Palm Desert Municipal Code Art. X Grievances

The city has an employee grievance policy and procedure for employees to utilize to raise a work-related concern they believe is not being addressed or a policy they believe is not interpreted correctly and is adversely affecting them individually or as a group.

A. Definition of a Grievance. "Grievance" means and includes a job-related complaint or concern, activity or action by an employee regarding a change in the terms and conditions of employment which arise out of a specific fact, situation or transaction, other than discipline, that results in an alleged inequity or damage to the employee.

An employee may file grievances pursuant to subsection D of this section when the employee believes that a violation of these rules has occurred. A grievance procedure cannot be utilized to challenge or appeal any disciplinary measures.

B. Eligibility to File a Grievance. A grievant is a regular or acting employee who is personally affected by an act or omission that occurred no more than fourteen days prior to the reporting of the grievance, provided that the act or omission comes within the definition of grievance as described in subsection A of this section.

C. Matters Not Subject to Grievance Procedures. The following matters or subject areas are not subject to the grievance procedures:

1. Employee discipline, subject to appeal under Sections 2.52.915 and 2.52.925 of this chapter;

2. Employee performance evaluations;

3. Management of the city generally and issues of city or department policy;

4. Necessity and organization of any service or activity conducted by the city including the expansion or reduction of services or workforces;

5. Determination of the nature, manner, means, technology, and extent of services to be provided to the public;

6. Methods of financing;

7. Types of equipment or technology to be used;

8. Determination of and/or change in facilities, methods, technology, means and size of the work force by which city operations are to be conducted;

9. Determination of and change in the location, number of locations, relocations and types of operations, processes and materials to be used in carrying out city functions;

10. Work assignments, reassignments to other stations, and schedules in accordance with needs and requirements as determined by management;

11. Establishment, implementation, and modification of productivity and performance programs and standards;

12. Reductions in force or layoffs for lack of work or other nondisciplinary reasons;

13. Establishment and approved modification of job classifications or reclassifications;

14. Determination of standards, policies, and procedures for selection, training, and promotion of employees;

15. Establishment, implementation, and modification of departmental organizations, supervisory assignments, chains of command, reporting responsibilities and transfers of employees to other department or offices;

16. Levels of compensation pay and benefits based upon budgetary and fiscal considerations.

D. Procedure. The city's grievance processes and procedures consist of the following steps:

1. Informal Resolution. It is the responsibility of employees who believe they have a bona fide complaint or grievance concerning their terms or conditions of employment to promptly inform and discuss it with their immediate supervisor as designated by the department director or his designee in order to, in good faith, endeavor to resolve the matter expeditiously and informally at the employee-supervisor level.

If such informal discussion does not resolve the problem to the employee's satisfaction, and, if the complaint constitutes a grievance as herein defined, the employee may file a formal grievance in accordance with the following procedure.

a. Step I (Immediate Supervisor). The employee shall reduce his or her grievance to writing by signing and completing all parts of the grievance form provided by the city, and submits it to his or her immediate supervisor within ten calendar days of the initial commencement of the occurrence being grieved.

The written grievance shall identify:

i. The specific rule, ordinance or regulation violated, misinterpreted, or misapplied;

ii. Specific act or omission which gave rise to the alleged violation, misinterpretation, misapplication;

iii. The date or dates on which the violation, misinterpretation, or misapplication allegedly occurred;

iv. The documents, witnesses or other evidence that support the grievance; and

v. The desired solution or remedy.

b. Step II (Department Director). If the written response of the immediate supervisor does not result in a resolution of the grievance, the grievant may appeal the grievance by signing and completing the city form and presenting it to his or her department director within five calendar days of the grievant's receipt of the supervisor's response.

Within ten calendar days of having received the Step II form, the department director shall set a meeting with the grievant, the grievant's designated representative and such other personnel as he/she deems appropriate to investigate and consider the grievance.

Within ten calendar days of the meeting, the second level of review shall submit his response to the grievance to the grievant and the grievant's representative, if any.

c. Step III (Division Assistant City Manager). If the written response of the department director does not result in a resolution of the grievance, the grievant may appeal the grievance by signing and completing the city form and presenting it to his or her division assistant city manager within five calendar days of the grievant's receipt of the department director's response.

Within ten calendar days of having received the Step II form, the assistant city manager shall set a meeting with the grievant, the grievant's designated representative and such other personnel as he/she deems appropriate to investigate and consider the grievance.

Within ten calendar days of the meeting, the second level of review shall submit his response to the grievance to the grievant and the grievant's representative, if any.

d. Step IV (City Manager's Office). If the response to the second level of review does not result in resolution of the grievance, the grievant may appeal the grievance by signing and completing the city form and presenting it to the third level of review (designated representative of the city manager's office) within five calendar days of the grievant's receipt of the Step II response.

Within ten calendar days of having received the Step III form, the city manager or his or her designated representative shall set a meeting with the grievant, the grievant's designated representative and such other personnel as he/she deems appropriate, to consider the grievance.

Within ten calendar days of the meeting, the third level of review shall submit his or her response to the grievant and the grievant's representative, if any.

The city manager may delegate a non-involved department manager to act on behalf of the city manager to render decisions and judgment in these processes. The findings and recommendations they render will be advisory to the city manager whose ultimate decision will be final.

e. Step V (Advisory Arbitration). If the response of the third level of review does not result in resolution of the grievance, the grievant may appeal the grievance to the city manager within five calendar days of the grievant's receipt of the Step III response.

The parties, or their designated representatives, shall agree on an arbitrator, and if they are unable to agree on an arbitrator within a reasonable time, either party may request the State Conciliation Service to submit to them a list of seven arbitrators who have had experience in the municipal sector. The parties shall select the arbitrator by alternately striking names from said list until one name remains. Such person shall then become the arbitrator.

The arbitrator so selected shall hold a hearing as expeditiously as possible at a time and at a place convenient to the parties, and shall be bound by the following:

i. The arbitrator shall be bound by the language of the memorandum of understanding and the city and departmental rules and regulations consistent therewith in considering any issue properly before him/her.

ii. The arbitrator shall expressly confine him/herself to the precise issues submitted to him/her and shall have no authority to consider any other issue not so submitted to him/her.

iii. The arbitrator shall be bound by applicable federal, state, and city law. iv. The arbitrator may not recommend changes in established wages or benefits, nor recommend the payment of back wages or benefits to a date prior to ten days before the grievance was timely filed.

The arbitrator shall submit findings and advisory recommendations to the grievant and the city manager.

The city manager, within ten calendar days of the receipt of the written findings and recommendations, shall make the final determination of the grievance and submit it in writing to the grievant and his or her designated representative.

The cost of the arbitrator and other mutually incurred costs shall be borne equally by the parties, unless the city agrees to pay the total costs.

2. Time Limits. If the city manager or his or her representatives fail to comply with the time limits specified in subsection D of this section the grievant shall be entitled to appeal to the next level of review.

Also, failure of the grievant to comply with said time limits shall constitute abandonment of the grievance, except however, that the parties may extend time limits by mutual written agreement in advance.

3. Freedom from Retaliation or Reprisal. No employee shall be subject to coercion, disciplinary action, or retaliation for discussing a request or complaint with his or her immediate supervisor, or for filing a grievance petition pursuant to Section 5.25.525 of this chapter.

4. Resolution. Any grievance not appealed to the next step in the grievance procedure within the stated time limit shall be considered settled.

5. Withdrawal. Any grievance petition may be withdrawn by the grievant at any time, without prejudice.

Resubmission. Upon consent of the person hearing the grievance petition and the grievant, a grievance may be resubmitted to a lower step in the grievance procedure for reconsideration.

6. Employee Representation. An employee may have representation in the preparation and presentation of the grievance at any step in the grievance procedure, except that no supervisor or department manager shall be represented by an employee who he or she may supervise and no employee shall be represented by a supervisor or department manager.

At least twenty-four hours prior to any meeting convened under the grievance procedure, the employee must notify the city that he or she plans to bring a representative to the meeting, and who the representative will be.

The grievant employee(s) and one employee representative are entitled to be released from work for a reasonable period of time in order to present the grievance.

7. Legitimate Orders. If an employee is given a legitimate order that he or she wishes to grieve, the employee must first comply with the order and file a grievance later unless the assignment endangers the health or safety of the employee or others, or if the requested assignment violates the employee's constitutional rights.

(Ord. 1072, 2004)