A.
It is the policy of the Township of Bridgewater that
every employee at all times be treated fairly, courteously and with
respect. Conversely, each employee is expected to accord the same
treatment to his/her associates, supervisors and the public.
[Amended 4-20-2015 by Ord. No. 15-13]
B.
A "grievance" shall be defined as a complaint by an
employee that, as to him or her, there has been an inequitable, improper
or unjust application, interpretation or violation of this chapter
and/or of the general practices in effect in the Township.
[Added 10-19-1981 by Ord. No. 81-39]
C.
Grievances for employees covered by collective bargaining agreements
shall be governed by the specific agreement to which the employee
is a member.
[Added 4-20-2015 by Ord.
No. 15-24]
[Amended 10-19-1981 by Ord. No. 81-39]
The grievant shall have the right to present
his or her own grievance without loss of pay for time spent in presenting
the grievance through the grievance procedure.
[Amended 10-19-1981 by Ord. No. 81-39; 7-15-1985 by Ord. No. 85-21; 1-22-1998 by Ord. No. 98-3; 4-20-2015 by Ord. No.
15-13]
The Township Administrator or his/her designee
may deny any application to these grievance procedures in the instances
set forth hereinafter, although not limited thereto; where the matter
in question clearly concerns issues of broad policy in which the complaining
party has no direct interest, where the Township Administrator has
good reason to believe that a grievance has been brought in bad faith,
or for inappropriate reasons, or in other circumstances in which use
of these procedures would endanger their effectiveness as an instrument
for the redress of grievances. The following shall constitute the
method for the resolution of grievances between the Township and employees:
A.
Informal grievance.
(1)
Step 1. Where possible the employee should discuss
his/her grievance with his/her immediate supervisor.
(2)
Step 2. If the grievance remains unresolved, he/she
shall discuss it with his/her department head.
(3)
Step 3. If circumstances of the grievance prevent
using Step 1 and/or 2, or if the department head does not resolve
the grievance within five working days, the employee may discuss the
grievance with the Township Administrator.
(4)
Step 4. The allegations of the grievant will be reviewed
and analyzed and the Township Administrator will solicit preliminary
information necessary to make proper recommendations to the employee
and/or supervisor or other personnel as necessary.
B.
Formal grievance.
(1)
The request for a formal grievance must be made within
30 days of the last day of the alleged occurrence. If the aggrieved
employee has completed his/her initial probationary period and if
his/her grievance has not been resolved by the informal appeal, he/she
may submit a request in writing to the Township Administrator to have
a grievance considered by formal grievance.
(2)
If the request is disapproved, the Township Administrator
shall state the reasons therefor in writing.
(3)
The Township Administrator will appoint a Grievance
Committee to meet within 10 days. Such Committee will include:
(a)
The employee named in the original request or
a substitute named by the Township Administrator.
(b)
An employee selected to represent the department
or division against which the grievance has been raised.
(c)
A Chairperson selected by mutual agreement of
the other two members. The Chairperson can be any regular full-time
employee who is willing and available to serve in this capacity. If
the members cannot agree on a Chairperson, the Chairperson will be
appointed by the Township Administrator.
(4)
The Township Administrator shall appoint an officer
of protocol as secretary and advisor to the Committee but who shall
have no vote, and who shall be responsible for the creation of a verbatim
tape recording of any grievance hearing.
(5)
The formal grievance will be heard under the following
guidelines on protocol:
(a)
The Grievance Committee shall hear the grievance
together with such witnesses as it deems germane to the grievance.
(b)
Proceedings may be open or closed at the discretion
of the Chairperson of the Grievance Committee.
(c)
Since these proceedings are internal Township
procedures, participation is limited to permanent employees. This
limitation is not meant to apply to witnesses that may be called by
either side.
(d)
The grievance hearing will be broken down into
segments defined by each issue.
(e)
For each segment, the Hearing Officer may ask
questions at any point and the Officer of Protocol may interrupt any
presentation that is not considered appropriate. The Officer of Protocol
may consult with the Hearing Officers where there is any disagreement
between the Officer of Protocol and the Hearing Officers regarding
the appropriateness of a presentation.
(f)
The hearing will be conducted as follows:
[1]
The grievant will first make his or her presentation.
[2]
The supervisor will then make his/her presentation,
which will include any rebuttal that he/she wants to make.
[3]
The grievant can make his/her rebuttal but not
present new issues.
[4]
The grievant will be able to call his/her witnesses.
For each witness called the supervisor will be given an opportunity
to ask questions. The Hearing Officers and/or the Officer of Protocol
may ask questions of the witnesses either before and/or after the
supervisor has asked his/her questions.
[5]
The supervisor will then be able to present
his/her witnesses. For each witness called the grievant will be given
the opportunity to ask questions. The Hearing Officers and/or the
Officer of Protocol may ask questions of the witnesses either before
and/or after the grievant has asked his/her questions.
[6]
For rebuttal purposes only, the grievant may
call additional witnesses. The supervisor will be able to ask questions.
Hearing Officers and/or Officer of Protocol may also ask questions
of the witnesses.
[7]
The grievant will summarize his/her entire presentation.
[8]
The supervisor will summarize his/her entire
presentation.
[9]
The Hearing Officers and/or the Officer of Protocol
may ask their final questions. In addition to addressing the issue
presented, the Hearing Officers and/or the Officer of Protocol may
ask questions of like and related issues.
[10]
A copy of all documents presented in the grievance
hearing must be submitted to the Grievance Committee. Documents can
be submitted at any point in the grievance hearing and will be marked
accordingly.
(6)
The Grievance Committee shall reach its findings and
make its recommendations to resolve the matter within 15 working days
from the completion of the hearing. The Committee will forward its
recommendations in writing to the office of the Township Administrator.
(7)
The Township Administrator will review the report
of the Grievance Committee and take whatever appropriate action he/she
deems necessary.
C.
Appeal.
(1)
The decision of the Committee and recommendations
by the Township Administrator may be appealed in writing to the Mayor
by the aggrieved employee, the supervisor or the department head within
three working days of the receipt of the decision. The Mayor shall
listen to the tape of the hearing and review all documents submitted
at the hearing and shall render a decision within 15 days of receipt
of the written request for an appeal. The decision of the Mayor shall
be final.
(2)
Township employees in unions. Nothing in this directive
supersedes or amends grievance procedures set forth by valid collective
bargaining agreement(s).
