People Strategy, Equity, and Culture

Section 16: Grievances

Any act by a supervisor which the employee believes is in conflict with this handbook may be appealed by the employee through step three of this grievance procedure. Allegations or complaints of discrimination or harassment will be processed through the College’s Affirmative Action Office.

General Provisions

It is the College’s intent that all grievances be resolved at the lowest level closest to the origination of the dispute. Employees who use the grievance process to resolve a dispute shall be held free from recrimination or reprisal.

Representation

The grievant has the right to representation and/or witnesses of their own choosing at all steps in this process. Costs incurred for representation by an individual outside the College are the responsibility of the grievant. Nothing shall prevent both parties, at any step, to mutually consent in writing to mediation services. Professional staff from Human Resources or the Affirmative Action Office may be requested to act in a mediation capacity when appropriate.

Timelines

All grievances are to be submitted within thirty calendar days of the grievant’s knowledge of the disputed action unless additional time is agreed to by mutual consent of the employee filing the grievance and the employee’s supervisor. Timeline changes will be in writing. The grievance shall be dropped in the case of non-compliance by the grievant.

Appeals (in the case the grievant is not satisfied with the outcome of the current step) will be made within seven calendar days from the receipt of the written decision. The written decision will stand in the event of non-compliance.

Decisions concerning grievances or appeals will be made within seven calendar days from the first meeting with the grievant. An exception to this timeline shall be when a hearing is conducted in which case hearing proceedings shall not take longer than ten calendar days and the decision will be made within seven calendar days thereafter. The appeal will be automatically referred to the next level in the event of non-compliance.

Documentation

All grievances and decisions beyond step 1, and appeals to the next step in the process shall be in writing.

All documentation pertaining to the grievance will be kept by the Management official responsible for issuing the decision. In the event that the grievance goes beyond the first step in the grievance process, all documentation will be forwarded to Human Resources for maintenance in the central grievance file once the grievance process is completed.

Confidentiality

All employees involved in or having access to grievance information shall not disclose this information.

Steps in the Grievance Process:

Step 1: Supervisory Level
  1. The employee will discuss the concern with the immediate supervisor and attempt to resolve the issue informally.
  2. In the event the issue is not resolved, the employee will submit the grievance in writing to the supervisor within 30 calendar days of the occurrence to attempt to arrive at a mutually acceptable resolution.
  3. The supervisor shall issue an oral or written decision within seven calendar days of receiving the written grievance.
Step 2: Appeal to the Executive Officer

(Note: When the executive officer is not the next level of supervision, the grievance should first proceed to the appropriate supervisor before moving to the Executive Officer. In such cases the time lines and provisions of this step apply to that intermediate level of supervision. Appeal of that level of supervisory decision may then proceed to the Executive Officer level if necessary.)

  1. The grievant will file an appeal within seven calendar days of receipt of the Step 1 response.
  2. The Executive Officer will discuss the grievance with all parties involved with an attempt to arrive at a mutually acceptable resolution.
  3. If no resolution is found, the Executive Officer may conduct an investigation for the purpose of obtaining facts relevant to the grievance. The investigation shall take no longer than 10 calendar days.
  4. The Executive Officer will issue a written decision within seven calendar days (in the event of a hearing, 17 calendar days) from receipt of the appeal.
Step 3: Appeal to the President
  1. The grievant will file an appeal within seven calendar days of receipt of the Step 2 response.
  2. The President will meet with all parties involved and attempt to arrive at a mutually acceptable resolution.
  3. If no resolution is found, the President may assign this step to a designee who will report to the President. The designee may conduct an investigation for the purpose of obtaining facts relevant to the grievance. The investigation shall take no longer than 10 calendar days.
  4. The President will issue a written decision within seven calendar days (in the event of a hearing, 17 calendar days) from receipt of the appeal.
  5. The decision of the President is final.