2.72.310 Employee grievance procedure.
A. Matters Subject to Grievance Procedure. All employees in the city service shall have the right to present a grievance regarding dissatisfaction with some phase of his or her job or relations with others on the job which is outside his or her scope of control.
B. Objective. Objective of grievance procedure shall be:
1. To promote improved employee-employer relations by establishing grievance procedures on matters for which appeal or hearing is not provided by civil service board rules;
2. To afford employees individually or through qualified employee organizations, a systematic means of obtaining further consideration of problems after every reasonable effort has failed to resolve them through discussions;
3. To provide that grievances shall be settled as near as possible to the point of origin;
4. Encouragement that grievances should be heard and settled as informally as possible.
C. Individual Informal Grievance Procedure. An employee who feels he or she has a grievance should attempt to resolve this grievance by discussion with his or her immediate supervisor without undue delay. If after such discussion, the employee does not feel the grievance has been satisfactorily resolved, he or she shall have the right to discuss the matter with the chain of command including his or her department head. Every effort should be made to resolve the grievance by informal means at the most immediate level of supervision. If the employee is not in agreement with the decision reached through such informal discussions, he or she shall have the right to file a request for a formal grievance in writing with his or her superior or department head. An informal grievance shall not be taken above the department head.
D. Individual Formal Grievance Procedure. After exhaustion of the informal grievance procedure, the grievance shall be put in writing and shall proceed on the following levels of review:
1. Department or Division Review. The employee shall file his or her grievance in writing with his or her department head who shall discuss the grievance with the employee. The department head shall render his or her decision and comments to the employee in writing within fifteen calendar days. If the employee does not agree with the decision reached or if no answer is received from the department head within fifteen calendar days, he or she may present the grievance in writing to the city manager. Failure of the employee to take further action within ten calendar days after receipt of the decision or within a total of twenty-five calendar days if no decision is rendered, will constitute withdrawal of the grievance.
2. City Manager Review. Upon receiving the grievance, the city manager or designated representative shall discuss the grievance with the employee and all other appropriate persons. The city manager may appoint a fact finding committee or an officer not in the normal line of supervision to investigate and advise him or her concerning the grievance. The city manager shall render a decision in writing to the employee within twenty calendar days after receiving the grievance. The decision of the city manager shall be final in all cases unless the grievance is subject to policy review by the city council. In such cases, the city manager shall then refer the matter to the appropriate council committee.
E. Employee Organization Grievance Procedures.
1. A recognized official of an employee organization may submit written grievances on behalf of the organization or an employee to the appropriate department head with a copy filed with the city manager;
2. The department head shall render a written decision within fifteen calendar days within receipt of the written grievance unless a mutually agreed upon extension of time is set; a copy of the department head’s decision will be filed with the city manager;
3. If the employee organization is not satisfied with the decision rendered by the department head, they may request a city manager review of the grievance within ten calendar days of receipt of the department head’s decision; failure of the employee organization to take further action within ten calendar days after receipt of the department head’s decision or within a total of twenty-five calendar days if no decision is rendered, will constitute withdrawal of the grievance; the city manager shall render his or her written decision within twenty calendar days after receiving the grievance; the city manager’s decision shall be final in all cases unless the grievance is subject to policy review of the city council; in such cases, the city manager shall refer the matter to the appropriate council committee.
F. Conduct of Grievance Procedure.
1. The time limits specified in this section may be extended by mutual agreement of the employee or employee organization and the reviewer concerned;
2. The employee may request the assistance of another person of his or her own choosing in preparing his or her written grievance;
3. Employees are assured freedom from reprisal for use of grievance procedures. (Prior code § 3.14.300)