Grant County School
Bylaws & Policies
 

3340 - GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

The purpose of this policy is to provide a procedure for employees of Grant County Schools and South Branch Career and Technical Center and their employer or agents of the employer to reach solutions to problems which arise between them within the scope of their respective employment relationships to the end that good morale may be maintained, effective job performance may be enhanced and the citizens of the community may be better served.

This policy is intended to provide a simple, expeditious and fair process for resolving problems at the lowest possible administrative level and shall be construed to effectuate this purpose. A grievance may be resolved informally by stipulation or settlement agreed to in writing by the parties. Nothing in this policy shall prohibit the exercise of any hearing right provided in WV code.

Definitions

For the purpose of this article:

 A."Grievance" means any claim by one (1) or more affected employees of the Grant County Board of Education or South Branch Career and Technical Center alleging a violation, a misapplication or a misinterpretation of the statutes, policies, rules, regulations or written agreements under which such employees work, including any violation, misapplication or misinterpretation regarding compensation, hours, terms and conditions of employment, employment status or discrimination; any discriminatory or otherwise aggrieved application of unwritten policies or practices of the Board; any specifically identified incident of harassment or favoritism; or any action, policy or practice constituting a substantial detriment to or interference with effective classroom instruction, job performance or the health and safety of students or employees.
  A grievance may be filed by one (1) or more employees on behalf of a class of similarly situated employees. Any similarly situated employee shall indicate in writing of his/her intent to join the class of similarly situated employees. Only one (1) employee filing a grievance on behalf of similarly situated employees shall be required to participate in the level one hearing.
 

Any pension matter or other issue relating to the State teachers retirement system or other retirement system administered outside the jurisdiction of the Board, or any matter relating to public employees insurance, or any other matter in which authority to act is not vested with the employer shall not be the subject of any grievance filed in accordance with the provisions of this policy.
 B."Days" means days of the employee’s employment term or prior to or subsequent to such employment term exclusive of Saturday, Sunday, official holidays or school closings.
 C."Employee" means any person hired as a temporary, probationary or permanent employee either full or part-time. A substitute is considered an employee only on matters related to days worked for an institution or when there is a violation, misapplication or misinterpretation of a statute, policy, rule, regulation or written agreement relating to such substitute.
 D."Grievant" means any named employee or group of named employees filing a grievance.
 E."Institution", for purposes of this policy, means any public school, regional educational service agency or multi-county vocational center.
 F."Employer" means that institution contracting the services of the employee.
 G."Immediate supervisor" means that person next in rank above the grievant possessing a degree of administrative authority and designated as such in the employee’s contract, if any.
 H."Chief administrator" means the County Superintendent or the Director of a multi-county vocational center.
 I."Governing Board", for purposes of this policy, means county boards of education, the School Board members of any Board of Directors of a regional educational service agency or the School Board members of any administrative council of a multi-county vocational center.
 J."Grievance evaluator" means that individual or Governing Board authorized to render a decision on a grievance.
 K."Board" means the WV Education and State Employees Grievance Board.
 L."Hearing examiner" means the individual or individuals employed by the WV Education and State Employee Grievance Board.
 M."Discrimination" means any differences in the treatment of employees unless such differences are related to the actual job responsibilities of the employees or agreed to in writing by the employees.
 N."Harassment" means repeated or continual disturbance, irritation or annoyance of an employee which would be contrary to the demeanor expected by law, policy and profession.
 O."Favoritism" means unfair treatment of an employee as demonstrated by preferential, exceptional or advantageous treatment of another or other employees.
 P."Reprisal" means the retaliation of an employer or agent toward a grievant or any other participant in the grievance procedure either for an alleged injury itself or any lawful attempt to redress it.
 Q."Employee organization" means any employee advocacy organization whose membership includes employees as defined in this policy which has filed with the WV Education and State Employees Grievance Board the name, address, chief officer and membership criteria of the organization.
 R."Representative" means any employee organization, fellow employee, legal counsel or other person or persons designated by the grievant as the grievant’s representative.

Grievance Procedure Generally
 A.A grievance must be filed within the times specified in this policy and shall be processed as rapidly as possible. The number of days indicated at each level specified herein shall be considered as the maximum number of days allowed and, if a decision is not rendered at any level within the prescribed time limits, the grievant may appeal to the next level. The specified time limits may be extended by mutual written agreement and shall be extended whenever a grievant is not working because of personal leave for illness or as a result of accident, sickness, death in the immediate family, or life threatening illness of the employee’s spouse, parents or child or other cause authorized or approved by this County’s Board of Education. Any assertion by the employer that the filing of the grievance at level one was untimely must be asserted by the employer on behalf of the employer at or before the level two hearing. If a grievance evaluator required to respond to a grievance at any level fails to make a required response in the time limits required in this policy, unless prevented from doing so directly as a result of sickness or illness, the grievant shall prevail by default. Within five (5) days of such default, the employer may request a hearing before a level four hearing examiner for the purpose of showing that the remedy received by the prevailing grievant is contrary to law or clearly wrong. In making a determination regarding the remedy, the hearing examiner shall presume the employee prevailed on the merits of the grievance and shall determine whether the remedy is contrary to law or clearly wrong in light of that presumption. If the examiner finds that the remedy is contrary to law, or clearly wrong, the examiner may modify the remedy to be granted so as to comply with the law and to make the grievant whole.
 B.If the employer or agent intends to assert the applicability of any statute, policy, rule, regulation or written agreement or submits any written response to the filed grievance at any level, a copy of the document shall be forwarded to the grievant and any representative of the grievant so named in the filed grievance. Anything so submitted and the grievant’s response, if any, shall become part of the record. Failure to assert such statute, policy, rule, regulation or written agreement at any level shall not prevent the subsequent submission.
 C.The grievant may file the grievance at the level vested with the authority to grant the requested relief if the grievance evaluator at that level agrees in writing. In the event a grievance is filed at a higher level, the employer shall provide copies to each lower administrative level.
 D.An employee may withdraw a grievance at any time by notice, in writing, to the level wherein the grievance is then current. Such grievance may not be reinstated by the grievant unless such reinstatement is granted by the grievance evaluator at the level where the grievance was withdrawn. If more than one (1) employee is named as grievant in a particular grievance, the withdrawal of one (1) employee shall not prejudice the rights of any other employee named in the grievance. In the event a grievance is withdrawn or an employee withdraws from a grievance, such employer shall notify in writing each lower administrative level.
 E.Grievances may be consolidated at any level by agreement of all parties.
 F.An employee may have the assistance of one (1) or more fellow employees, an employee organization representative or representatives, legal counsel or any other person in the preparation and presentation of the grievance. At the request of the grievant, such person or persons may be present at any step of the procedure, as well as at any investigative meeting or other meeting which is held with the employee for the purpose of discussing the possibility of disciplinary action. When a fellow employee is assisting a grievant, the employee shall do so without loss of pay and shall have protection from reprisal as defined in this policy.
 G.If a grievance is filed which cannot be resolved within the time limits set forth in this policy prior to the end of the employment term, the time limit set forth in this policy shall be reduced as agreed to in writing by both parties so that the grievance procedure may be concluded within ten (10) days following the end of the employment term or an otherwise reasonable time.
 H.No reprisals of any kind shall be taken by any employer or agent of the employer against any interested party, or any other participant in the grievance procedure by reason of such participation. A reprisal constitutes a grievance, and any person held to be responsible for reprisal action shall be subject to disciplinary action for insubordination.
 I.Except for the informal attempt to resolve the grievance as provided for in this policy, decisions rendered at all levels of the grievance procedure shall be dated, shall be in writing setting forth the decision or decisions and the reasons therefor, and shall be transmitted within the time prescribed to the grievant and any representative named in the grievance. If the grievant is denied the relief sought, the decision shall include the name of the individual at the next level to whom appeal may be made.
 J.Once a grievance has been filed, supportive or corroborative evidence may be presented at any conference or hearing conducted pursuant to the provisions of this policy. Whether evidence substantially alters the original grievance and renders it a different grievance is within the discretion of the grievance evaluator at the level wherein the new evidence is presented. If the grievance evaluator rules that the evidence renders it a different grievance, the party offering the evidence may withdraw same; the parties may consent to such evidence, or the grievance evaluator may decide to hear the evidence or rule that the grievant must file a new grievance. The time limitations for filing the new grievance shall be measured from the date of such ruling.
 K.Any change in the relief sought by the grievant shall be consented to by all parties or may be granted at level four within the discretion of the hearing examiner.
 L.Forms for filing grievances, giving notice, taking appeals, making reports and recommendations, and all other necessary documents shall be made available by the immediate supervisor to any employee upon request. Such forms shall include information as prescribed by the Board. The grievant shall have access to the institution’s equipment for purposes of preparing grievance documents subject to the reasonable rules of the employer governing the use of such equipment.
 M.All conferences and hearings pursuant to this policy shall be conducted in private except that, upon the grievant’s request, conferences and hearings at levels two and three shall be public. Within the discretion of the hearing examiner, conferences and hearings may be public at level four.
 N.No person or Governing Board to which appeal has been made shall confer or correspond with a grievance evaluator at a previous level or a management representative who recommended or approved the grieved action regarding the merits of the grievance unless all parties to the grievance are present.
 O.Grievances may be processed at any reasonable time, but attempts shall be made to process the grievance on work time in a manner which does not interfere with the normal operation of the institution. Grievances processed on work time shall not result in any reduction in salary, wages, rate of pay or other benefits of the employee and shall be counted as time worked.
 P.Should any employer or the employer’s agent cause a conference or hearing to be postponed without adequate notice to employees who are scheduled to appear during their normal work day, such employees will not suffer any loss in pay for work time lost.
 Q.Any grievance evaluator may be excused from participation in the grievance process for reasonable cause, including, but not limited to, conflict of interest or incapacitation, and in such case the grievance evaluator at the next higher level shall designate an alternate grievance evaluator if such is deemed reasonable and necessary.
  All grievance forms and reports shall be kept in a file separate from the personnel file of the employee and shall not become a part of such personnel file, but shall remain confidential except by mutual written agreement of the parties.
 R.The number of grievances filed against an employer or agent or by an employee shall not, per se, be an indication of such employer’s or agent’s or such employee’s job performance.
 S.Any chief administrator or Governing Board of an institution in which a grievance was filed may appeal such decision on the grounds that the decision:
  1.was contrary to law or lawfully adopted rule, regulation or written policy of the chief administrator or Governing Board;
  2.exceeded the hearing examiner’s statutory authority;
  3.was the result of fraud or deceit;
  4.was clearly wrong in view of the reliable, probative and substantial evidence on the whole record;
  5.was arbitrary or capricious or characterized by abuse of discretion. Such appeal shall follow the procedure regarding appeal provided the grievant in this article and provided both parties in section seven (WV 18-29-7) of this article.
 T.Upon a timely request, any employee shall be allowed to intervene and become a party to a grievance at any level when that employee claims that the disposition of the action may substantially and adversely affect his/her rights or property and that his/her interest is not adequately represented by the existing parties.
 U.The doctrine of laches shall not be applied to prevent a grievant or grievants from recovering back pay or other appropriate relief for a period of one (1) year prior to the filing of a grievance based upon a continuing practice.

Procedural Levels and Procedures at those Levels

Level One: Before a grievance is filed and within fifteen (15) days following the occurrence of the event upon which the grievance is based, or within fifteen (15) days of the date on which the event became known to the grievant or within fifteen (15) days of the most recent occurrence of a continuing practice giving rise to a grievance, the grievant or the designated representative shall schedule a conference with the immediate supervisor to discuss the nature of the grievance and the action, redress or other remedy sought.

The conference with the immediate supervisor concerning the grievance shall be conducted within ten (10) days of the request therefore, and any discussion shall be by the grievant in the grievant’s own behalf or by both the grievant and the designated representative.

The immediate supervisor shall respond to the grievance within ten (10) days of the conference.

Within ten (10) days of receipt of the response from the immediate supervisor following the informal conference, a written grievance may be filed with said supervisor, by the grievant, on a form furnished by the employer or agent.

The immediate supervisor shall state the decision to such filed grievance within ten (10) days after the grievance is filed.

Level Two: Within five (5) days of receiving the decision of the immediate supervisor, the grievant may appeal the decision to the chief administrator, and such administrator or his/her designee shall conduct a hearing in accordance with the procedure set forth in WV Code 18-29-6, within five (5) days of receiving the appeal and shall issue a written decision within five (5) days of such hearing. Such decision may, affirm, modify or reverse the decision appealed from the preceding level.

Level Three: Within five (5) days of receiving the decision of the chief administrator, the grievant may appeal the decision to the Board or may proceed directly to Level Four. An appeal to the Board shall set forth the reasons why the grievant is seeking a Level Three review of the decision of the chief administrator. Within five (5) days of receiving the appeal, the Board may conduct a hearing in accordance with WV Code 18-29-6, may review the record submitted by the chief administrator and render a decision based on such record or may waive the right granted herein and shall notify the grievant of such waiver. Any decision by the Board, including a decision to waive participation in the grievance, shall be in writing and shall set forth the reasons for such decision, including the decision to waive participation in the grievance. If a hearing is held under the provisions of this policy, the Board shall issue a decision affirming, modifying or reversing the decision of the chief administrator within five (5) days of such hearing.

Level Four: If the grievant is not satisfied with the action taken by the chief administrator or, if appealed to Level Three, the action taken by the Board, within five (5) days of the written decision the grievant may request, in writing, on a form furnished by the employer, that the grievance be submitted to a hearing examiner as provided for in WV 18-29-5, such hearing to be conducted in accordance with WV 18-29-6, within ten (10) days following the request therefore: provided, that such hearing may be held within thirty (30) days following the request or within such time as is mutually agreed upon by the parties, if the hearing examiner gives reasonable cause, in writing, as to the necessity for such delay.

Within thirty (30) days following the hearing, the hearing examiner shall render a decision in writing to all parties setting forth findings and conclusions on the issues submitted. Subject to the right of appeal to the Circuit Court of Kanawha County of the Circuit Court of the County in which the grievance occurred, within thirty (30) days of receipt of the decision, the hearing examiner’s decision shall be final and may be enforced in the Circuit Court.

WV Code 18-29-1 through 10