Office of Inspector General Investigative Findings Expert Review In accordance with Senate Bill 799, Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., if Texas Government Code, Section 531.102(m-1)(2) (eff. Apr. 1, 2025, Section 544.0106, pursuant to House Bill 4611, Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S.) is applicable to this Contract, Contractor affirms that it possesses the necessary occupational licenses and experience.
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.
Dispute Resolution; Mediation (a) Either party may commence the dispute resolution process of this Section 8.2 by giving the other party written notice (a “Dispute Notice”) of any controversy, claim or dispute of whatever nature arising out of or relating to or in connection with this Agreement, any Ancillary Agreement or the breach, termination, enforceability or validity thereof (a “Dispute”) which has not been resolved in the normal course of business or as provided in the relevant Ancillary Agreement. The parties shall attempt in good faith to resolve any Dispute by negotiation between executives of each party (“Senior Party Representatives”) who have authority to settle the Dispute and, unless discussions between the parties are already at a senior management level, who are at a higher level of management than the Persons who have direct responsibility for the administration of this Agreement or the relevant Ancillary Agreement. Within fifteen (15) days after delivery of the Dispute Notice, the receiving party shall submit to the other a written response (the “Response”). The Dispute Notice and the Response shall include (i) a statement setting forth the position of the party giving such notice and a summary of arguments supporting such position and (ii) the name and title of such party’s Senior Party Representative and any other Persons who will accompany the Senior Party Representative at the meeting at which the parties will attempt to settle the Dispute. Within thirty (30) days after the delivery of the Dispute Notice, the Senior Party Representatives of both parties shall meet at a mutually acceptable time and place, and thereafter as often as they reasonably deem necessary, to attempt to resolve the Dispute. The parties shall cooperate in good faith with respect to any reasonable requests for exchanges of Information regarding the Dispute or a Response thereto. (b) If the Dispute has not been resolved within sixty (60) days after delivery of the Dispute Notice, or if the parties fail to meet within thirty (30) days after delivery of the Dispute Notice as hereinabove provided, the parties shall make a good faith attempt to settle the Dispute by mediation pursuant to the provisions of this Section 8.2 before resorting to arbitration contemplated by Section 8.3 or any other dispute resolution procedure that may be agreed by the parties. (c) All negotiations, conferences and discussions pursuant to this Section 8.2 shall be confidential and shall be treated as compromise and settlement negotiations. Nothing said or disclosed, nor any document produced, in the course of such negotiations, conferences and discussions that is not otherwise independently discoverable shall be offered or received as evidence or used for impeachment or for any other purpose in any current or future arbitration. (d) Unless the parties agree otherwise, the mediation shall be conducted in accordance with the CPR Institute for Dispute Resolution Model Procedure for Mediation of Business Disputes in effect on the date of this Agreement by a mediator mutually selected by the parties. (e) Within thirty (30) days after the mediator has been selected as provided above, both parties and their respective attorneys shall meet with the mediator for one (1) mediation session, it being agreed that each party representative attending such mediation session shall be a Senior Party Representative with authority to settle the Dispute. If the Dispute cannot be settled at such mediation session or at any mutually agreed continuation thereof, either party may give the other and the mediator a written notice declaring the mediation process at an end. (f) Costs of the mediation shall be borne equally by the parties involved in the matter, except that each party shall be responsible for its own expenses. (g) Any Dispute regarding the following matters is not required to be negotiated or mediated prior to seeking relief from an arbitrator or, if applicable, from a court pursuant to Section 10.14: (i) breach of any obligation of confidentiality or waiver of Privilege; and (ii) any other claim where interim relief is sought to prevent serious and irreparable injury to one of the parties. However, the parties to the Dispute shall make a good faith effort to negotiate and mediate such Dispute, according to the above procedures, while such arbitration is pending.
Conduct of mediation In consultation with the mediator, the parties must determine a location, timetable and procedure for the mediation or, if the parties cannot agree on these matters within 7 Working Days of the appointment of the mediator these matters will be determined by the mediator.
Applicable Law; Dispute Resolution i. This Agreement, and all claims, disputes or disagreements arising out of or connected with this Agreement, its validity or any breach thereof, shall be governed by the laws in effect in the State of Texas (excluding conflicts of laws provisions), and to the extent applicable to maritime issues, the maritime laws of the United States (excluding conflict of laws provisions). ii. PHA and Carrier desire to resolve any dispute, which may arise in connection with the Agreement in a timely and efficient manner. The parties therefore agree that the parties will attempt to resolve disputes arising hereunder in accordance with the following procedures. iii. Either party may request the other to attend a meeting for the purpose of resolving any dispute or disagreement arising from the provisions specified in the Agreement. Said meeting shall be held either in person in Houston, Texas, or by telephone within five (5) business days of receipt of written request specifying a brief description of the dispute, the monetary amount involved if known, and the remedies sought. iv. If the matter is not resolved in such meeting, or if such meeting is not held, either party may make written demand to attempt to resolve such dispute by non-binding mediation. Within seven (7) days after service of written notice on the other party demanding mediation, the parties in dispute shall jointly agree upon a mediator, and within thirty (30) days thereafter the parties shall undertake such mediation in Houston, Texas. In no event shall the parties be obligated to pursue mediation that does not resolve the issue within thirty