NON-ACADEMIC GRIEVANCE

Policy Statement:

Sinclair recognizes that, in any employee group, difficulties, misunderstandings, or grievances may arise. It is the earnest wish of the College that all such problems be resolved quickly and fairly. In order to accomplish this, the College shall establish guidelines and procedures intended to provide a method of resolving disputes in an equitable and timely manner and at the lowest supervisory level possible, using a non-judicial administrative process.

Scope:

This policy applies to all full-time, non-faculty employees of the College.

Provisions:

Principles and Rights

The following principles will be adhered to at all levels and through all steps of the grievance procedure:

1. The right of all parties to:

a. fairness, equity, confidentiality, and non-prejudicial use of records;

b. constituency representation;

c. the expeditious resolution of grievances, at the lowest level possible;

d. appeal to the next step in the process; and

e. no retaliation or adverse action taken against an employee who files a grievance, regardless of the outcome of the grievance.

2. The grievant has the right to employee representation of his/her choice at any level of the process.

3. If the employee does not receive a written reply to his/her written grievance within the time limits set forth in the procedure which follows, the grievance may be appealed to the next step within three (3) days after the date the reply should have been received.

4. Any extensions to the given time frame must be by written mutual consent of the parties involved.

5. Failure to comply with the grievance procedures may be considered by either grievant or respondent as having satisfied the need to exhaust the internal grievance process.

College Grievance Committee:

The College Grievance Committee shall be a standing committee charged to meet as needed and shall be appointed by the President upon recommendation of the appropriate constituent groups. The College Grievance Committee shall be composed of two each of staff, faculty, and administrative constituencies, plus one additional person from the constituency of the grievant. The purpose of the College Grievance Committee is to hear and attempt to impartially resolve formal grievances and to make recommendations to the President.

Responsibility:

The Office of Human Resources shall administer and interpret this policy.

Definitions:

Incident: The event or sequences of events causing a question or issue concerning the interpretation and application of policy and/or working conditions.

Grievance: A claim or complaint by a full-time non-faculty personnel concerning the performance of job duties and/or working conditions as defined in the Sinclair Community College Policy Manual and/or position description. A grievance may also be an employee's allegation of discrimination on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, age, sex, marital status, veteran status, national origin, ancestry, citizenship or non-disqualifying mental or physical disability.

Grievant: the person making the claim or complaint.

Respondent: the person who appears to be the source of the grievance or the person who has the responsibility for the interpretation of the policy.

Day: a scheduled workday, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays, sick days, vacation days, personal leave days, etc., or other times the College is officially closed.

References and Related Policies:

Grievance Procedures, V.1.5-P

Form: "Incident Report Form," available in the Office of Human Resources

Form: "Grievance Form for Non-Academic Personnel," available in the Office of Human Resources