Resolution of Conflicts of Interest; Standards of Conduct and Modification of Duties (a) Unless otherwise expressly provided in this Agreement or any Group Member Agreement, whenever a potential conflict of interest exists or arises between the General Partner or any of its Affiliates, on the one hand, and the Partnership, any Group Member or any Partner, on the other, any resolution or course of action by the General Partner or its Affiliates in respect of such conflict of interest shall be permitted and deemed approved by all Partners, and shall not constitute a breach of this Agreement, of any Group Member Agreement, of any agreement contemplated herein or therein, or of any duty stated or implied by law or equity, if the resolution or course of action in respect of such conflict of interest is (i) approved by Special Approval, (ii) approved by the vote of a majority of the Common Units (excluding Common Units owned by the General Partner and its Affiliates), (iii) on terms no less favorable to the Partnership than those generally being provided to or available from unrelated third parties or (iv) fair and reasonable to the Partnership, taking into account the totality of the relationships between the parties involved (including other transactions that may be particularly favorable or advantageous to the Partnership). The General Partner shall be authorized but not required in connection with its resolution of such conflict of interest to seek Special Approval of such resolution, and the General Partner may also adopt a resolution or course of action that has not received Special Approval. If Special Approval is not sought and the Board of Directors of the General Partner determines that the resolution or course of action taken with respect to a conflict of interest satisfies either of the standards set forth in clauses (iii) or (iv) above, then it shall be presumed that, in making its decision, the Board of Directors of the General Partner acted in good faith, and in any proceeding brought by any Limited Partner or by or on behalf of such Limited Partner or any other Limited Partner or the Partnership challenging such approval, the Person bringing or prosecuting such proceeding shall have the burden of overcoming such presumption. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement or any duty otherwise existing at law or equity, the existence of the conflicts of interest described in the Registration Statement are hereby approved by all Partners and shall not constitute a breach of this Agreement.
(b) Whenever the General Partner makes a determination or takes or declines to take any other action, or any of its Affiliates causes it to do so, in its capacity as the general partner of the Partnership as opposed to in its individual capacity, whether under this Agreement, any Group Member Agreement or any other agreement contemplated hereby or otherwise, then, unless another express standard is provided for in this Agreement, the General Partner, or such Affiliates causing it to do so, shall make such determination or take or decline to take such other action in good faith and shall not be subject to any other or different standards imposed by this Agreement, any Group Member Agreement, any other agreement contemplated hereby or under the Delaware Act or any other law, rule or regulation or at equity. In order for a determination or other action to be in “good faith” for purposes of this Agreement, the Person or Persons making such determination or taking or declining to take such other action must believe that the determination or other action is in the best interests of the Partnership, unless the context otherwise requires.
(c) Whenever the General Partner makes a determination or takes or declines to take any other action, or any of its Affiliates causes it to do so, in its individual capacity as opposed to in its capacity as the general partner of the Partnership, whether under this Agreement, any Group Member Agreement or any other agreement contemplated hereby or otherwise, then the General Partner, or such Affiliates causing it to do so, are entitled to make such determination or to take or decline to take such other action free of any fiduciary duty or obligation whatsoever to the Partnership, any Limited Partner, and the General Partner, or such Affiliates causing it to do so, shall not be required to act in good faith or pursuant to any other standard imposed by this Agreement, any Group Member Agreement, any other agreement contemplated hereby or under the Delaware Act or any other law, rule or regulation or at equity. By way of illustration and not of limitation, whenever the phrase, “at the option of the General Partner,” or some variation of that phrase, is used in this Agreement, it indicates that the General Partner is acting in its individual capacity. For the avoidance of doubt, whenever the General Partner votes or transfers its Partnership Interests, or refrains from voting or transferring its Partnership Interests, it shall be acting in its individual capacity.
(d) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, the General Partner and its Affiliates shall have no duty or obligation, express or implied, to (i) sell or otherwise dispose of any asset of the Partnership Group other than in the ordinary course of business or (ii) permit any Group Member to use any facilities or assets of the General Partner and its Affiliates, except as may be provided in contracts entered into from time to time specifically dealing with such use. Any determination by the General Partner or any of its Affiliates to enter into such contracts shall be at its option.
(e) Except as expressly set forth in this Agreement, neither the General Partner nor any other Indemnitee shall have any duties or liabilities, including fiduciary duties, to the Partnership or any Limited Partner and the provisions of this Agreement, to the extent that they restrict, eliminate or otherwise modify the duties and liabilities, including fiduciary duties, of the General Partner or any other Indemnitee otherwise existing at law or in equity, are agreed by the Partners to replace such other duties and liabilities of the General Partner or such other Indemnitee.
(f) The Unitholders hereby authorize the General Partner, on behalf of the Partnership as a partner or member of a Group Member, to approve of actions by the general partner or managing member of such Group Member similar to those actions permitted to be taken by the General Partner pursuant to this Section 7.9.
GRIEVANCE AND ARBITRATION PROCEDURES 8.01 Any employee(s) or the Union may present a complaint at any time without recourse to the formal written procedure contained herein. Failure to comply with this step, or the manner in which it is complied with shall not interfere with the formal grievance procedure, nor shall this step be subject of preliminary objections in any arbitration hearing.
8.02 At any step in the grievance procedure, including the complaint stage, the employee may be accompanied by his/her employee representative.
8.03 Grievances shall be registered with the Employer as follows: Step No. 1 An employee(s) or the Union on his/her/their behalf or in its own stead may present a grievance in writing to the Director of Care. Such grievance must be presented within ten (10) days of the date of its occurrence or when the employee or the Union reasonably ought to have been aware of this occurrence. The Director of Care shall render a decision in writing in ten (10) days following the day on which the grievance was submitted. If this decision is unsatisfactory to the employee(s) or the Union, Step No. 2 may be followed within ten (10) days. The grievance in writing shall be referred to the Administrator of the Home or designate who shall call a meeting of the Grievance Committee at the request of either party within seven (7) days of the filing of the grievance or such further period as the parties may agree. Within three (3) days following this meeting or within ten (10) days following the submission to the Administrator of the Home or designate if no such meeting is held, the Administrator of the Home or designate shall reply in writing to the employee(s) and the Chairperson of the Grievance Committee. If this decision is unsatisfactory to the employee(s) or the Union, Step No. 3 may be followed within ten (10) days. Within ten (10) days after the decision is given at Step No. 2 the grievance may be referred to the Chief Administrative Officer of the County or designate and the employee accompanied by his/her representative shall meet within ten (10) working days with the Chief Administrative Officer and Committee of Management or their designates. The employee may also be accompanied by a full-time representative of the Union if so desired at this stage. The Employer will render a decision in writing within ten (10) days following such meeting. If the decision is unsatisfactory to the employee(s) or the Union, it may be referred to arbitration.
8.04 A policy grievance may be presented by either the Union or the Employer at Step 2 of the Grievance Procedure.
8.05 Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Article, should the Employer discharge, suspend or discipline an employee or employees, notification by the Employer to such employee or employees shall be made in the presence of a member of the Union. Should the employee(s) or the Union on his/her/their behalf file a grievance against the discharge, suspension or discipline, it shall be reduced to writing and filed within ten (10) days under Step No. 3 of the Grievance Procedure.
8.06 Before any grievance is submitted to arbitration, the parties may meet with a Grievance Mediator in order to attempt to resolve such grievance. The parties may refer any number of outstanding grievances to the Grievance Mediator for possible resolution. Each party shall pay one-half (1/2) of the fees and expenses of the Grievance Mediator.
8.07 When either party requests that a grievance be submitted to arbitration, the grievance shall be submitted to one of the following panel of sole Arbitrators: ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ If a grievance has already been submitted to one of the Panel of Arbitrators, then any subsequent grievances shall be submitted to the next Arbitrator on the Panel. In order to accept an appointment, the Arbitrator must agree to render an award within thirty (30) days of the last day of hearing.
8.08 In the event that the parties mutually agree to refer a grievance to a tripartite Arbitration Board, the party requesting arbitration shall advise the other of its nominee to the Arbitration Board. Within ten (10) days thereafter, the other party shall answer, in writing, indicating the name and address of its appointee to the Arbitration Board. The Chair shall be selected from the Panel of Arbitrators set out in paragraph 8.07 above.
8.09 Once appointed, the Arbitration Board or single Arbitrator shall have all the powers set out in Section 50 of the Labour Relations Act including the power to mediate/arbitrate the grievance and to limit evidence and submissions.
8.10 Each party shall pay the costs and expenses of its appointees and the costs and expenses of the Chairperson shall be borne equally by the parties. Arbitration hearings shall be held in the community of the Employer or at such other places as may be agreed upon by the Union and the Employer.
8.11 The Arbitration Board shall not have jurisdiction to amend or add to any of the provisions of this Agreement, or to substitute any new provisions in lieu thereof, nor to give any decision inconsistent with the terms and provisions of this Agreement.
8.12 No person may be appointed as an arbitrator who has been involved in an attempt to negotiate or settle the grievance.
8.13 Any time limit referred to in the Grievance and Arbitration Procedures shall be exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays and holidays observed by the Employer and the days off of the aggrieved employee including vacation, and such limits may be extended with the agreement of both parties.