PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY

Transcription

1 PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY EMPLOYEE GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

2 EMPLOYEE GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE Table of Contents Section 1.0 Objective Page 1 Section 2.0 Coverage of Personnel Page 1 Section 3.0 Definition of a Grievance Page 2 Section 4.0 Management Responsibilities Page 3 Section 5.0 Standing to Pursue a Grievance Page 4 Section 6.0 Grievability Page 4 Section 7.0 Policy Generally Page 6 Section 8.0 Consolidation of Grievances Page 7 Section 9.0 Procedures First Step (Supervisor Level) Page 7 Section 9.1 Second Step (Appointing Authority Level) Page 8 Section 9.2 Third Step (County Executive Level) Page 8 Section 9.3 Fourth Step (Personnel Appeals Board Level) Page 9 Section 9.4 Composition of the Personnel Appeals Board Page 9 Section 9.5 Conduct of Personnel Appeals Board Hearing Page 11 Section 9.6 Decision of Personnel Appeals Board Page 12 Section 9.7 Implementation of Remedy Page 13 Section 10.0 Computation of Time Page 13 Grievance Forms: Grievance Form A 1, 2, 3, 4 Steps Grievance Form B - Appointments to Personnel Appeals Board Grievance Form C - Determination of Grievability Grievance Form D - Decision of Personnel Appeals Board 2

3 EMPLOYEE GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS Please read the grievance procedure carefully and follow the instructions as you proceed through each step. If you are unable to resolve the grievance in an informal manner, you may decide to formalize the grievance and reduce it to written form on Grievance Form A. All forms including Grievance Form A are located in the rear of this booklet. On this form you must explain your grievance and the remedy you request to resolve the grievance. A number is required for each grievance at the time that the grievance is reduced to written form on Grievance Form A. You may obtain a number by calling the Human Resources Director, extension The Human Resources Director will establish a grievance file when the number is assigned. However, your appointing authority may not be aware of your grievance unless and until you file Grievance Form A. As each step of the procedure is completed, a copy of each grievance form and any documentation must be sent to the Human Resources Director (4380 Ridgewood Center Drive or Interoffice Zip RW595) to be included in the grievance file. The Human Resources Director must receive notification as the grievance continues through additional steps in the procedure until it is resolved or a decision is rendered by a Personnel Appeals Board. Again, please follow the procedure very carefully since failure of either party to comply with all substantial procedural requirements of the grievance procedure may result in a decision in favor of the other party. Please direct any questions about the grievance procedure to the Human Resources Director, extension

4 EMPLOYEE GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE Section 1.0 Objective The purpose of the Prince William County Employee Grievance Procedure is to afford an expeditious and impartial method for the resolution of employment disputes that may arise between the County government and employees in the County service. Section 2.0 Coverage of Personnel A. This procedure shall apply to the following persons: (1) All non-probationary regular full-time and regular part-time employees who work fifteen(15) or more hours per week in the competitive service as those terms are defined in Section 19.5 of the Prince William County Code; (2) Employees of the Department of Social Services of Prince William County and Community Services Board of Prince William County, in accordance with Section VA Code Ann.; and all non-probationary regular full-time and regular part-time employees of the Sheriff and Clerk of the Circuit Court of Prince William County, provided that this procedure shall not apply to Sheriff's Deputies exempt herefrom in accordance with law. B. Notwithstanding Subsection A or Subsection C, the principal officer and principal deputy or assistant officer of any department, office, or division, who would otherwise be eligible to file grievances, if such employees customarily make policy decisions which affect the operation of the entire department, office, or division, may file grievances regarding terminations only; C. Probationary employees, employees in the exempt service, Sheriff's Deputies, elected officials' administrative aides, appointees of elected groups or individuals, principal officers and their deputies and assistants as provided in Subsection B, above, and law enforcement officers who have elected to pursue their remedies as set forth in Chapter 10.1 of Title 2.1 VA Code Ann., and Section of the Prince William County Code and department heads and other specified employees who report directly to and have an Executive Performance Contract with the 4

5 County Executive, in accordance with Section VA Code Ann., may not employ this grievance procedure; D. Employees in the public service, paid in whole or in part by the County funds, who are not members of the County service, as that term is defined in Section 19-3 of the Prince William County Code, shall not be included in the coverage of this grievance procedure; E. Nothing in Subsection D of this section above; however, shall be construed to prevent any other governing body or authority in Prince William County (such as the Library Board), otherwise excluded from the coverage of this procedure, from modifying and adopting as much of this procedure as it deems appropriate to its needs. In the event that such governing body or authority desires to use County staff or facilities to assist in the administration of its grievance procedure, the consent of the Board of County Supervisors to such use shall be required. Section 3.0 Definition of a Grievance A grievance is a complaint or dispute related to a covered employee's employment which involves but is not necessarily limited to: A. Allegations of adverse action, which is defined as an action or consequence to which a person in the County service may be subjected for disciplinary purposes, in accordance with provisions of Chapter 19 of the Prince William County Code, which is the Personnel Ordinance, including the following: (1) Termination of employment; (2) Suspension without pay; (3) Administrative leave without pay; (4) Involuntary demotion, except as permitted in Section 4.0 F below; (5) A written reprimand; (6) Disciplinary transfer. "Adverse Action" does not include any termination, lay-off or suspension of employment because of reduction in workforce, job abolition or expiration of a term of contractual employment; nor shall "adverse action" be deemed to include employee counseling 5

6 concerning job performance or employee behavior, which does not include one of the actions listed above. B. Disputes or complaints concerning the application of Chapter 19 of the Prince William County Code, or rules, regulations, and policies and procedures adopted thereunder, including the application of policies involving matters referred to in Section 4.0 C below. However, neither the content nor the consistent, nondiscriminatory interpretation of Chapter 19 of the Prince William County Code, or rules, regulations, policies and procedures adopted thereunder shall be subject to employee grievance under this Procedure; C. Acts of retaliation as the result of utilization of the grievance procedure, participation in the grievance of another County employee or retaliation for assisting another employee in making or demonstrating a complaint of discrimination or harassment under Section E below; D. Harassment of an employee by his/her supervisor; E. Discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, national origin, color, creed, sex, disability, age, or political activity or affiliation, or retaliation for making a complaint of such discrimination or harassment; F. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 4.0 below, terminations resulting from formal discipline or unsatisfactory job performance; G. Acts of retaliation because the employee has complied with any law of the United States or of the Commonwealth; has reported any violation of such law to a governmental authority; or has sought any change in law before the Congress of the United States or the General Assembly. Section 4.0 Management Responsibilities Management reserves the exclusive right to manage the affairs and operations of the County government. Accordingly, the following complaints are not grievable: A. Establishment and revision of wages or salaries including performance evaluations, and concomitant pay raises, position classifications or general benefits; B. Work activity accepted by the employee as a condition of employment or work activity which may reasonably be expected to be a part of the job content; 6

7 C. The contents and/or consistent, non-discriminatory interpretation of ordinances, statutes or established personnel policies, procedures, rules and regulations; D. Failure to promote, except where an employee can show established promotional policies or procedures were not followed or fairly applied; E. The methods, means and personnel by which work activities are to be carried on; F. Termination, layoff, demotion or suspension from duties because of lack of work, reduction in work force, or job abolition except where any of the foregoing actions affect an employee who has been reinstated within the previous six months as the result of the final termination of a grievance. In any grievance brought under this exception, the action shall be upheld upon a showing by the agency that: (1) there was a valid business reason for the action, and (2) the employee was notified of such reason in writing prior to the effective date of the action;. G. The hiring, promotion, non-disciplinary transfer, assignment, and retention of employees within the County service; and H. The relief of employees from duties in emergencies. Section 5.0 Standing to Pursue a Grievance A grievant must be personally and directly affected by an occurrence or condition before he/she shall be permitted to pursue a grievance. Thus, for example, no employee may grieve another employee's job performance unless such job performance directly and adversely affects the grievant's own employment. Disputes as to an employee's standing to file a grievance shall be determined as shall any other dispute as to grievability. Section 6.0 Grievability A. Decisions regarding whether or not a matter is grievable under this procedure, including the question of access to the procedure, and the Prince William County Code, shall be made by the County Executive pursuant to procedures set forth below using Grievance Form C. Decisions as to grievability shall be made at the request of the grievant or his/her appointing authority within ten (10) days of such request. A copy of the ruling shall be sent to the grievant and to the grievant's appointing authority. Decisions by the County Executive that an issue is not grievable may be appealed by the grievant to the Circuit Court of Prince William County as 7

8 provided in Sections and :1(E) VA Code Ann. Pursuant to those sections, proceedings for the review of the decision of the County Executive shall be instituted by filing a notice of appeal with the County Executive within five (5) days after the date of his/her decision as to grievability, and by giving a copy of such notice to all other parties to the grievance. Within five (5) days after receiving notice of appeal, the County Executive shall transmit to the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Prince William County a copy of his/her decision, a copy of the notice of appeal, and any exhibits which may have been provided in connection with the resolution of the issue of grievability. A list of the evidence furnished to the court shall also be furnished to the grievant. The failure of the County Executive to transmit the record within the time allowed shall not prejudice the rights of the grievant. The Circuit Court, on motion of the grievant, may issue a Writ of Certiorari requiring the County Executive to transmit the record on or before a certain date as provided in Section :1(E) VA Code Ann. Within thirty (30) days of receipt by the Clerk of Court of the records in the matter, the Court, sitting without a jury, shall hear the appeal on the record, and such additional evidence as may be necessary to resolve any controversy as to the correctness of the record. The Court may receive such other evidence as the ends of justice may require. The Court will review any finding of law made by the County Executive for error, and will review the findings of fact made by the County Executive for abuse of discretion. Using these standards of review, the Court may affirm the decision of the County Executive or may reverse or modify said decision. The Court's decision shall be rendered no later than the fifteenth (15 th ) day from the date of conclusion of the hearing. The decision of the court is final and is not appealable. All matters from the institution of a request that the County Executive determine the issue of grievability, through the notation of appeal of an adverse decision by the County Executive, shall be recorded on forms provided for those purposes by the Human Resources Director; B. The issue of grievability may be raised at any step of the grievance procedure prior to the Board hearing provided in Section 9.3 and the sections which follow, of this procedure, but once raised, the issue must be resolved before further processing of the grievance. In any event, the issue of grievability must be resolved prior to the Board hearing or it shall be deemed to have been waived by all parties. A request that grievability be determined shall suspend the time limits under this procedure. Time limits shall begin to run again the day after the decision that a matter is or is not grievable is made by the County Executive or the Circuit Court; 8

9 C. The classification of a complaint as non-grievable by either the County Executive or the Circuit Court of Prince William County shall not be construed to restrict any employee's rights to seek, or management's right to provide, customary administrative review of complaints outside of the scope of the grievance procedure. Section 7.0 Policy Generally A. All stages of the grievance procedure beyond the first step provided in Section 9.0 shall be reduced to writing on forms supplied by the Human Resources Director. At any step beyond the second step both the grievant and his/her appointing authority or the County Executive may call upon appropriate witnesses and be represented by legal counsel or other persons, as may be provided in this procedure; B. Once an employee reduces his grievance to writing he/she must specify on the appropriate form the specific relief he/she expects to obtain through the use of this procedure. This requirement shall be deemed a substantive matter, and a failure to specify the relief expected shall be sufficient cause to terminate the right to further appeal. No notification required by Subsection D below is necessary prior to termination of the appeal for this reason. When the employee decides to reduce his/her grievance to writing, he/she shall obtain the necessary forms from the Human Resources Office. A copy of the written grievance shall be given to the Human Resources Office. That office shall thereupon open a file on the grievance, assign it a number, and shall assist the grievant, the appointing authority, and the County Executive, in insuring that all papers are transmitted throughout this process in timely fashion; C. Failure of the grievant to comply with the time limitations in Section 9.0 to orally identify a grievance within twenty (20) calendar days after the occurrence or condition giving rise to the grievance or to file a grievance forecloses the employee from filing any grievance under this Procedure thereafter. Failure to appeal a determination regarding the grievance at any subsequent state within the time periods required by Section 9.0 will result in termination of the appeal. No notification required by Section D below is necessary prior to termination of the appeal for any reason pursuant to this section; D. After the initial filing of the grievance, failure of either party to comply with a procedural requirement of the grievance procedure without just cause will result in a decision in favor of the other party on any grievable issue, provided the party not in compliance 9

10 fails to correct the noncompliance within five (5) days of receipt of written notification by the other party of the compliance violation. Such written notification by the grievant shall be made to the County Executive. Failure of either party without just cause to comply with all substantial procedural requirements at the Board hearing shall result in a decision in favor of the other party. Decisions as to whether any employee or management has in fact failed to so comply shall be made by the County Executive upon the request of the appointing authority or the grievant that such determination be made. The County Executive, at his/her option, may require a clear written explanation of the basis for just cause extensions or exceptions. Compliance determinations shall be subject to judicial review by filing a petition with the Circuit Court within thirty (30) days of the compliance determination. Section 8.0 Consolidation of Grievances In the event that more than one grievance is filed, which arise from the same factual circumstances, the County Executive may, at any time prior to a Board hearing, consolidate those grievances for joint processing. If the grievances are consolidated, all time limits set forth in this procedure shall thereafter be calculated from the date of the last filed grievance. Once consolidated, the grievances shall all be processed as a single matter. Section 9.0 Procedure First Step: Immediate Supervisor Level A. No later than twenty (20) calendar days after the occurrence or condition giving rise to the grievance, the employee affected shall identify the grievance orally to his/her supervisor. Within five (5) days of such presentation, the immediate supervisor shall give his/her response to the employee with respect to the particular grievance, or shall advise the employee that additional time is needed to render a decision. In the event additional time is needed, the immediate supervisor must render the decision within three (3) days after notice of the need for additional time is given; B. If a satisfactory resolution is not reached by this informal process, the employee shall reduce his/her grievance to writing, identifying specifically and in detail the nature of the grievance and the expected remedy, on Grievance Form A provided for that purpose by the Human Resources Director. Grievants shall be entitled, should they prevail in their grievance, only to the relief specifically requested. Such written grievance shall be presented to the immediate supervisor within three (3) days of the supervisor's verbal reply to the oral grievance. The supervisor shall then reply 10

11 in writing to this written grievance within three (3) days of receiving it; C. In the event the employee's supervisor is also his/her appointing authority then he/she shall pass by the second step of this procedure and proceed immediately to the third step (as set forth in Section 9.2) below. Section 9.1 Second Step: Appointing Authority Level If a satisfactory resolution of the grievance is not reached at the first step above, the employee may so indicate on Grievance Form A and submit the grievance to his/her appointing authority within ten (10) days. Within five (5) days of receipt of such submission, a meeting shall be held between the grievant and his/her appointing authority to review the grievance. This time period may be extended by mutual agreement between the appointing authority and the employee. At the meeting provided for above, the only persons who may be present are the grievant, one person representing the appropriate management level at which the grievance is being heard and appropriate witnesses for each side. Witnesses shall be present only while providing testimony. The meeting may be adjourned to another time or place by agreement of the parties. A written reply to the grievance shall be provided to the employee within five (5) days after the meeting. In the event that an employee's appointing authority is the Board of County Supervisors or the County Executive, then he/she shall pass by the third step of this procedure (as set forth in Section 9.2 and proceed immediately to the fourth step (as set forth in Section 9.3 ). Section 9.2 Third step: County Executive Level If a satisfactory resolution of the grievance has not been reached at the termination of the second step, the employee may so indicate on Grievance Form A and submit the grievance to the Human Resources Director. Submission to the Human Resources Director must occur within ten (10) days following receipt of the second step reply. The County Executive will then meet with the employee within seven (7) days of receiving the submission or indicate that an extension is necessary. The extension shall not exceed three (3) additional days except by mutual agreement. The employee may have legal counsel or other representative and witnesses present at the third step meeting. The appointing authority may also have witnesses present. If the grievant is represented by legal 11

12 counsel, the appointing authority likewise has the option of being represented by counsel. The County Attorney may be present at any hearing to provide legal advice to the County Executive in his/her capacity as hearing officer. Proceedings shall be in accordance with guidelines promulgated by the County Executive and provided to the grievant prior to the meeting. The County Executive shall render a written response to the grievance within ten (10) days following the third step meeting. The Human Resources Director shall insure that a verbatim record (in writing or on recording tape) of such meeting is made and retained in his/her custody for not less than twelve (12) months. The grievant shall be entitled to a copy of said record upon payment of a reasonable fee therefor. The County Executive may designate that the grievance be heard by an Assistant County Executive. Section 9.3 Fourth Step: The Personnel Appeals Board If a satisfactory resolution to the grievance is not reached at the third step, the grievant may submit the grievance to an impartial Personnel Appeals Board (hereafter referred to as the Board), which shall be constituted anew for each grievance as set forth below. The request for a hearing before a Board shall be indicated by the grievant on a form provided for that purpose by the Human Resources Director, and submitted to the Human Resources Director within ten (10) days of receipt of the third step response. The Human Resources Director shall arrange for the Board selection and shall schedule the Board hearing as soon as possible. In the event that the Human Resources Director is a party to the grievance, the request form shall be submitted to the County Executive and the County Executive or his/her designee shall make the necessary arrangements. All documents, exhibits, and lists of witness will be exchanged between the parties no later than five (5) days prior to the scheduled hearing. Section 9.4 Composition of the Personnel Appeals Board A. A Board shall be constituted as provided herein. It shall be composed of three (3) members who shall be chosen in the following manner: one member shall be appointed by the grievant, one member shall be appointed by the appointing authority, and the third member shall be selected by the first two. The Board shall not be composed of any persons having direct involvement with the grievance being heard by the Board, or with the complaint or dispute giving rise to the grievance. Managers who are in a direct line of supervision of a grievant and the following relatives 12

13 of a participant in the grievance process or a participant's spouse are prohibited from serving as Board members: spouse, parent, child, descendants of a child, sibling, niece, nephew and first cousin. No attorney having direct involvement with the subject matter of the grievance, nor a partner, associate, employee or coemployee of the attorney shall serve as a Board member. The Board members shall be reasonably available for scheduling of an early hearing; B. Both the grievant and the appointing authority shall nominate the first and second members of the Board within five (5) days after the request for a Board hearing shall have been filed by indicating their respective members on Grievance Form B and filing that form with the Human Resources Director. These members shall, in turn, nominate the third member within ten (10) days after the request for a Board hearing shall have first been filed. This insures that the entire Board will be chosen as nearly as possible within ten (10) days after the appeal has been noted, unless it is necessary to involve the Circuit Court in the selection of the third member. Grievance Form B shall be used to identify appointments to the Board. Time limits may be extended as provided for in Section 10.0 (B); C. In the event that the first two members cannot reach an agreement as to the third member within said ten (10) days, then the Human Resources Director shall forward the request for appointment of a third member to the Circuit Court pursuant to Section VA Code Ann. through the County Attorney's Office immediately upon notification by the first two members that they are unable to agree; D. The third member of the Board shall serve as chairman, shall set the time for hearing and notify the grievant and the appointing authority thereof. The hearing should be held within thirty (30) days after the date of the original request for a hearing. Any party may have present at this meeting, representatives of his/her choice. The Human Resources Director shall insure that each Board member has copies of all written materials and forms submitted in connection with the grievance; E. The Board may, in its discretion, join any person or appointing authority as a party to the grievance, as the ends of justice may require, for a full and fair resolution of the grievance; F. The Board is constituted solely for the purpose of determining whether the grievant has demonstrated, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the action complained of was without cause, or done in violation of law, rule, regulation or other policy. The Board 13

14 may not formulate or change policy, rules, or procedures. When it finds that an employee has performed unsatisfactorily or has committed a violation as alleged by the employee s supervisors, it shall not impose any penalty less than that set forth in the Personnel Policy Manual as the minimum punishment for that offense, or otherwise substitute its judgment as to what the appropriate correction or punishment should be for the judgment of management on these issues. Section 9.5 Conduct of Personnel Appeals Board Hearing The Board shall conduct the hearing as follows: A. The hearing shall be closed to the public unless the grievant shall notify the chairman of the Board that he/she desires a public hearing. Otherwise, the Board shall have the discretion to determine persons not having a direct interest may attend the hearing; B. The Board shall consider any grievance without regard to any proposed disposition by a lower authority, unless the grievant and the appointing authority shall agree, in writing, that the issue(s) shall be so limited. In all other cases, the Board shall consider the matter as if presented to it in the first instance; C. The Board may at any time ask the parties or their representatives for statements clarifying the issues involved in the grievance; D. Exhibits, when offered by the grievant or the appointing authority, may be received as evidence by the Board, and when so received shall be marked and made a part of the record; E. The parties may offer evidence and cross examine witnesses and shall produce such additional evidence as the Board may deem necessary to an understanding and determination of the dispute. There shall be no formal rules of evidence; however, the Board shall be the judge of the relevancy and materiality of any evidence offered and shall have the authority to determine the admissibility of evidence without regard to the burden of proof or the order of presentation or witnesses, so long as a full and equal opportunity is afforded to all parties for the presentation of evidence. All evidence shall be taken in the presence of the Board and of the parties. The grievant shall proceed first and shall bear the ultimate burden of persuasion. The appointing authority shall proceed next; F. The Board Chairman shall specifically inquire of all parties whether they have any further proof to offer or witnesses to be heard. Upon receiving negative response, the Chairman shall 14

15 permit the parties to summarize their cases and shall then declare the hearing closed; G. The hearings may be reopened by the Board on its own motion or upon application of a party for good cause shown at any time before a final decision is made; H. In all procedural matters not otherwise covered by this Section, the Board shall determine the procedures to be followed; I. The Human Resources Director shall insure that a verbatim record (in writing or by recording tape) of the hearing is made and retained in his/her custody for not less than twelve (12) months. The grievant shall be entitled to a copy of such record upon payment of a reasonable fee therefore; J. The Human Resources Director may be called by the Board as a witness at any time to provide specific policy interpretation or clarification of applicable County policy and these procedures. Section 9.6 Decision of Personnel Appeals Board A. The decision of the Board shall be filed in writing by the Board Chairman with the Human Resources Director, who shall give copies to the appointing authority, the County Executive and the grievant, not later than fifteen (15) days after the completion of the hearing. The decision shall summarize the grievance and the evidence, shall make specific findings of fact, and shall state in full the reasons for the decision. The majority decision of the Board shall be final and binding as to any grievance submitted to it, if it is consistent with law and written policy and within the authority of the Board. The Board shall use Grievance Form D to document its decision; B. The grievant shall bear any cost involved in employing representation and in preparing his/her case. However, any grievant, who substantially prevails in a grievance heard and decided by a Board, as provided in Section 9.3 or the Fourth Step of this procedure, may file a claim with the Board of County Supervisors for reimbursement for the reasonable cost of employing representation. The decision of the Board of County Supervisors shall be final; C. Notwithstanding Section 9.6B, any issue of grievability appealed to the Circuit Court of Prince William County under Section 6.0 for a hearing in which the grievant prevails, may entitle the grievant to file a claim with the Board of County Supervisors. The decision of the Board of County Supervisors shall be final. 15

16 (1) If the Board finds that an appointing authority failed to follow established procedures governing promotion, demotion, transfer, hiring or layoff, it shall remand the grievance to that appointing authority with the instruction that the action taken by the appointing authority be rescinded, and proper procedures be followed for the matter of issue; (2) In the event that the Board finds that the grievance was not merited, it may order that a statement to that effect be included in the grievant's grievance file. Section 9.7 Implementation of Remedy A. The County Executive shall implement any remedy which may be ordered by the Board, provided that such decision is consistent with law and written policies. If the County Executive believes that the Board decision is not so consistent, he/she may request the Board to reconsider its decision. In the event that the County Executive has a direct personal involvement in the event or events giving rise to the grievance, the question of whether the relief granted is consistent with law and written policies shall be determined by the Commonwealth's Attorney. The County Executive is not required to implement a decision of the Board which he/she determines is inconsistent with law and written policies; B. Either party may petition the Circuit Court having jurisdiction in the locality in which the grievant is employed for an order requiring implementation of the decision of the Board or for a determination whether the Board is inconsistent with law and written policies. Section 10.0 Computation of Time A. Except where otherwise provided, time periods under this procedure shall be deemed to begin on the day following that on which any action is to be taken or report rendered, and to run without regard to weekends or holidays. If a time period herein ends on a weekend or holiday, the last day of the time period shall be deemed to be the end of the business day of the first working day following. Thus, for example, a written grievance under the First Step must be presented to the grievant's immediate supervisor within five (5) days of the supervisor's verbal reply to the informal grievance. The five (5) days shall begin on the day after receipt of the supervisor's verbal reply and terminate on the fifth (5 th ) day following regardless of whether that is a weekend or holiday. If in 16

17 fact it is a weekend or holiday, the time period shall be deemed to terminate at the end of the next full working day; B. Time limits established under this procedure for unilateral action by either party, such as the filing of the grievance forms at various steps by the employee, or the completion of written decisions by employer representatives at various steps are substantive requirements and are intended to be strictly construed and enforced. However, in the interest of fairness, any such time limits for unilateral action may be extended if all parties agree to such extensions. While the Human Resources Director will make every effort to schedule any Board hearings within the limits established by this procedure, he will also attempt to schedule those hearings at times agreeable to the members of the panel and all parties involved. The failure to arrive at an agreed-upon date in any case will not be held against either party as a substantial procedural defect, unless it can be shown that either party is acting in bad faith to delay the scheduling of the Board hearing. Approved BoCS Res. # , 01/23/79; amended Res. # , 11/17/81; amended Res. # , 07/13/82; amended Res. #85-279, 04/9/85; amended Res. #88-436, 05/17/88; amended Res. #91-774, 09/24/91; amended Res. #95-909, 10/24/95; amended Res. #98-807, 09/15/98. 17

18 GRIEVANCE FORM A GRIEVANCE (Assigned by Human Resources Director) (1) GRIEVANT: POSITION/DEPARTMENT: (2) Date Event/Condition Which is the Basis for This Grievance: (3) Date Submitted to Immediate Supervisor: (4) Nature of Grievance (Use Additional Paper If Necessary): (5) Specific Relief Requested (See Section 7.0(B) Of Grievance Procedure): FIRST STEP: IMMEDIATE SUPERVISOR LEVEL (6) Response To Be Filled Out By Immediate Supervisor As To What Action Was Taken: (7) Immediate Supervisor's Signature: Date: (8) Grievant Indicates if Immediate Supervisors Response Is: Acceptable Not Acceptable (9) Grievant Signature: Date: 18

19 SECOND STEP: APPOINTING AUTHORITY LEVEL (10) Date of Meeting With Appointing Authority: (11) Response To Be Filled Out By Appointing Authority As To What Action Was Taken: (12) Appointing Authority's Signature: Date: (13) Grievant Indicates If Appointing Authorities Response Is: Acceptable Not Acceptable (14) Grievant's Signature: Date: THIRD STEP: COUNTY EXECUTIVE LEVEL (15) Grievant Indicates if a Hearing is Requested Before the County Executive: Yes No (16) Date of Meeting With County Executive: (17) Response To Be Filled Out By County Executive As To What Action Was Taken: (18) County Executive's Signature: Date: (19) Grievant Indicates If County Executive's Response Is: Acceptable Not Acceptable FOURTH STEP: PERSONNEL APPEALS BOARD (20) Grievant Indicates If A Hearing Is Requested Before A Personnel Appeals Board: Yes No (21) Grievant's Signature: Date: If a hearing is desired, the grievant will advise the Human Resources Director and provide Grievance Form B. If no hearing is desired, the grievant is requested to send a copy of this form to the Human Resources Director in order to close the grievance file. 19

20 GRIEVANCE FORM B APPOINTMENTS TO PERSONNEL APPEALS BOARD 1st Member (Grievant Appointee): I hereby name to be my appointed member to the Personnel Appeals Board established to hear my grievance. He/she may be contacted at (address/phone number): 2nd Member (Appointing Authority Appointee): Signed: Grievant I hereby name to be my appointed member to the Personnel Appeals Board established to hear this grievance. He/she may be contacted at (address/phone number): Signed: Appointing Authority 3rd Member (Mutually agreed upon or chosen by Circuit Court pursuant to Section 9.4 of the Grievance Procedure): is hereby selected to serve as the third member to the Personnel Appeals Board established to hear this grievance. He/she may be contacted at (address/phone number): Signed: (Grievant's Appointee) Date (Appointing Authority's Appointee) Date ************************************************************************************** NOTE: Failure to comply with the substantive procedural requirements of the grievance procedures may cause grievance to be terminated. 20

21 DETERMINATION OF GRIEVABILITY FORM C Grievance # 1. Grievant: 2. Nature of Grievance: (See Grievance Form A. Here state nature in brief). 3. County Executive Determination: Grievable: Not Grievable: Reason (only if not grievable): 4. Appeal County Executive - Date I wish to appeal the decision on grievability. Please transmit the necessary papers to the Circuit Court as required by law. Grievant -- Date 21

22 Grievance # DECISION OF PERSONNEL APPEALS BOARD FORM D Date(s) of Hearing: Place of Hearing: Summary of Grievance: (Use additional paper if necessary) Summary of Evidence: Findings of Fact: 22

23 DECISION OF PERSONNEL APPEALS BOARD FORM D (continued) Reasons for Decision (state in full): Remedy: These members concur in the above stated decision: This member dissents from the above stated decision: A dissenting member shall file a written statement of the reasons for his or her dissent. 23