Formal Grievance Procedure

The following describes the general steps applicable to a formal grievance.  If necessary, considering the specific reporting structure of the parties involved and other relevant factors, the Grievance Officer may modify this process as needed in order to enable appropriate consideration of the matters raised.  In such an event, the parties will be notified of any modifications in writing. 

Step I

Grievant’s Responsibility:  To initiate a formal grievance, the Grievant must submit a grievance in writing to the Grievance Officer within thirty (30) calendar days of the date of notice of termination for cause or within ten (10) working days after the unsuccessful informal resolution. The written grievance must include a clear statement of the issue being grieved and the facts giving rise to the grievance; a report on the efforts to resolve the matter informally (for issues not involving termination for cause), such facts as may be needed in arriving at a prompt and effective resolution, and the desired outcome of the grievance. Forms will be provided for this purpose.  To enable the grievance process to move forward efficiently, the Grievance Officer shall have the discretion to request that the Grievant clarify the issue or facts supporting the grievance, and the Grievant shall cooperate with such requests in good faith.  The Grievance Officer shall have the right to reject grievance statements, in whole or in part, that fail to include the information required above, that are excessive in length, contain irrelevant or unrelated information, or material that is beyond the scope of the issue(s) being grieved. 

Within five (5) working days of receipt of the grievance statement, the Grievance Officer shall transmit a copy of the grievance to the Respondent and notify the Respondent’s Vice-Chancellor that a grievance has been submitted. 

Respondent’s Responsibility:  The Respondent shall, to the best of his or her ability, review and respond to the Grievance Officer, in writing, within five (5) working days of receipt of the grievance statement. If applicable, the written response shall contain the Respondent’s proposal for resolution of the grievance, of which are within his or her control, and the reason for the course of action proposed.  In the event that the Respondent does not believe a course of action should be taken, the Respondent should address the reason for the determination, including any supporting documentation. 

Within five (5) working days of receipt of the grievance response, the Grievance Officer shall transmit a copy to the Grievant. 

 

Step II

Grievant’s Responsibility: If the Grievant is satisfied with the proposed resolution submitted by the Respondent, the Grievant will have two (2) working days in which to provide a statement to the Grievance Officer, in writing, of acceptance.  

If the Grievant is not satisfied with the written statement prepared by the Respondent, the Grievant will have five (5) working days in which to provide the Grievance Officer with a written request for a review of the grievance by the next supervisor in the Respondent’s chain of command.  

In the event the initial respondent is a Vice Chancellor or a direct report to the Chancellor, the grievance will proceed to the Grievance Hearing. 

Within five (5) working days of receipt of the written request for review of the grievance, the Grievance Officer shall transmit the grievance statement and all pertinent documentation to the appropriate supervisor. 

Supervisor(s) in Respondent’s Chain of Command Responsibility: The Respondent’s Supervisor shall, to the best of his or her ability, review and respond to the Grievance Officer, in writing, within five (5) working days of receipt of the grievance statement. If applicable, the written response shall contain the Supervisor’s proposal for resolution of the grievance, of which are within his or her control, and the reason for the course of action proposed.  In the event that the Supervisor does not believe a course of action should be taken, the Supervisor should address the reason for the determination, including any supporting documentation.  The Supervisor may respond with a statement that he or she has carefully reviewed the record and agrees with the conclusions and/or resolution of the respondent.  

Within five (5) working days of receipt of the grievance response, the Grievance Officer shall transmit a copy to the Grievant.

  

Step III

Grievant’s Responsibility: If the Grievant is satisfied with the proposed resolution submitted by a Supervisor in the Respondent’s chain of command, the Grievant will have two (2) working days in which to provide a statement to the Grievance Officer, in writing, of acceptance.    

If the Grievant is not satisfied with the written statement prepared by the last Supervisor in the Respondent’s chain of command, the Grievant will have five (5) working days in which to provide the Grievance Officer with a written request for a review of the grievance by the Grievance Committee. 

Within five (5) working days of receipt of the written request for review of the grievance by the Grievance Committee, the Grievance Officer shall initiate the scheduling of the grievance hearing. 

The Grievance Officer shall hold the following responsibilities:

  1. initiate the formation of the Grievance Committee pursuant to the procedure described in the “Definitions” section.               
  2. call the Grievance Committee members together to:
    1. advise the Committee members of their responsibility to select a Committee chairperson; and
    2. provide the Grievance Record to the Grievance Committee;
    3. establish a mutually agreeable time and place for the hearing;
    4. notify all parties of the time and place of the hearing; and advise all persons involved of their right to released time.

The Grievance Hearing shall follow the procedures as set out in Section 11.1.4 of the Staff Handbook. 

Grievance Hearing:  The Grievance Committee shall: (a) hear all evidence relevant to the grievance; (b) determine whether, in the opinion of the committee, university policies and procedures were followed, and (c) submit to the Grievance Officer a written statement of proposal for resolution as set out in Section 11.1.4 of the Staff Handbook. 

Within five (5) working days of the Grievance Officer receiving the Grievance Committee’s determination and proposal for resolution (if applicable), the Grievance Officer shall submit a copy of the same to the Vice Chancellor in the Respondent’s Chain of Command. If the initial respondent is a Vice Chancellor or direct report to the Chancellor, a copy of the determination and proposal for resolution shall be sent to the Chancellor. Within ten (10) working days of receipt of the grievance, or as soon as possible thereafter, the Chancellor shall review and respond to the Grievance Officer, in writing.  The decision of the Chancellor shall be final and not subject to further review.

 

Step IV

Vice Chancellor’s Responsibility:  The Vice Chancellor shall, to the best of his or her ability, review and respond to the Grievance Officer, in writing, within five (5) working days of receipt of the grievance statement and the Grievance Committee’s determination. If applicable, the written response shall contain the Vice Chancellor’s proposal for resolution of the grievance, of which are within his or her control, and the reason for the course of action proposed.  In the event that the Vice Chancellor does not believe a course of action should be taken, the Vice Chancellor should address the reason for the determination, including any supporting documentation.  The Vice Chancellor may respond with a statement that he or she has carefully reviewed the record and agrees with the conclusions and/or resolution of the respondent.

Within five (5) working days of receipt of the grievance response, the Grievance Officer shall transmit a copy of the written response and the Grievance Committee’s determination to the Grievant, Respondent and Supervisors in the Chain of Command. 

If no appeal to the Chancellor is filed within five (5) working days of the determination mailing date, this procedure ends and there is no further right of review.

 

Step V

Appeal of Vice Chancellor’s Decision:  Either party may submit an appeal of the Vice Chancellor’s decision to the Chancellor.  The appeal may be based only on one or more of the following reasons: 

  1. New material evidence discovered after the hearing, which was not known or was not otherwise discoverable with the exercise of reasonable diligence by the appealing party prior to the conclusion of the grievance hearing. The written appeal shall describe the new evidence, explain its materiality to the outcome, and the appealing party shall certify that it was not known or discoverable with reasonable diligence by the appealing party prior to the conclusion of the grievance hearing;
  1. The decision is contradictory to university policy; or
  2. The hearing procedure did not substantially comply with the guidelines in this Policy, or it otherwise violated the principles of notice and opportunity to be heard as embodied in the concept of due process.

The parties must submit his or her appeal to the Grievance Officer within five (5) working days of receipt of the written response by the Vice Chancellor. 

Within five (5) working days of receiving the appeal, the Grievance Officer shall submit to the Chancellor the entire Grievance Record, which shall include, but not be limited to, the hearing recording, the Grievance Committee’s determination and proposal for resolution, the Vice Chancellor’s written response and a copy of the appeal statement(s). 

Within ten (10) working days of receiving the appeal, or as soon as possible thereafter, the Chancellor shall communicate his or her decision in writing to the Grievance Officer. The Grievance Officer shall transmit a copy to the Grievant, Respondent, Supervisors in the Chain of Command, and the Grievance Committee. The Chancellor’s decision is final and not subject to further appeal. 

In the event that the decision of the Respondent, Supervisor(s) in the Chain of Command, Vice Chancellor, or Chancellor requires action of any party, the Grievance Officer will monitor the progress of the implementation of the action.

 

Friday, August 19, 2016 12:40 PM