Employee Grievance Procedure
The purpose of this policy is to provide a timely and orderly process for the resolution of employee complaints. The Board intends that, whenever feasible, complaints be resolved at the lowest possible administrative level. All steps in this process shall be confidential. See Policy Manual, DGBA (LOCAL)
GENERAL PROVISIONS: All complaints arising out of an event or related series of events must be addressed in one complaint. An employee is precluded from bringing separate or serial complaints concerning events about which the employee has previously complained. Costs of any complaint shall be paid by the party incurring them.
TIME LIMITS: In resolving complaints, time is of the essence. All time limits shall be strictly complied with, unless extended by mutual consent. All references are to working days. The complaint shall be considered concluded if the employee does not appeal within the stated time limits.
PRESENTATION: Employees shall be entitled to administrative review conferences as outlined in the Level One, Level Two, Level Three, Level Four, and Level Five sections below and to a presentation of the complaint to the Board as specified in the Level Five section, unless the Board grants a hearing.
HEARING: If an employee alleges in writing specific facts that, if true, would constitute violation of the employee’s common law, statutory, or constitutional rights, the College President or designee shall investigate the allegations. If the employee does not accept the College President’s resolution at Level Four and requests a Board hearing, the College President shall schedule a hearing as specified in the Level Five section below.
LEVEL ONE: An employee who has a complaint shall meet with his/her immediate supervisor within 20 days of the time the employee first knew or should have known of the event or series of events causing the complaint. At this meeting, the employee shall submit the complaint in writing. The immediate supervisor shall respond in writing within ten working days of the complaint conference.
LEVEL TWO: If the outcome of the complaint conference at Level One is not to the employee’s satisfaction, the employee may appeal to the supervisor of the employee’s immediate supervisor within ten working days. The employee shall submit a complete written documentation of the complaint and, if desired, written comments regarding the response of the supervisor of the Level One appeal.
LEVEL THREE: If the outcome of the complaint conference at Level Two is not to the employee’s satisfaction, the employee may appeal to a grievance committee within ten working days. At or prior to the conference, the employee shall submit the complete written documentation of the complaint and, if desired, written comments regarding the appropriate administrator’s or designee’s response. The committee on grievances shall consist of three faculty members and two administrators randomly selected from a ten-person grievance committee appointed by the College President at the beginning of each school year. The committee shall respond to the employee within ten working days of the presentation.
LEVEL FOUR: If the outcome of the complaint conference at Level Three is not to the employee’s satisfaction, the employee may appeal in writing to the College President within ten working days after receiving a response from the committee. At or prior to the conference, the employee shall submit the complete written documentation of the complaint and the response from the committee. The College President or designee shall respond in writing to the employee within ten workings days of the complaint conference. If the complaint is against the College President, the employee will bypass level four of the process.
LEVEL FIVE: If the outcome at Level Four is not to the employee’s satisfaction, the employee may submit a written request within ten working days after the Level Four conference to place the matter on the agenda of a future Board meeting. The employee shall also submit the complete written documentation of the complaint. The College President shall inform the employee of the date, time, and place of the meeting (see Policy Manual, BD (LOCAL). The presiding officer may set reasonable time limits on complaint presentations. The Board shall listen to the complaint, but is not required to respond or take any action on the matter, unless in its sole discretion it determines some response is warranted. No action by the Board upholds the administrative decision at Level Four.
HEARING: Employees who are granted a hearing shall be afforded that hearing either with the Board in a meeting that includes the hearing as an item in the posted agenda or with the Board’s designee. If the Board conducts the hearing, it shall make and communicate its decision at any time up to and including the next regularly scheduled Board meeting.
If the Board’s designee conducts the hearing, he/she shall make a recommendation to the Board at the first regular meeting following the hearing that affords adequate time to prepare a written recommendation. The employee shall be provided a copy of the recommendation before the meeting and shall be given an opportunity at the meeting to respond to the recommendation either orally or in writing. The Board shall then make and communicate its decision at any time up to and including the next regularly scheduled Board meeting.
CLOSED MEETING: If the complaint involves the appointment, employment, evaluation, reassignment, duties, discipline, or dismissal of the employee, it will be heard in a closed meeting unless the employee requests it to be public. If the complaint involves complaints or charges about another employee, it will be heard in a closed meeting unless the employee complained about requests it to be heard in public. See Policy Manual, DGBA (LOCAL)
Employees will not be penalized in any way, or in the future, for processing a grievance through this grievance procedure.