4.340 Grievance Procedures

Policy Number: 4.340

BACKGROUND/HISTORY

NPC is committed to providing the best possible working conditions for its employees. Part of this commitment is encouraging an open and frank atmosphere in which any problem, complaint, suggestion, or question receives a timely response from NPC supervisors and management. NPC strives to ensure fair and honest treatment of all employees. Supervisors, managers, and employees are expected to treat each other with mutual respect. Employees are encouraged to offer positive and constructive criticism.

SCOPE

If employees disagree with established rules of conduct, policies, or practices, they can express their concern through the problem resolution procedure. No employee will be penalized, formally or informally, for voicing a complaint with NPC in a reasonable, business-like manner, or for using the problem resolution procedure. If a situation occurs when employees believe that a condition of employment or a decision affecting them is unjust or inequitable, they are encouraged to make use of the following steps. The employee may discontinue the procedure at any step.

AUTHORITY

Associate VP Human Resources

DEFINITIONS

Unless excluded below, a grievance is a complaint of a College employee against the College concerning:

• The interpretation, application, or claimed violation of a specific term or provision of College policy, or
• Other matters which affect the employment relationship of the College employee to the College.

Excluded from the procedure are complaints relating to:

• Wages and salaries;
• Matters involving reappointment, performance evaluation, and promotion which do not concern a claimed failure by the College to follow established policy; or
• Termination

POLICY STATEMENT

Step #1:

Informal Discussions Employee presents problem to immediate supervisor within 5 calendar days, after incident occurs. If supervisor is unavailable or employee believes it would be inappropriate to contact that person, employee may present problem to Associate Vice President of Human Resources or any other member of management.

The immediate supervisor is responsible for providing an impartial, informal hearing, fully investigating the issue, and when possible, developing a resolution which is mutually agreeable. The supervisor is expected to reply verbally to the employee within five (5) working days. If a resolution is not reached within five (5) working days of the discussion, the employee may submit a written complaint following the procedures outlined in Step #2.

Step #2:

Formal Filing of a Written Complaint If the time period has expired without a response, or if a mutually agreeable resolution is not reached within this time period, the employee has five (5) working days to submit a written complaint to the Associate Vice President of Human Resources

The written grievance should identify the policy, procedure, or incident alleged to have been violated, clearly state the facts surrounding the grievance, and state the desired remedy. The Associate Vice President of Human Resources counsels and advises employee, assists in putting problem in writing, visits with employee's manager(s), if necessary, and directs employee to the Appeals Committee for review of problem. The Associate Vice President will make a determination if a grievance exists as defined herein.

Grievance Committee Members

To be appointed as needed by the College President, the Grievance Committee has equal representation and is made up of four (4) members: one (1) contract employee, one (1) full time faculty, one (1) staff member, and a member of Human Resources that serves as an ex-officio non-voting member to provide assistance on procedural and policy related matters.

Step #3:

Grievance Committee Functions The Grievance Committee functions in a flexible and informal manner to determine whether a violation has occurred and, if so, to recommend an appropriate action to correct the matter. Complaints for the Grievance Committee review must be submitted to the Human Resources Department to be forwarded to the Committee. The Committee has ten (10) working days to prepare a written response after it has received a complaint. All proceedings shall be in closed session and will not include the grievant, the party complained against, or other witnesses unless the Committee requests testimony. If testimony is requested, all parties and their representatives will be notified and invited to attend.

In reviewing a case, the Committee may decide between the following two options:

1. It may find no violation has occurred and recommend that no further action be taken.
2. It may find that violation has occurred and recommend a corrective action or a change in the term or condition of employment.

Step #4:

Grievance Committee Findings The Committee is responsible for documenting its findings, including a statement of the conclusion and the reason or policy criteria used in reaching a decision, along with recommendations for resolution of the grievance. The Appeals Committee will forward a copy of a written response to Vice President of Human Resources.

Within five days of the conclusion of the hearing, the Associate Vice President for Human Resources shall submit in writing to the President the Committee’s proposal for resolution of the grievance and the reasons for the course of action proposed. The President’s decision shall be considered final, and no further administrative review shall be available to the grievant.

The Associate Vice President for Human Resources shall prepare a written statement addressed to the grievant containing the decision for resolution of the grievance and the reasons for the decision and inform the grievant’ s immediate supervisor, dean, director or department head, of the action required to carry out the decision of the President.

Not every problem can be resolved to everyone's total satisfaction, but only through understanding and discussion of mutual problems can employees and management develop confidence in each other. This confidence is important to the operation of an efficient and harmonious work environment, and helps to ensure everyone's job security.

RESPONSIBILITY

Management of the grievance process shall be the responsibility of the Associate Vice President for Human Resources.

PROCEDURES/RELATED DOCUMENT AND FORMS

All materials relating to a closed grievance proceeding shall be retained on file in the Human Resources Department for five years. Files will be considered confidential in nature, except where disclosure is required by law.

Note: No decision at any step of the grievance procedure may conflict with any applicable state or federal statute. The grievance procedure is an internal tool for resolution of valid conflicts and is not a legal forum. The employee does not waive any rights under the jurisdiction of outside agencies, including the judicial system, by using this grievance procedure.