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Human Resources

HGEA Unit 8: Article 17 Grievance Procedure

A. Any complaint by an Employee or the Union concerning the application and interpretation of this Agreement shall be subject to the grievance procedure. Any relevant information specifically identified by the grievant or the Union in the possession of the Employer needed by the grievant or the Union to investigate or process a grievance, shall be provided to them upon request within seven (7) working days. The grievance shall be presented to the appropriate supervisor within twenty (20) working days after the occurrence of the alleged violation, or if it concerns an alleged continuing violation, then it must be filed within twenty (20) working days after the alleged violation first became known or should have become known to the Employee involved, except that in the case of an alleged payroll computational error, such allegation shall be presented to the President or the designee in writing within twenty (20) working days after the alleged error is discovered by the Employee or the grievance may not be considered.

B. An individual Employee may present a grievance to the Employee's immediate supervisor and the grievance heard without intervention of the Union, provided the Union has been afforded an opportunity to be present at the conference(s) on the grievance. Any adjustment made shall not be inconsistent with the terms of this Agreement. By mutual consent of the Union and the Employer, any time limits within each step may be extended.

C. Informal Step. A grievance shall, whenever possible, be discussed informally between the Employee and immediate supervisor within the twenty (20) working day limitation provided for in paragraph "A" above. The grievant may be assisted by the grievant's Union representative. If the immediate supervisor does not reply by seven (7) working days, the Employee or the Union may pursue the grievance to the next step.

D. Step 1. If the grievant is not satisfied with the result of the informal conference, the grievant or the Union may submit a written statement of the grievance within seven (7) working days after receiving the answers to the informal complaint to (a) the Dean in the case of the University of Hawaii at Manoa (UHM) and University of Hawaii at Hilo (UHH); (b) Provost in the case of the Community Colleges; or (c) such directors as may be designated by the Chancellors with respect to other administrative or program units (hereinafter "division head"); or if the immediate supervisor does not reply to the informal complaint within seven (7) working days, the Employee or the Union may submit a written statement of the grievance to the division head or the designee within fourteen (14) working days from the initial submission of the informal complaint; or if the grievance was not discussed informally between the Employee and the immediate supervisor, the Employee or the Union may submit a written statement of the grievance to the division head or the designee within the twenty (20) working day limitation provided for in paragraph "A" above.

A meeting shall be held between the grievant and a Union representative with the division head or the designee seven (7) working days after the written grievance is received. Either side may present witnesses. The division head or the designee shall submit a written answer to the grievant or the Union within seven (7) working days after the meeting.

E. Step 2. If the grievance is not satisfactorily resolved at Step 1, the grievant or the Union may appeal the grievance in writing to the Chancellor, or appropriate Vice President, successor in office, or the designee (hereinafter "department head") within seven (7) working days after receiving the written answer. The department head or the designee need not consider any grievance in Step 2 which encompasses different alleged violations or charges than those presented in Step 1. A meeting to discuss the grievance shall be held within seven (7) working days after the receipt of the appeal. The department head or the designee shall reply in writing to the grievant or the Union within seven (7) working days after the meeting.

F. If the Union has a class grievance involving Employees within a college, administrative or program unit, it may submit the grievance in writing to the division head or the designee. Time limits shall be the same as in individual grievances and the procedures for appeal from unsatisfactory answers shall be the same as in Step 1.

If the Union has a class grievance involving Employees from more than one college, administrative or program unit, it may submit the grievance in writing to the department head. Time limits shall be the same as in individual grievances and the procedures for appeal from unsatisfactory answers shall be the same as in Step 2.

G. Step 3. If the grievance is not satisfactorily resolved at Step 2, the grievant or the Union may appeal the grievance in writing to the President or the designee (hereinafter "Employer") within seven (7) working days after the receipt of the answer at Step 2. Within seven (7) working days after receipt of the appeal, the Employer and the Union shall meet in an attempt to resolve the grievance. The Employer or the designee need not consider any grievance in Step 3 which encompasses a different alleged violation or charge the presented in Step 2. The Employer or the designee shall reply in writing to the Union within seven (7) working days after the meeting.

H. Step 4. Arbitration. If the grievance is not resolved at Step 3 and the Union desires to proceed with arbitration, it shall serve written notice on the Employer or the Employer's representative of its desire to arbitrate within ten (10) working days after receipt of the Employer's decision at Step 3. Representatives of the parties shall attempt to select an Arbitrator immediately thereafter. If agreement on an Arbitrator is not reached within ten (10) working days after the notice of arbitration is submitted, either party may request the Hawaii Labor Relations and to submit a list of five (5) Arbitrators. Selection of an Arbitrator shall be made by each party alternately deleting one (1) name at a time from the list. The first party to delete a name shall be determined by lot. The person whose name remains on the list shall be designated the Arbitrator. No grievance may be arbitrated unless it involves an alleged violation of a specific term or provision of the Agreement.

If the Employer disputes the arbitrability of any grievance, the Arbitrator shall first determine whether the Arbitrator has jurisdiction to act; and if the question of jurisdiction is not satisfactorily resolved, the grievance shall be referred back to the parties without decision or recommendation on its merits.

The Arbitrator shall render the award in writing, no later than thirty (30) calendar days after the conclusion of the hearings or if oral hearings are waived then thirty (30) calendar days from the date statements and proofs were submitted to the Arbitrator. The decision of the Arbitrator shall be final and binding upon the Union, its members, the Employees involved in the grievance, and the Employer. There shall be no appeal from the Arbitrator's decision by either party, if such decision is within the scope of the Arbitrator's authority as described below:

  1. The Arbitrator shall not have the power to add to, subtract from, disregard, alter, or modify any of the terms of this Agreement.
  2. The Arbitrator's power shall be limited to deciding whether the Employer has violated any of the terms of this Agreement.
  3. The Arbitrator shall not consider any alleged violations or charges other than those presented at Step 3.
  4. In any case of suspension or discharge where the Arbitrator finds such suspension or discharge was improper, the Arbitrator may set aside, reduce or modify the action taken by the Employer. If the penalty is set aside, reduced or otherwise changed, the Arbitrator may award back pay to compensate the Employee, wholly, or partially, for any wages lost because of the penalty.
  5. The fees of the Arbitrator, the cost of transcription, and other necessary general costs, shall be shared equally by the Employer and the Union. Each party will pay the cost of presenting its own case and the cost of any transcript that it requests.