Spectrum - Volume 17 Issue 32 May 11, 1995 - New grievance procedure to be implemented July 1

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New grievance procedure to be implemented July 1

Spectrum Volume 17 Issue 32 - May 11, 1995

A new state grievance procedure will take effect on July 1, 1995. A training telecast to explain the new procedure will be presented by the Department of Employee Relations Counselors (DERC), the state agency that administers the grievance procedure, on May 25 from 9 to 11 a.m. in Squires Brush Mountain room A.

Interactive phone-in programming will be available, so have questions ready. For those with access to campus cable, the telecast will be on channel 9. Twenty other sites across the state will also receive the telecast and a video tape will be made. The tape will be available to groups or individuals, and additional training sessions may be scheduled

DERC has indicated the new procedure will be in print and ready for distribution by mid-May. Some of the major changes to the procedure include:

* Mediation is encouraged as a means of conflict resolution. If both parties agree to mediation, grievance time requirements will be suspended.

* An expedited process has been created for issues involving termination, demotion, suspension, or loss of wages.

* Employees must present a written grievance to their immediate supervisor within 30 days of the incident grieved. There is no requirement for a meeting between the employee and first-step management.

* A meeting is required at the second resolution step for fact finding. Emphasis has been placed on this step to create a summary of the facts, a response to the issues and the justification for the response.

* There is no requirement for a meeting between the employee and the third-step respondent. The third-step respondent may conduct an investigation or may review the documentation collected in steps one and two to issue a response.

* Issues that have in the past been non-grievable will now proceed through the three resolution steps. Grievability will be determined when an issue is qualified for a hearing.

* The agency head will issue rulings on grievability, access to the procedure, compliance and qualification for a hearing. These rulings are appealable to DERC and in some cases circuit court.

* The grievance panel has been replaced by a single hearing officer.

For more information on the grievance procedure, or other telecast locations, or if you are an individual with a disability desiring an accommodation for this program, please contact Susan Webb, Personnel Services at 1-7772.