Policy Statement

Policy Statement Whenever people work together, problems and misunderstandings are inevitable, and they cannot be resolved without good communications. All regular employees are encouraged to use MSPA’s grievance procedure. It is designed to call attention to these problems so that they can be rationally resolved. These procedures do not modify the employment-at-will relationship between MSPA and its employees. These grievance procedures are intended as guidelines and examples only and are not intended to limit MSPA’s ability to consider the circumstances of each case and to determine an appropriate procedure that may be more or less restrictive. This manual in no way limits the discretion of the MSPA to administer discipline in a manner which is different from what is described herein, and reserves the right to discipline employees in any fitting manner, including termination, for any conduct which the MSPA, in its sole discretion deems inappropriate. A. Step One: 1. Upon recognizing a problem that an employee cannot resolve at the employee’s level of responsibility, the employee then should present the matter to the immediate supervisor. 2. This is to be done in an informal, verbal, person to person meeting with the immediate supervisor. 3. If the grievance is not solved by the employee’s immediate supervisor, or if the grievance is against the immediate supervisor, then the employee should request a 9480012.2 meeting with the supervisor’s next higher authority, within three (3) working days, which takes the grievance to Step Two. B. Step Two: The meeting with the next higher authority is also verbal and person to person. Within three (3) business days, the supervisor will advise the employee of his/her decision. If the employee does not agree with the decision, he/she may take the grievance to the next step by reducing the grievance to writing and delivering it to the HRO within three (3) working days of the time he/she is informed of the decision. C. Step Three: 1. The HRO receives the grievance and advises all parties involved in the process, now in motion, that a formal hearing will take place within seven (7) working days from receipt of the grievance. The hearing will be scheduled and all parties to the grievance will be advised of the time and place. 2. The HRO will conduct the hearing using a tape recorder to insure all information is received as given during the hearing. 3. After hearing both sides of the grievance and interviewing the parties involved, the HRO then must issue a decision within seven (7) working days from the hearing date. This decision will be in writing to the principal parties involved with a copy to the grievance file. If the decision is still not acceptable to the employee, then the process moves to Step Four. D. Step Four: 1. In order to initiate Step Four proceedings, the employee must request in writing a review of the grievance by the Executive Director within three (3) working days after receipt of the HRO decision. 2. The HRO provides the Executive Director with a transcript of the Grievance Process including the tape recording of the Step Three Hearing, and all written information pertinent to the grievance. 3. The Executive Director will make a decision based on the information available without personal interviews unless the Executive Director determines interviews would be helpful in making the final decision. 4. The Executive Director has seven (7) working days from receiving the review request to hand down his written decision after reviewing the grievance process transcript and file. 5. The Executive Director’s decision is final and that decision is the final step in the grievance process. 9480012.2