CHAPTER 12
GRIEVANCE
PROCEDURES
It shall be
the policy of the Hospital to promote favorable relations between management
and its employees by resolving complaints expeditiously; prevent similar
complaints; assure fair and equitable treatment of all employees; and promote
harmonious working relationships among all levels of employees.
This chapter
outlines the responsibilities and procedures to be followed by employees in the
presentation of an informal and formal grievance. All levels of management shall carefully and promptly
respond to an employee’s grievance and shall be guided by these procedures.
12.000 APPLICABILITY
The
regulations shall apply to all permanent classified employees.
12.100
DEFINITION
A grievance
is any question or complaint filed by a permanent employee alleging that there
has been a misinterpretation, misapplication or violation of a personnel
statute, rule, regulation, written policy which directly affects the employee
in the performance of his official duties; or that he has received prejudicial,
unfair, arbitrary, capricious treatment in his working conditions or work
relationships.
The time
frames provided in this chapter will serve as a guide and may be extended or
shortened based on concurrence of the parties involved.
12.200
COVERAGE
Grievances
may include, but are not limited to, such actions as employee-supervisor
relationships, duty assignments not related to job classification, shift and
job location assignments, hours worked, working facilities and conditions,
policies for granting leave, and other related matters.
12.300
EXCLUSIONS
12.301 General Exclusions
The following actions are not
covered by the grievance procedures:
A.
Disqualification of an applicant;
B.
Disqualification of an eligible;
C.
Examination ratings;
D.
Removal during
initial probationary period;
E.
Appeals from classification determinations;
F.
Appeals from adverse personnel actions;
G.
Allegations or complaints of discrimination;
and
H.
Appeals of performance evaluations.
12.302
Grievance Procedures for Employee Organizations
The
procedures are also not applicable when the employee is in a unit covered by an
exclusive recognition, as an employee organization, which has negotiated
grievance procedures for that unit. When
negotiated procedures exist, they shall be the exclusive procedures available
to hospital employees in the unit for settlement or group grievances.
12.303
Equal Employment
When an
aggrieved employee submits a written allegation of discrimination on grounds of
race, color, religion, sex, national origin, marital status, age, disability or
political affiliation in connection with a matter which is subject to the Hospital’s
grievance procedures, as well as, the EEO Discrimination Complaint Procedures,
that allegation shall be processed under the EEO Discrimination Complaint
Procedures.
12.400
GENERAL
PROVISIONS FOR USE OF GRIEVANCE
PROCEDURES
12.401
Freedom from Reprisal or Interference
A.
An employee and his representative shall be
free to use the grievance system without restraint, interference, coercion,
discrimination, or reprisal.
B.
An employee, whether acting in an official
capacity for the Hospital, or on any other basis, must not interfere with, or
attempt to interfere with, another employee’s exercise of his rights under the
grievance system. To be fully effective,
the spirit as well as the letter of this non-interference requirement must be
enforced. It is not enough for an official
to abstain from overt threats or interference.
He should refrain from making any statement or taking any action, which
has the appearance or even the flavor of a threat, interference, or
intimidation.
12.402
Employee’s Status During Grievance Procedures
An employee’s status during each
procedural level shall be status quo.
12.403 Right to Seek Advice
All levels of
management will provide an opportunity for an employee to communicate with and
seek advice from:
A.
The Hospital’s Human Resources Office;
B.
The EEO Coordinator or EEO Counselor; or
C.
A supervisory or management official of higher
rank than the employee’s immediate supervisor.
12.404 Representation
A.
An employee has the right to present a
grievance without representation.
B.
An employee has the right to present a
grievance with representation.
1.
An employee has the right to be accompanied,
represented, and advised by a representative of his choice at any stage of the
grievance proceedings.
2.
An employee may change his representative, but
to do so, he must notify his immediate supervisor and the Administrator of the
change in writing.
3.
A person chosen by the employee must be
willing to represent him.
12.405
Official Time for Presentation of the
Grievance
A.
An employee must be given a reasonable amount
of official time to present his grievance if he is otherwise in an active work
status.
B.
An employee’s representative, if he is an
employee of the Government of Guam and is otherwise in an active work status,
must be given a reasonable amount of official time to present the grievance.
C.
There is no requirement that the official time
for the presentation include time for investigation or preparation, or that it
includes travel expense or per diem travel allowance or consultation with
private attorney.
D.
When an employee must travel outside the
hospital, the employee is afforded one-half hour to and one-half hour from the
official schedule site. Employee must
report back to work status upon the close of the meeting. Employees opting not to return to work must
sign annual leave.
12.406
Termination of Grievance
A.
An employee who has filed a grievance may
terminate the grievance at any time.
B.
Failure on the part of the employee to proceed
to a higher step of the grievance procedure within the time period specified
will terminate the grievance.
12.407
Management’s Responsibility for Timely Action
and Settlement
At the Lowest Possible
Level
A.
It shall be the responsibility of management
to settle grievances fairly and promptly at, or near the organizational level
where the employee brought the grievance to their attention.
B.
Failure by management to render a decision to the
employee within the allotted time at any step constitutes denial; the employee
may then proceed to the next step of the grievance procedures.
12.500
STEP 1 –
INFORMAL GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES
12.501
Management Responsibility
An employee’s
grievance may or may not be objectively justified. What is important is that the grievance is
real to the employee. When the grievance
is well founded, management has both a duty and a need to eliminate the
cause. When the grievance is not well
founded, it is equally important to reach an understanding based on the full
facts. Therefore, the informal procedure
should assure consideration of every employee’s grievance with a degree of
promptness, sympathy, understanding, fairness, competence, and authority which
convinces the employee that he has been treated fairly.
12.502
Settlement at the Lowest Possible Level of Management
The informal
procedures should be as simple as possible consonant with bonafide
consideration of grievances. It should
encourage settlement of matters at the lowest possible administrative level in
the shortest possible time and should not, therefore, require any written
explanation from the employee. However,
the employee may present his grievance under the informal procedures, either
orally or in writing, and he should not be prevented from submitting a written
explanation if he desires.
12.503
Supervisor’s Responsibility
A.
Normal day-to-day discussions between
employees and supervisors regarding working conditions and related employment
matters are the most constructive and expeditious means of developing and
enhancing favorable and effective work relationships.
B.
Each employee of the Hospital has the right to
present matters to his supervisor and/or department head, and each supervisor
and or department head has the obligation to act promptly and fairly upon them,
seeking advice and assistance of others when necessary.
12.504
Employee’s Responsibility
A.
Each employee is expected to make a concerted
effort to achieve informal settlement of his grievance. He should promptly bring his grievance to the
attention of the appropriate supervisory level.
B.
Tolling Period: In counting the number of days for each step,
if the last day of the period falls on a weekend, the filing time or receipt
time falls on the next working day.
12.505
Using the Informal Grievance Procedure – Step
1
A.
Initiation by Employee
In keeping
with the personal nature of matters covered by grievance procedures, grievances
can only be initiated by employees, singly or jointly; they may not be
initiated by employee organizations.
Employee organizations may be permitted to present a grievance on behalf
of an employee or a group of employees when requested to do so by the employee
or employees.
B.
Time Limit
1.
An employee may present a grievance to his
supervisor and/or department head concerning a continuing practice or condition
at any time. Grievances concerning a
particular act or occurrence must be presented within 15 calendar days of that
action or occurrence.
2.
The immediate supervisor and/or department
head shall render a decision within 10 calendar days of the presentation of the
grievance.
C.
Form of the Grievance
An employee
may present a grievance under the informal procedure either orally or in
writing.
D.
Non-rejection Provision
A grievance
may not be rejected in the informal procedure for any reason. If the grievance is not timely or consists of
a matter not covered under the grievance system, the employee should be so
advised but he must be allowed to submit his grievance under the formal
procedures if he insists.
E.
Mandatory Use of the Informal Procedure
An employee
must complete the informal procedure before the Hospital may accept from him a
grievance concerning the same matter under the formal procedure.
12.600
STEP 2 –
FORMAL GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES – NEXT
ADMINISTRATIVE LEVEL (DIVISION MANGER)
12.601
Presentation of the Grievance – Step 2
A.
An employee is entitled to present a grievance
under the formal procedure if:
1.
he has completed the informal procedure; and
2.
the grievance is not satisfactorily resolved
at the informal level; and
3.
the immediate supervisor and/or department
head failed to render a decision within
10 calendar days of the presentation of the grievance at the informal level.
B.
The grievance presented in Step 2 must:
1.
be in writing on a form prescribed by the Administrator;
2.
contain sufficient detail to identify and
clarify the basis for the grievance;
3.
specify the remedy requested by the employee;
and
4.
be submitted to the division manager who is
the next higher supervisor than the immediate supervisor and/or department
head within 5 calendar days after
receipt of the answer in Step 1 or after the answer was due.
12.602 Responsibility of Division Manager
A.
The Division Manager must determine whether
the grievance is timely, is covered by the grievance procedures, and has been
processed through the informal procedure.
B.
The Division Manager shall make a positive
attempt to resolve the grievance. He
shall render a decision, in writing, to the employee within 5 calendar days of
receipt of the written grievance.
12.700
STEP 3 –
FORMAL GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES – Part A (Administrator) and Part B (Personnel
Committee Board of Trustees)
PART (A) ADMINISTRATOR
12.701 Presentation of the Grievance – Step 3
A.
An employee is entitled to present a grievance
under Step 3 if:
1.
he has completed Step 2 of the procedures; and
2.
the grievance is not satisfactorily resolved
at Step 2 level; or
3.
specify the remedy requested by the employee;
and
4.
be submitted to the Administrator within 5 calendar days after receipt
of the answer in Step 2 or after the answer was due.
12.702 Hospital Grievance Committee
A. Appointment of Committee