Subject: Grievance
Concordia College
Policy and Procedure Manual
Effective Date: 03/13/2012
Applies To: Administrative and Support
Staff .5 FTE and greater
Purpose
It is the responsibility of every Concordia employee to maintain collegial, open and collaborative
business relationships, characterized by mutual trust, respect, and care. When normal efforts to
resolve programs and disputes fail, the College provides a procedure employees may use to
express their grievance and seek resolution.
Policy
A grievance is a work-related complaint that alleges a violation, misinterpretation or
misapplication of College policies or regular practices, other than harassment or discrimination.
Allegations of harassment or discrimination are to be resolved through the College’s Harassment
Policy.
Only the employee directly affected by an alleged improper decision or action may file a
grievance. All employees have the right to present grievances to their supervisors or department
heads as provided for in this policy without experiencing discrimination, coercion, restraint or
reprisal as a result.
All parties are expected to file and respond to grievances within the specified time limits. The
Human Resources Director may grant additional response time at any step for good cause, upon
receiving a written request within the grievance timelines. As the grievance progresses, a copy
of all documents will be submitted to the Human Resources Office who will keep official records.
Failure by the employee to follow time limits will result in either rejection of the grievance, or the
findings of the preceding step will be viewed as final. Failure on the part of administration
officials to respond within designated time limits will allow the employee to proceed immediately
to the next step in the grievance procedure. Time spent by employees in formal grievance
meetings during normal work hours will be considered hours worked for pay purposes.
This employee grievance procedure is available only so long as no party has filed, nor has
initiated a proceeding with a court or agency outside of the College. In the event proceedings
are initiated with a court or outside agency, all proceedings under this policy will be deferred
pending resolution of the external proceedings.
Procedures/Guidelines
Steps for Filing
The complainant will first seek informal resolution of the grievance by discussing the issue with
his or her immediate supervisor within ten (10) business days of the date the incident or action
occurred. If the grievance is not resolved informally, a formal grievance may be filed by using
the steps outlined below.
Step 1
If the discussion with the immediate supervisor does not bring resolution, the employee may
submit a formal written grievance to the immediate supervisor within twenty (20) business days
of the occurrence of the event or action that is the subject of the grievance. The employee’s
written grievance will describe the management action which is the cause of the grievance, cite
the policy, procedure, or practice involved and provide a suggested remedy. The immediate
supervisor will have ten (10) business days from receiving the written grievance to provide a
written response. Every effort should be made to resolve grievances at this stage.
Step 2
If the grievance is not resolved at step one, the employee may advance the grievance to the next
level of supervision by making a written request for review within ten (10) business days of
receiving a final written step one response. The request for review must include a copy of the
original written grievance, the supervisory responses and a brief statement describing the
employee’s dissatisfaction with the resolution of the grievance.
The supervisor reviewing a step two grievance will have ten (10) business days from receipt of
the written request to provide a written response.
Step 3
An employee who is not satisfied with the resolution of a grievance at step two may advance the
grievance by submitting a written request for review to Human Resources within ten (10)
business days of receiving a written step two response.
Advance of the grievance may not exceed more than three levels (not including the President).
The third level review will be at the Vice President level except in the case of direct reports to the
President. To facilitate the process when an employee has multiple layers of supervision, the
Director for Human Resources will designate the responding supervisors.
Step 4
If a grievance is not resolved in steps one through three, the employee may advance the
grievance to the President or the President’s designee by making a written request for review
within ten (10) business days of receiving a step three written response. The President or the
President’s designee shall review the grievance and render a decision within ten business days or
provide written notice to the complainant that additional time is required. The President or
designee will make a good faith effort to resolve all grievances in a timely manner. The
determination of the President or the President’s designee is final.
History: Updated 03/13/12