ARTICLE 5 - GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

The language in this Appendix continues unchanged from the previous Agreement except for minor housekeeping changes.

5.01 - Purpose

The State of Ohio and the Association recognize that in the interest of harmonious relations, a procedure is necessary whereby employees are assured of prompt, impartial and fair processing of their grievances.  Such procedure shall be available to all employees and no reprisals of any kind shall be taken against any employee initiating or participating in the grievance procedure.  The grievance procedure shall be the exclusive method of resolving both contractual and disciplinary grievances except where otherwise provided by this Agreement.

The parties intend that every effort shall be made to share all relevant and pertinent records, papers, data and names of witnesses to facilitate the resolution of grievances at the lowest possible level. Where the parties mutually agree, telephone and/or teleconferencing are acceptable options for the purpose of conducting grievance meetings.

An employee who elects to pursue a claim through any judicial or administrative procedure shall thereafter be precluded from processing the same claim and incident as a grievance hereunder.  This restriction does not preclude, however, pursuing a claim which has been heard in the grievance and arbitration procedure, in another forum, subject only to the State's right to file a motion for deferral.

5.02 - Definitions

1. Grievance - refers to an alleged violation, misinterpretation or misapplication of specific provision(s), article(s), and/or section(s) of this Agreement.
2. Disciplinary Grievance - refers to a grievance involving a suspension or termination.
3. Day - refers to calendar day except where otherwise specified.  Times shall be computed by excluding the first and including the last day, except that when the last day falls on a Saturday, a Sunday or a legal holiday, the act may be done on the next succeeding day which is not a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday.  "Work Days" refers to Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays.
4. Appointing authority is the public official of a department, board, commission or body who has the authority to appoint or discharge an employee.  The term "appointing authority" also includes the public official's designee.
5. Employing agency is the department, board, commission, or body within which the employee is appointed.  If there is more than one (1) appointing authority within the employing agency, the term agency refers to the entire department under the control of the director of the department.
6. Grievance numbers shall be assigned by the Agency designee at the level it is originally filed.  The assignment of a number is merely for tracking purposes and shall not be construed as a recognition that it is a valid grievance.

5.03 - Qualifications

A grievance under this procedure may be brought by any employee or group of employees or the Association setting forth the name(s) or group(s) of the Grievant(s).  At each step of the grievance procedure, except Step One (1), the Grievant must specify on the written grievance form the specific provision(s) of the Agreement alleged to have been violated and the desired resolution.  The parties shall use the mutually developed grievance form for the processing of grievances.

Where a group of employees or the Association desires to file a grievance involving an alleged violation which affects more than one (1) employee in the same way, the grievance may be filed by the Association.  Grievances so initiated shall be called class grievances.  The caption of the grievance shall bear the name of one (1) affected employee with the designation et al.  Class grievances shall be filed within fifteen (15) working days of the date on which any of the affected employees knew or reasonably could have had knowledge of the event giving rise to the class grievance.  Class grievances shall be initiated directly at Step Two (2) of the grievance procedure.

Within thirty (30) days of this Agreement, the Association will provide to the Office of Collective Bargaining names of those representatives designated by the Association with the authority to file and sign class grievance on behalf of the Association.  It will be the responsibility of the Office of Collective Bargaining to transmit to each employing agency affected by this agreement a list of such representatives.  It will be the responsibility of the Association to inform the Office of Collective Bargaining of any changes, additions, or deletions to this list.

5.04 - Termination of Grievance

When a decision has been accepted by the appropriate parties at any step of this grievance procedure, the grievance shall be terminated.  Should the Grievant fail to comply with the time limits specified herein, that grievance shall be terminated and considered resolved in favor of the Employer. 

5.05 - Grievance Procedure

The following procedure applies to the processing of grievances:

A.     Step One (1) - Immediate Supervisor

            An employee having a grievance shall first attempt to resolve it informally with his/her immediate supervisor within fifteen (15) working days of the date on which the employee knows or reasonably could have had knowledge of the event giving rise to the grievance, but no later than thirty (30) days after the event.  If being on approved paid leave prevents a Grievant from having knowledge of an occurrence, then the time lines shall be extended by the number of days the employee was on such leave except that in no case will the extension exceed ninety (90) days after the event.  At this step, the employee may be represented by an Association representative if the employee so desires.  Within seven (7) days after the employee has notified the supervisor of the grievance, the supervisor shall respond to the employee in writing.  If the employee is not satisfied with the result of this informal step, the employee may pursue the formal steps which follow:

B.     Step Two (2) - Next Level Supervisor

Should the Grievant not be satisfied with the written answer received at Step One (1), within ten (10) days after receipt thereof, or the date such answer was due, whichever is earlier the Grievant or the Association, if requested, may file the grievance with the next level supervisor.  If the requirements of Step One (1) have not been attempted by the employee, the employee shall have no right to file a formal grievance.

Upon receipt of the grievance, the next level supervisor shall indicate the date of receipt on the grievance form.  Within fourteen (14) days of receipt, a meeting shall be held with the Grievant.  The Grievant shall receive notification at least two (2) days prior to the meeting.  An Association representative may attend the meeting and shall represent the employee if requested.

Within ten (10) days of this meeting, the next level supervisor shall respond on the grievance form and return a copy to the Grievant and to the Association representative.

C.     Step Three (3) - Employing Agency Director

Should the Grievant or the Association not be satisfied with the written answer received at Step Two (2), within ten (10) days after receipt thereof or the date such answer was due, whichever is earlier, the grievance shall be filed with the Agency Head/Director or designee.  When different work locations are involved, transmittal of grievance appeals and subsequent responses shall be by U.S. Mail.  The grievance may be submitted by serving written notice (including a copy of the grievance) presented to the Agency Head/Director or designee.  The mailing of the grievance appeal shall be timely, if it is postmarked within the appeal period.  Envelopes lacking a legible postmark shall be assumed to have been mailed three (3) days prior to their receipt.  Upon receipt of the grievance, the agency head/Director or designee shall hold a meeting and render a decision within forty-five (45) days after the receipt of the grievance.  The Grievant shall receive notification at least two (2) days prior to the meeting.  An Association representative may attend the meeting and shall represent the employee if requested.  A representative of the Office of Collective Bargaining may be present at such meeting.  The Deputy Director of the Office of Collective Bargaining or designee shall review the written decision of the agency head or designee, prior to its being mailed to the Grievant and/or Association.

The Association shall designate an individual within the organization to whom copies of Step Three (3) responses shall be mailed.  The notification shall be sent to the Office of Collective Bargaining by the President of the Association.

By mutual agreement, the Association and agency may waive any preceding step of the grievance procedure.

D. Step Four (4) - Request for Arbitration

If the Agency is untimely with its response to the grievance at Step Three (3), absent a mutually agreed to time extension the Association may appeal the grievance to Step Four (4) requesting a meeting by filing a written appeal and copy of the grievance form to the Deputy Director of the Office of Collective Bargaining within fifteen (15) days of the due date of the Step Three (3) receipt of a grievance.  asAs a result of a failure to meet the time limits by the agency, OCB shall schedule a meeting with the Uniserv Consultant and/or a Site Representative within thirty (30) days of receipt of the grievance appeal in an attempt to resolve the grievance unless the parties mutually agree otherwise.  Within thirty-five (35) days of the OCB meeting, OCB shall provide a written response which may grant, modify or deny the remedy being sought by the Union.  tThe response will include the rationale upon which the decision is rendered and will be forwarded to the Grievant, the Association’s Step Three (3) representative’s who attend the meeting and the Association’s Grievance chair.  If the Association is not satisfied with the answer at Step Three (3) or the OCB response issued at Step Four (4), it may submit the grievance to arbitration, by serving written notice of its desire to do so (including a copy of the grievance) by U.S. Mail.  The notice shall be presented to the Deputy Director of the Office of Collective Bargaining, with a copy sent to the Agency Head/Director or designee.  This notice shall be mailed within fifteen (15) days after the receipt of the decision at Step Three (3) or the OCB response issued at Step Four (4), or the date such answer was due, whichever is earlier.  The mailing of a letter requesting a grievance appeal shall constitute a timely appeal, if it is postmarked within the appeal period.  Envelopes lacking a legible postmark shall be assumed to have been mailed three (3) days prior to their receipt.

5.06 - Association Representation

1. In each step of the grievance procedure, certain specific Association representatives are given approval to attend the meetings therein prescribed.  However, it is understood by the parties that, in the interest of resolving grievances at the earliest possible step of the grievance procedure, it may be beneficial that other individuals, not specifically designated, be in attendance provided that their presence will not interfere with or interrupt normal school or work facility operations.
2. In regard to the adjustment of grievances and the formalization of settlements at Step Three (3), the Association shall designate those bargaining unit members who have the authority to act on behalf of the Association.  The President of the Association shall serve written notice to the Deputy Director of the Office of Collective Bargaining regarding who these bargaining unit members are.  Where feasible, the bargaining unit representative designated to attend such meetings shall be an employee of the Agency seeking to settle the grievance.  A bargaining unit representative shall be granted administrative leave with pay, per Section 28.07 4.07(B), to attend a meeting held to facilitate the adjustment of a grievance, so long as attendance does not adversely impact the adequacy of the workforce at the employing agency.
3. A Grievant and the Association site representative shall be allowed time off, with pay at base rate, from regular duties for attendance at scheduled meetings under the grievance procedure. Grievance meetings will usually be held during normal business hours.
4. The Association shall be the exclusive representative of the employee in all matters pertaining to the enforcement of any rights of the employee under the provisions of this Article and in accordance with Chapter 4117.03(A)(5) of the Ohio Revised Code.
5. At any step in the grievance procedure, the Association shall have the final authority in respect to any aggrieved employee, to decline to process a grievance if, in the judgment of the Association, the grievance lacks merit or justification under the terms of this Agreement or has been adjusted or rectified under the terms of this Agreement to the satisfaction of the Association.

5.07 - Time Extensions and Step Waivers

1. The Grievant or the Association representative and representatives of the Employer may mutually agree in writing at any step to a short time extension.  Any step in the grievance procedure may be waived by written mutual consent.  In emergency situations as defined by the Governor of the State of Ohio, an Appointing Authority, employing agency Director, or the Deputy Director of the Office of Collective Bargaining, the time limitations shall be suspended by both parties for the duration of the emergency.  In the absence of such extensions or emergency situations, at any step where a grievance response of the Employer has not been received by the Grievant and the Association representative within the specified time limits, the Grievant may file the grievance to the next successive step in the grievance procedure within the same number of days from the date the decision was due as specified in Section 5.06 of this Article.
   
   Except as provided above, grievances shall be processed within the specified time limits.
   
   
2. Certain issues which by their nature cannot be settled at Step One (1) of the grievance procedure or which would become moot due to the length of time necessary to exhaust the grievance steps may, by mutual agreement, be filed at the appropriate advanced step where the action giving rise to the grievance was initiated.  By mutual agreement, in lieu of a step meeting, a grievance response may be issued by a representative of the Employer based on a review of written documents only.

5.08 - Disciplinary Grievance Procedure

General

An employee who wishes to grieve a suspension, a fine, a discharge, or a demotion shall have such grievance subjected to an expedited grievance/arbitration procedure as outlined in this section, and shall be excluded from the regular grievance procedure as outlined in Section 5.05.  The following provisions shall apply to disciplinary grievances:

1. an employee who is serving in his/her original probationary period does not have the right to file a disciplinary grievance;
2. an employee who is reduced during the probationary period following promotion does not have the right to file a disciplinary grievance.

B.                 Oral and Written Reprimands

During the life of this Agreement, oral reprimands shall be grievable through Step Two (2).  Written reprimands shall be grievable through Step Three (3).  If an oral or written reprimand becomes a factor in a disciplinary grievance that goes to arbitration, the arbitrator may consider evidence regarding the merits of the oral and written reprimand.

C.                 Procedure

An employee with a disciplinary grievance or an authorized Association representative shall file a grievance under the procedures listed below unless mutually agreed otherwise.

1.      Step Three (3)

An employee or an authorized Association representative may file a grievance directly to the Agency Head/Director or designee of the employing agency at Step Three (3) either within ten (10) days of the effective date of the action or within ten (10) days after receipt of the notice as to the action, whichever is later.  When different work locations are involved, transmittal of grievance appeals and subsequent responses shall be made by U.S. mail.  The grievance may be submitted by serving written notice (including a copy of the grievance) presented to the Agency Head/Director or designee.  The mailing of the grievance appeal shall constitute a timely appeal, if it is postmarked within the appeal period.  Envelopes lacking a legible postmark shall be assumed to have been mailed three (3) days prior to their receipt.

Upon receipt of the grievance, the Agency Head/Director or designee shall schedule a meeting to be held within fifteen (15) days unless the parties mutually agree otherwise.  By mutual agreement of the parties, agencies may schedule Step Three (3) meetings on a monthly basis, by geographic areas, so that all grievances that have been newly filed, that have been advanced to Step Three (3) or that have been continued since the previous month, can be heard on a regular basis.  An Association representative may attend the hearing and shall represent the employee if requested.  The Agency Head/Director or designee shall render a decision in writing and return a copy to the Grievant and the Association representative within forty-five (45) days after the meeting.

A representative of the Office of Collective Bargaining may be present at such meeting and the Deputy Director of the Office of Collective Bargaining or designee shall review the written decision of the Agency Head/Director or designee, prior to its being mailed to the Grievant and/or Association.  The Association shall designate an individual within the organization to whom copies of Step Three (3) responses shall be mailed.  The notification shall be sent to the Office of Collective Bargaining by the President of the Association.

By mutual agreement, the Association and agency may waive any preceding step of the grievance procedure.

2.      Step Four (4) - Request for Arbitration

If the Agency is untimely with it’s response to a grievance at Step Three (3), absent a mutually agreed time extension the Association may appeal the grievance to Step Four (4) requesting a meeting by filing a written appeal and a copy of the grievance form to the Deputy Director of the Office of Collective Bargaining within fifteen (15) days of the due date of the Step Three (3) answer.  Upon receipt of a grievance, as a result of the failure to meet the time limits by the agency, OCB shall schedule a meeting with the Uniserv Consultant and/or a Site Representative within thirty (30) days of receipt of a grievance appeal in an attempt to resolve the grievance unless the parties mutually agree otherwise.  Within thirty-five (35) days of the OCB meeting.  OCB shall provide a written response which may grant, modify or deny the remedy being sought by the Union.  The response will include the rationale upon which the decision is rendered and will be forwarded to the Grievant, the Association’s Step Three (3) representative’s who attend the meeting and the Association’s Grievance chair.

If the Association is not satisfied with the answer at Step Three (3) or the OCB response at Step Four (4) (except in the case of an oral or written reprimand), it may submit the grievance to arbitration, by serving written notice of its desire to do so (including a copy of the grievance) by U.S. Mail.  The notice shall be presented to the Deputy Director of the Office of Collective Bargaining, with a copy sent to the Agency Head/Director or designee.  This notice shall be mailed within fifteen (15) days after the receipt of the decision at Step Three (3) or the date such answer was due, whichever is earlier.  The mailing of a letter requesting a grievance appeal shall constitute a timely appeal, if it is postmarked within the appeal period.  Envelopes lacking a legible postmark shall be assumed to have been mailed three (3) days prior to their receipt.

5.09 - Reduction in Force Grievance

Grievances which arise under Article 18 shall be filed  simultaneously with the Agency at Step Three (3) of the Grievance Procedure as outlined in Section 5.05, and the Office of Collective Bargaining at Step Four (4) of the Grievance Procedure as stipulated in Sections 18.01 and 18.13 with the following exceptions;

1. The Step Three (3) review shall not require a hearing, but will merely require a paper review by the Agency and OCB.  The Association agrees to provide a detailed explanation of the grievance at Step Three (3) to facilitate discussion of the issues.
2. At Step Four (4) the grievance shall be placed on the arbitration schedule no sooner than sixty (60) days from the filing of the arbitration and Step Three (3) appeal or forty-five (45) days after the issuance of the Step Three (3) answer whichever is earlier. The parties may by mutual agreement alter these timelines.

5.10 - Grievance Mediation

The parties agree that during the term of this Agreement the grievance mediation/resolution procedure will remain in effect.  This dispute resolution mechanism shall be used to reduce the number of grievances that have been advanced to arbitration before and during this Agreement.  Grievance Mediation shall be conducted pursuant to Appendix I.

5.11 – Settlement Agreements

Settlement agreements that require payment or other compensation shall be initiated for payment within two payroll periods following the date the settlement agreement is fully executed.  If payment is not received within three (3) pay periods, interest at the rate of one percent (1%) shall accrue commencing the first day after the payment was due and on the same date of subsequent months.