[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Glen Cove 8-25-1981
by L.L. No. 1-1981 as Ch. 5 of the 1981 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
There is hereby established as an adjunct to the office of the Mayor,
a board, to be known as the Grievance Board, which shall consist of three
members to be appointed by and to serve at the pleasure of the Mayor with
the approval of the City Council and to serve without compensation. One of
such members shall be designated Chair by the Mayor.
The Grievance Board, as established herein, is charged with the responsibility
of carrying out the standards, principles and procedures of the grievance
procedure as herein set forth, and is hereby empowered as follows:
A. Program. To establish and maintain a program for resolving
employee grievances relating to conditions of employment in the city government.
B. Regulations, procedures pursuant thereto. To promulgate
such regulations as may be desirable and necessary to carry out the provisions
of this chapter and to review and approve formal grievance procedures established
by departments, boards, agencies and commissions of the city government pursuant
to this chapter and pursuant to any such regulations.
C. Hearings, investigations. To hold hearings, to conduct
investigations, to appoint fact-finding or advisory committees, as witnesses,
and to require the production or examination of records, books and papers
of departments, boards, agencies or commissions of the city relating to matters
before the Board; provided, however, that records required by law to be confidential
shall not be subject to being produced.
D. Report to Mayor. To report to the Mayor, for such actions
as the Mayor may deem necessary, the failure of any department, board, commission
or agency to establish properly or maintain satisfactorily the standards,
principles, determinations and procedures embodied in, or authorized by, this
chapter.
E. Information to employees. To the best extent possible
to see that all employees are fully informed of their rights under the grievance
procedure established herein.
F. Advice, assistance to officers, employees. To render
advice and assistance to employees and to administrative officers of the various
departments, boards, agencies and commissions of the city government in any
manner relating to the establishment or use of the procedures provided for
or adopted pursuant to this chapter.
In order to establish a more harmonious and cooperative relationship
between the city and its employees, it is hereby declared to be the policy
of the administration of the city and the purpose of this Article to provide
for the settlement of employment differences through the means of an orderly
grievance procedure.
Every employee of the city shall have the right to present his or her
grievances in accordance with the procedures described herein, with or without
a representative of his or her own choice, free from interference, coercion,
restraint, discrimination and reprisal. There shall be no discrimination against
any employee because such employee has formed, joined or chosen to be represented
by any other employee, organization or representative of his or her own choosing,
whether an individual or association.
It is a fundamental responsibility of supervisors or those in charge,
at all levels, to consider and, commensurate with the authority delegated
by the head of the city department, board, agency or commission, to take appropriate
action promptly and fairly upon the grievances of their subordinates. To this
end appropriate authority shall be delegated to supervisors and those in charge
of the various employees by heads of the city department, boards, agencies
and commissions.
The head of each department, board, agency or commission shall be responsible
for carrying out the provisions of this chapter and the regulations prescribed
herein and maintaining the standards herein prescribed.
The informal resolution of differences prior to initiation of action
under the formal grievance procedure is encouraged, and the heads of departments,
boards, agencies or commissions of the city government, or their designated
representatives, shall make themselves available at appropriate times for
the purpose of discussing possible informal disposition of grievances as much
as possible.
The head of each department, board, agency or commission of the city
shall, subject to the approval of the Grievance Board, establish formal procedures
for the submission of the grievances by employees and for the prompt and orderly
consideration and determination of such grievances by supervisors of the various
departments, boards, agencies and commissions of the city government, or the
heads thereof. Whenever practicable, with due consideration to the organization,
size and geographical spread of the department, board, agency or commission,
the procedures for each such department, board, agency or commission shall
provide for no more than two procedural stages as follows:
A. First stage. The first stage shall consist of the employee's
presentation of his or her grievance to his or her immediate supervisor who
shall, to the extent necessary or appropriate, consult with and permit the
employee to consult with any of his or her higher ranking supervisors in direct
line below the level of the department, board, agency or commission head,
or the designated representative thereof. The discussion and resolution of
grievances in the first stage shall be on an oral basis. Group grievances
should be presented in the first instances to the lowest ranking supervisor
common to all employees in the group.
B. Final departmental stage. The final departmental stage
shall be the determination of the grievance by the department, board, agency
or commission head or, at the election of such head, by a duly designated
representative with full responsibility for the determination of grievances
in the final departmental stage. If a grievance is not satisfactorily settled
at the lower stage, the employee may request a review and determination thereof
by the head of the department, board, agency or commission, or the designated
representative thereof. In such case, the specific nature of the grievance,
or the facts relating thereto, shall be reduced to writing, jointly or separately,
by the employee and by the appropriate supervisors. The head of the department,
board, agency or commission, or the designated representative thereof, shall,
at the request of the employee, hold an informal hearing at which the employee
and his or her representative may appear and present oral statements or arguments.
There may be designated one or more officers or employees of the department,
board, agency or commission to conduct such informal hearing and to submit
a report thereon with recommendations. The final determination of such grievance
shall be made by the head of the department, board, agency or commission,
or the designated representative thereof.
C. Intermediate stages. Whenever it is not practicable to
limit departmental, board, agency or commission procedures to two stages,
such additional intermediate stages, as may be necessary, shall be established,
subject to the approval of the Grievance Board.
An employee shall be entitled to a representative of his or her own
choosing in the presentation and processing of a grievance at all stages of
the grievance procedure.
The formal procedures established by each department, board, agency
or commission shall specify time limitations for the processing of grievances
at each stage in order to ensure prompt consideration and determination of
employee grievances.
An employee and his or her representative, if such representative is
another city employee, shall be allowed such time off from their regular duties
as shall be necessary and reasonable for the processing of a grievance under
the procedures adopted pursuant to this chapter without loss of pay, vacation
or other time credits as they may be entitled to by law.
A. Right to appeal. An employee, within a time limit and
upon compliance with the regulations of the Grievance Board, may appeal to
the Board from a determination of the head of his or her department, board,
agency or commission, or the designated representative thereof, as the case
may be, pursuant to this chapter.
B. Hearing. Such employee shall be granted a hearing on
such appeal before the Grievance Board, at which he or she shall be entitled
to a representative of his or her own choosing, except that, with the consent
of the employee, such hearing may be conducted by one or more members of the
Board instead of the full Board.
C. Action by Board. If the appeal involves the enforcement
of a law, civil service rule or regulation or a written rule, regulation or
order of a department, board, agency or commission, the findings of fact and
the recommendations of the Board shall be transmitted to the department, board,
agency or commission involved for appropriate action in accordance with the
facts found by the Grievance Board. In all other cases, the determination
of the Board shall contain a statement of the facts and an advisory recommendation
to the department, board, agency or commission involved. Copies of the determination
of the Board shall be sent to the employee, to his or her representative and
to the Mayor.
The provisions of this chapter and the procedures established hereunder
shall be applicable to any department, board, agency or commission to conditions
which are, in whole or in part, subject to the control of the head of such
department, board, agency or commission and which involve alleged safety or
health hazards, unsatisfactory physical facilities, surroundings, materials
or equipment, unfair or discriminatory supervisory or disciplinary practices,
unjust treatment by fellow workers, unreasonable assignments or working hours
or personal time allowances, unfair or unreasonable work quotas and all other
grievances relating to conditions of employment; provided, however, that this
chapter shall not apply to matters which are reviewable under administrative
procedures established by law or under the rules of the Civil Service Commission,
or the rules of other departments, boards, agencies or commissions having
the force and effect of law; and, provided, further, that the Mayor, by order,
may exempt any department, board, agency or commission of the city government
to which the application of the grievance procedure herein may not, in the
judgment of the Mayor, be practicable.