What is a Grievance?
A grievance is a formalized, written complaint lodged by an employee against their employer if the employee has been negatively affected and has not had success at informally remedying the problem or issue.
There are times when an employer does not adhere to the law, regulations, established policies, ordinances, Civil Service Rules and such, and in turn violates the rights of the employee. Oftentimes these matters can be settled informally but when they are not, the grievance process is available to the employee. In filing a grievance, SLOCEA will work with the employee at identifying the nature and basis of the grievance, what rights of the employee has the employer violated and what is the remedy or solution that the employee is seeking.
If you believe your rights have been violated, contact the SLOCEA office so that we can assist you by taking informal actions to find a solution. If informal actions do not result in achieving the desired outcome, we can assist the employee with formal action in the form of a grievance. SLOCEA is here to assist you.
As noted below, each agency that SLOCEA represents handles the grievance process differently. In addition, each agency has varying timelines for filing a formal grievance that are important to maintain.
SLO COUNTY
Guidelines for the grievance process for County employees are cited in Civil Service Rule 4 and defined as, “A Grievance is a dispute between one or more classified employees and the County involving the interpretation, application or enforcement of a County ordinance, rule, policy, practice or agreement”.
The timeline for filing a grievance are cited under Rule 4.03 (c) Step 1, which states, “Within 20 business days following the event which caused or led to the dispute, or within 20 business days after it is determined that the dispute cannot be resolved informally, the Grievant or representative must initiate Step 1 of the grievance procedure by serving a completed County Grievance Form to the Human Resources Director”.
LOS OSOS COMMUNITY SERVICES DISTRICT
Employees of the LOCSD must follow grievance guidelines per section 29.1 of the MOU as defined in section 5010 of the Personnel Policy manual which states, “The purpose of this policy is to provide a procedure by which employees may formally claim that he/she has been affected by a violation, misapplication, or misinterpretation of a law, District policy, rule, regulation or instruction.” Level I of the process requires the employee to give notice 5 days following the incident that caused or led to the problem. Section 5010.4.A II and III cite additional timelines deadlines.
SLO COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT
Grievance procedures and guidelines for employees of the Superior Court can be found in Section 25 of the MOU. The purpose of the procedure is to “resolve grievances informally at the lowest possible level and to provide an orderly procedure for reviewing and resolving grievances promptly.” As per 25.2 a grievance is defined as, “A dispute of one or more employees, or a dispute between the Court and the Union, involving the interpretation, application, or enforcement of the express terms of this MOU.” The section defines the processes for an Informal Grievance and the steps of a Formal Grievance and the various timelines for each.
By Theresa Schultz, Sr Labor Representative
