AGENDA #4L

MEMORANDUM

 

TO:                  Mayor and Town Council

 

FROM:            W. Calvin Horton

 

SUBJECT:       Recommended Amendment to the Personnel Ordinance Concerning Time Limits for Employee Grievance Appeals

 

DATE:             November 26, 2001

 

INTRODUCTION

 

The attached amendment to the Personnel Ordinance would establish consistent definitions of time limits for employees to file appeals under the Town’s Grievance Procedure.

 

SUMMARY

 

The Personnel Ordinance sets time limits for employees to file appeals of disciplinary actions or other actions under the grievance procedure.  In some places in the Ordinance days are specified as “working days,”  in others the type of days are not specified.

 

As the policy has been applied requirements for “5 days” or  “10 days” were interpreted to mean “working days”.  However, this sometimes led to confusion because of the number of different shifts that employees work.  The attached amendments revise the Ordinance to establish time limits as “calendar days”, as follows, except that official Town holidays would not be included in the calculation of “calendar days”:

 

 

Action being appealed	Current language	Recommendednumber of calendar days
Employee’s informal meeting to discuss incidents of concern prior to filing a grievance, initial appeal of most types of grievances, and appeal to the Personnel Appeals Committee	“5 working days”	7 days
Employee’s appeal of supervisor, department head, and Manager’s decisions	“5 days”	7 days
Action being appealed	Current language	Recommendednumber of calendar days
Employee’s initial appeal of disciplinary actions (termination, demotion, suspension)	“15 days”	14 days*
Supervisor’s and Department Head’s responses to grievance	“5 days”	7 days
Town Manager’s response to grievance	“10 days”	14 days
Personnel Appeals Committee’s response to grievance	“10 days”	14 days

 

RECOMMENDATION

 

That the Council approve the attached Ordinance.

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 14 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES TO STANDARDIZE AND CLARIFY TIME PERIODS UNDER THE TOWN’S PERSONNEL GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES  (2001-11-26/O-4) 

 

 BE IT ORDAINED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill as follows:

 

Section 1:  Section 14-110 of the Town Code is hereby revised to read as follows:

 

"

Sec. 14-110     Employee Appeal.

 

Any employee who is disciplined may appeal the disciplinary action in accordance with the grievance procedure.  An employee who is suspended, demoted, or terminated for cause as a disciplinary action, or terminate shall have fifteen (15)  fourteen (14)  days from written notice of said disciplinary action to file the initial appeal.  A decision to rescind a demotion or termination must be approved by the Town Manager before becoming effective.”

 

Section 2:  A new Section 14-112.1 is hereby established to read as follows:

 

“ Sec. 14-112.1   Time.

 

In computing any period of time prescribed by Section 14-110 , 14-130  or under this Article, Grievance and Conflict Resolution Procedure, the day of the act or event after which the designated period of time begins to run is not to be included.  The last day of the period so computed is to be included unless it is a Saturday,  Sunday or official Town holiday (as established by or under the authority of Sec. 14-68 of the Town Code),  in which event the period runs until the end of the next day which is not a Saturday,  Sunday or official Town holiday. Days shall be considered calendar days except that any intermediate official Town holidays (as established by or under the authority of Sec. 14-68 of the Town Code), shall be excluded in the computation.”

 

Section 3.  Section 14-114 of the Town Code is hereby revised to read as follows:

 

“Sec. 14‑114   Procedure.

 

The following steps shall be followed in all employee grievances. All grievances must be in writing, either in letter or memo or using a Town of Chapel Hill grievance form; all documents used in the procedure must be dated and signed by the respondent and the recipient. Time limits at every step may be extended by mutual consent.

 

Previous to the first formal step of the grievance and conflict resolution procedure, it is required that employee and supervisor meet to discuss the problem and seek to resolve it informally. This meeting should be scheduled by the employee considering filing a grievance with his or her supervisor, within five working  seven days of the incident or action giving rise to the problem. (Ongoing conditions are not subject to this deadline.)

 

1.         Step 1.  If the informal meeting does not resolve the problem, the employee may file a written grievance within five working  seven (7)  days of the meeting. Ordinarily, the supervisor will respond, in writing, within five days of receipt of the written grievance. In some cases, the supervisor may feel that a second meeting would be constructive. If so, the supervisor will schedule a meeting with the employee within five working days of receiving the written grievance, will thoroughly investigate the matter, and will render a written decision on the grievance within five days of the meeting.

 

2.         Step 2.  If the employee is not satisfied with the Step 1 decision, the employee may file an appeal with the department head within five days following receipt of the Step 1 decision. The department head shall, within 5 seven (7)   days, set a date for a meeting which shall be held within a reasonable period of time. The meeting is for the purpose of discussing the grievance fully. The department head will render a written decision on the grievance within five seven (7) days of the meeting.

 

3.         Step 3.  If the Town Manager hears a grievance under Step 3, the Manager will notify the employee if the decision of the Manager may be appealed.  Items for which the Manager's decision under Step 3 would be final include:

 

(a)        appeals of adopted Town or departmental policies themselves (allegedly inconsistent or unfair application of a policy could be appealed);

 

(b)        grievances alleging improper position classification or pay ranges; and

 

(c)        grievances from contract employees and from full-time and part-time employees serving their initial probationary period.

 

4.         Step 4. If the Town Manager elects not to refer the grievance to the Personnel Appeals Committee at Step 3, and if the grievance may be further appealed, the aggrieved employee may appeal to the Committee within five working  seven (7) days of receipt of the Step 3 decision, by filing a Notice of Appeal with the Town Clerk. The procedure set forth in Article XIII shall then be followed.”

 

 

Section 4.  Section 14-130 of the Town Code is hereby revised to read as follows:

 

“ Sec. 14‑130  Procedure and Authority.

 

The Personnel Appeals Committee shall, within 10  fourteen (14)  days after the action has been referred to it, schedule a hearing and shall have all powers necessary to complete investigation of the action taken, including the power to call and examine witnesses and papers. The Personnel Director or the Committee may provide that a grievance hearing, or portion thereof, be conducted in executive session to the minimum extent necessary to protect the confidentiality of personnel records and consistent with the N.C. Personnel Records Privacy Act (N.C.G.S. 160A‑168). Except as authorized above, such hearings shall be held in public sessions. The Committee may conduct its deliberations in executive session, and shall do so if necessary to comply with laws. Within ten (10)  fourteen (14) days after the conclusion of the hearing, the committee shall inform the employee(s) and the Manager in writing of its findings and recommendations.

 

After receiving the recommendation of the hearing panel of the Personnel Appeals Committee, the Town Manager shall investigate the case, consider the recommendation of the Committee and within ten (10) fourteen (14)  days transmit in writing to the employee(s) and to the Mayor and members of the Council the recommendation of the Committee, and the Manager's decision, which shall be final. In the event the recommendation of the Personnel Appeals Committee is not followed, the Manager shall state in writing the reasons why the recommendation was not followed.”

 

Section 5. This ordinance shall become effective upon adoption.

 

This the 26^th day of November, 2001.