The informal discussion need not be reduced to writing and no records need be kept. The purpose of informal discussion is to settle grievances fairly and as quickly as possible. The employee may be represented by himself or herself, by the BPOA, or by counsel. No grievance shall be considered and/or processed unless it is submitted within fifteen (15) working days after the employee concerned has become aware or should have become aware, through the use of reasonable diligence, of the occurrence of the event giving rise to the alleged grievance. If a grievance is not presented within the time limits set forth above, it shall be considered waived. If a grievance is not appealed to the next step within the specified time limit or any mutually agreed extension thereof, it shall be considered settled on the basis of the Department’s last answer. If the Department does not answer a grievance or an appeal thereof within the specified time limits, the Union and/or the employee may elect to treat the grievance as denied at that step and immediately appeal to the next step of the grievance procedure. The time limit(s) in each step may be extended by mutual written agreement of the City and the Union representative and/or the employee involved in each step. The term working days as used in this Article shall mean the days Mondays through Fridays inclusive and excludes Saturdays, Sundays, holidays and/or other days on which City Hall is closed.