Submission of Grievances A. Any employee or group of employees shall have the right to present a grievance. No employee or group of employees shall be hindered from or disciplined for exercising this right.
B. If any two (2) or more employees have essentially the same grievance they may, and if requested by the County must, collectively present and pursue their grievance if they report to the same immediate supervisor.
C. If the grievant is a group of more than three (3) employees, the group shall, at the request of the County, appoint one (1) or two (2) employees to speak for the collective group. To be considered a grievant in a group grievance, each employee must be individually identified as a grievant when the grievance is submitted at Step 2.
Grievances and Appeals a. If you have questions about any pediatric dental services received, please first discuss the matter with your Dental Provider. However, if you continue to have concerns, please call Delta Dental’s Customer Service Center. You can also email questions by accessing the “Contact Us” section of the dental plan website at ▇▇▇.▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇.▇▇▇.
Settling of Grievances An ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ effort shall be made to process and settle grievances fairly and promptly in the following manner: It is agreed that an Employee has no grievance until he/she has first given his/her immediate Supervisor an opportunity to adjust his/her complaint within fourteen (14) calendar days of its occurrence or when they ought to have become aware of it. The Employee may request to meet with their Supervisor and is permitted to have a co-worker from their department present at the meeting. Prior approval is required to attend the meeting. The Employee has the option of making a written submission as an alternative to the meeting. The Employer will provide a written response to the complaint and if no satisfactory answer is received within seven (7) calendar days from the time it was first discussed with the Employee’s immediate Supervisor, the Employee may proceed to Step 1 of the grievance procedure.
Step 1 Failing satisfactory settlement at the complaint stage the Union may present the grievance to the appropriate Supervisor within seven (7) calendar days following the decision at the complaint stage. The grievance shall be in writing on a mutually approved form and shall include the nature of the grievance, the redress sought and the section or sections of the agreement that are alleged to have been violated. The Supervisor shall deliver his/her decision in writing within seven (7) calendar days following the presentation of the grievance to him/her.
Step 2 Failing satisfactory settlement at Step 1, the Union may present the grievance to the Administrator, or designate, in writing within seven (7) calendar days following receipt of the decision at Step 1. A meeting will be held within seven (7) calendar days from receipt of the grievance between the Administrator, or designate, and the Union. The decision of the Administrator, or designate, shall be delivered in writing within seven (7) calendar days of the meeting.
Step 3 Failing satisfactory settlement at Step 2, either party may refer the grievance to arbitration within thirty (30) calendar days following receipt of the decision at Step 2.
Grievances SECTION 1 For the purposes of this Agreement, a grievance shall be defined as: Any complaint by a teacher covered by this Agreement that:
(1) the teacher has been subject to a violation, inequitable application, or misinterpretation of a specific provision of this Agreement, or
(2) the teacher has been subjected to an unfair or discriminatory act contrary to established policy and practice.
SECTION 2 The purpose of this procedure is to secure, at the lowest possible administrative level, equitable solutions to the problems which may from time to time arise affecting the welfare or working conditions of teachers. Both parties agree that these proceedings will be kept as informal and confidential as may be appropriate at any level of this procedure.
SECTION 3 Nothing herein contained will be construed as limiting the right of any teacher having a grievance to discuss the matter informally with an appropriate member of the administration and to have the grievance adjusted without intervention of the Association, provided the adjustment is not inconsistent with the terms of this Agreement and that the Association has been given the opportunity to be present at such adjustment above level one and to state its views. If the teacher so chooses, a representative of the Association may be present at level one. The grievant may not elect to have anyone other than the exclusive bargaining representative present or to represent him/her during the grievance/arbitration procedure without the express written consent of the Association. The Association must be notified of the outcome of any level one grievance at which an Association representative is not present.
SECTION 4 No written communication, other document, or record relating to any grievance shall be filed in the personnel file maintained by the School Department of the Town of Needham for any teacher involved in presenting such grievance.
SECTION 5 Since it is important that grievances be processed as rapidly as possible, the number of days indicated at each level should be considered as maximum, and every effort should be made to expedite the process. For grievances and arbitration time limits, "days" shall be defined as days within the work year for teachers when students are in scheduled classes, including part-days and exam days. The time limits specified may be extended only by mutual agreement. It is understood and agreed that no grievance, dispute, misunderstanding, or difference between the parties arising out of the acts which occurred prior to the execution to this Agreement shall be submitted to the Committee under the provisions of this Article. It is understood that any grievances pending at the conclusion of the contract will remain operative in the subsequent contract period unless settled in negotiations. A teacher may contact the Association at any time prior to or during the grievance procedure.
SECTION 6 If at the end of twenty (20) days next following either the occurrence of any grievance or the date when the teacher should reasonably have had first knowledge of its occurrence, whichever is later, the grievance shall not have been presented at Level One, as set forth below, the grievance shall be deemed to have been waived. The Superintendent or designee will respond in writing within ten (10) days of the Level Two meeting.
SECTION 7 If there is a grievance which directly affects a group or class of teachers or is of a general nature, the Association may submit such a grievance in writing directly to the level of administration having the appropriate authority to resolve said grievance.
SECTION 8 A grievance not initiated within the time specified shall be deemed waived. Failure of the teacher filing the grievance to appeal a decision within the time limit specified will mean that the grievance shall be considered settled on the basis of the decision last made and shall not be eligible for further appeal. Failure of the School Committee to answer an appeal within the time limit specified shall mean that the appeal may be taken to the next step immediately. The above limitations may be waived by mutual agreement of the parties.
SECTION 9 In the event a grievance is filed on or after June l which, if left unresolved until the beginning of the following school year could result in irreparable harm to a party in interest, the time limits set forth herein will be reduced so that the grievance procedure may be exhausted prior to the end of the school year or as soon thereafter as is practicable.
SECTION 10 The School Committee will, upon request, provide the Association with copies of any documents in its possession including approved minutes of the School Committee which may be necessary for the Association to process grievances under the Agreement.
GRIEVANCES AND ARBITRATION Should any dispute or grievance arise be tween the Employer and the Union or be tween the Employer and its employees, con cerning the application and/or construction of this Contract, the parties agree that such matter shall be adjusted, if possible, by ne gotiations. In the event the dispute or griev ance cannot be resolved by negotiations within fifteen (15) days after the inception of the matter in dispute, then it shall be sub mitted immediately to a Board of Arbitra tion, consisting of three (3) persons, for final and binding decision. Either party may in stitute said arbitration proceedings by giving the other party notice thereof in writing, naming one person to act on his behalf on said Arbitration Board; and the other party shall, within five (5) days after receipt of such written notice, name one person to act on his behalf on said Arbitration Board. These two so selected shall designate the third member or referee of the Board. In the event these two so selected shall be unable, within fifteen (15) days, to agree upon the third member or referee, then the third mem ber of the Board shall forthwith be desig nated under the rules and procedures of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. The Board shall hold hearings and render its decision in writing within thirty (30) days with respect to a dispute under Article I, Section 1.2(d) and within ninety (90) days with respect to any other dispute. The Board’s decision shall be final and binding upon the grievant employee, the Union and the Employer. The decision of any two mem bers of the Board shall be the decision of the Board. If the parties shall agree upon one person to act as Arbitrator, his decision shall be as binding as that of a Board of Arbitra tion. The compensation and expense, if any, of witnesses and the cost of other evidence shall be borne by the party on whose behalf witnesses are called or the evidence is in troduced. Each party shall pay for the com pensation and expenses of the Arbitrator appointed by it. The compensation and ex penses of the third Arbitrator and all other costs incurred in conducting the arbitration proceedings shall be borne equally by the parties hereto.