MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN
COUNTY OF SANTA BARBARA AND
SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION, LOCAL 721

SECTION 54. GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

A. Purpose

1. To promote improved employer-employee relations by establishing a grievance procedure to afford employee, individually or through qualified representation, a systematic means of obtaining consideration of complaints, questions, and disputes which constitute grievances as hereinafter defined.

2. To enable grievances to be settled as promptly and as closely as possible to the point of origin.

B. Definition

A grievance shall be defined as a claim by an employee or group of employees of an alleged violation, misinterpretation or misapplication of Memoranda of Understanding, department-wide policy or practice or County rules, regulations, resolutions, or ordinances, except those issues that provide their own means of administrative appeal:

1. Appeals of disciplinary actions and appeals relating to Civil Service examinations shall be filed and processed pursuant to Santa Barbara County Civil Service Rules.

2. Complaints relating to discrimination, occupational health and safety, Worker's Compensation and matters under the jurisdiction of the Santa Barbara County Employees Retirement System Board shall be processed pursuant to established County complaint procedures in these areas.

C. Basic Rules

1. Nondiscrimination - Any employee (meaning a grievant), as that term is defined above, may file grievance or may authorize by signature the filing of a grievance on his/her behalf without fear of restraint, interference, coercion, discrimination or reprisal.

2. Grievance forms

a. Grievance forms shall be made available to the employee through the Personnel Department, other County departments and Recognized Employee Organizations, and all formal grievances shall be submitted on these forms. Any change in the form shall be by mutual agreement.

b. Grievance forms must explicitly specify the agreement, rule, resolution or ordinance, the violation of which is being alleged as the basis for the grievance. The remedy requested must also be specified.

3. No modifications in the basic violation being alleged pursuant to section (2) (b) shall be made subsequent to filing unless mutually agreed to by both the County and the grievant or his/her representative. However, corrections in citations or other clarifying amendments can be made at any time by the grievant or his/her representative.

4. Notice of Meetings - Both the County and the grievant or his/her representative shall be responsible for giving notice of meetings and conferences to their representative parties at least twenty-four (24) hours prior to any meeting regarding a grievance whenever possible.

5. Right of Representation

a. The employee has the right to the assistance of one employee representative in addition to a staff representative of the Union in the preparation and/or presentation of his/her grievance, provided, however, that supervisory employees shall not represent non-supervisory employees where such activity would result in a conflict of interest.

b. An employee is also entitled to represent him/herself individually at any step of the Grievance Procedure.

c. A grievant may not change his/her designation of representative organization, other than designating him/herself, during the processing of a grievance except by mutual agreement of the parties.

d. If the employee is represented in a formal grievance meeting, the department may also designate a management representative to be present in such a meeting.

6. Grievance Withdrawal - The grievant may withdraw the grievance at any stage of the Grievance Procedure by giving written notice to the County representative who last took action on the grievance, with a copy to the Personnel Department.

7. Grievance Resolution - If a grievance is resolved at Step 2, 3 or 4 in the Procedure as provided in Section E herein, the grievant concerned shall indicate acceptance of the resolution by affixing his/her signature in the appropriate space indicated.

8. By mutual agreement, the parties may revert the grievance to a prior level for reconsideration. If the grievance is not then settled at the prior level, the grievant shall continue to have the rights set forth in this Procedure.

9. Consolidation of Grievances - Employees with essentially identical grievances, including remedy, may initiate a single grievance. Employees with essentially identical grievances may be required, at the County's discretion, to consolidate to a single proceeding at Steps 4 and 5 of this Grievance Procedure.

10. Accelerated Advancement of Grievances - In order to provide an effective mechanism whereby grievances may be resolved, the grievant may choose to proceed directly to Step 3 of the Grievance Procedure when he/she believes the authority for effective resolution of the matter lies with the department head or higher, and when the grievance affects more than one employee and more than one division or department. In such instances, a written grievance shall be submitted to the department head within twenty-one (21) calendar days of the action causing the grievance, or date of discovery of such action, except that in no event shall any grievance be accepted for consideration more than one (1) year from the action claimed as its basis regardless of the date of discovery.

11. In those cases in which the employee elects to represent him/herself, or arranges for independent representation, and where the grievance relates to an alleged violation of the MOU, the County shall provide to the Union a copy of the grievance form and the resolution agreed to by the employee and the County.

D. Process

1. The Grievant and/or the Grievant’s representative shall be granted reasonable time off with pay from regularly scheduled duty hours to process a grievance, provided that the time off will be devoted to the prompt and efficient investigation and handling of grievances, subject to the following:

a. Representatives

Insofar as possible, when a grievant's representative at Steps 1 and 2 is a County employee, the representative shall be employed in the same work locations as the grievants. When the foregoing condition cannot be met, a grievant's representative who is a County employee may be employed outside the same work location, provided said representative is from the same general location (i.e. North County and South County).

b. Grievance Preparation

1. A grievant or a grievant's representative who is a County employee shall not leave his/her job to perform any grievance preparation work unless he/she receives permission from his/her supervisor. Such time off shall be granted within three (3) working days.

2. When a grievant or any representative must go into a section, department or work unit to investigate a grievance, she/he shall be permitted to do so, provided she/he explains the purpose of the visit and who she/he is visiting to the supervisor of said action, department or work unit. If immediate access cannot be granted upon request, it shall be granted within three (3) working days.

c. Grievance Meetings

1. A grievant or a grievant's representative who is a County employee shall, upon notification to his/her supervisor, be granted time off to attend grievance meetings scheduled pursuant to Section E of this Procedure.

2. A grievant or a grievant's representative who is a County employee shall notify his/her supervisor as soon as possible in advance of the dates and times and/or any change in the dates and times of scheduled grievance meetings in which she/he must participate.

d. A grievant or his/her representative, when said representative is a County employee, shall not log compensatory time earned or premium pay time for any time spent in the processing of a grievance.

2. Time Limitations

a. The time limitations are designed to quickly settle a grievance. Time limitations may be extended by agreement of the parties.

b. If at any stage of the Grievance Procedure the employee is dissatisfied with the decision rendered it shall be the grievant's responsibility to submit the grievance to the next designated level of review within the time limits specified.

c. Failure to submit the grievance within the time limit imposed shall terminate the grievance process and the grievance shall be considered resolved.

d. The grievant shall promptly proceed to the next step within the prescribed time limits if the appropriate management representative fails to respond within the time limits specified.

E. Grievance Procedure Steps

1. Step 1 - Informal Discussion With Supervisor

a. The grievance shall first be discussed on an informal basis by the aggrieved with his/her immediate supervisor within twenty-one (21) calendar days from the date of the action causing the grievance, or date of discovery of such action, except that in no event shall any grievance be accepted for consideration more than one (1) year from the action claimed as its basis regardless of the date of discovery.

b. Every effort shall be made to resolve the grievance at this level, and may include conferences among supervisory and administrative personnel. The immediate supervisor shall verbally respond to the grievant with five (5) working days of the informal discussion between grievant and supervisor.

2. Step 2 - Written Grievance

a. In the event the employee believes the grievance has not been satisfactorily resolved, the employee shall submit the grievance in writing to the supervisor (except as indicated in Paragraph D, below) within seven (7) working days after the receipt of the immediate supervisor's verbal response. The grievant shall file one (1) copy with the Human Resources Department.

b. In larger departments, it may be necessary to involve the division or section head in the processing of the grievance at this level. In such departments, it shall be the responsibility of the employee to file one copy of his/her grievance with said division or section head at the initiation of Step 2. It shall be the responsibility of the supervisor to consult and involve the division head in any or all grievance meetings and in arriving at a written response to the aggrieved employee.

c. Within five (5) working days of receipt of the grievance, the immediate supervisor shall schedule a meeting with the grievant to discuss the grievance. Within (5) working days of the grievance meeting, the immediate supervisor shall deliver his/her written decision to the grievant and his/her representative. Should the written decision of the supervisor propose a solution to the grievance, it shall be initiated by the department head prior to the delivery to the grievant.

d. In the Department of Social Services, the written grievance shall be submitted to the employee's division chief rather than the employee's supervisor, under the same conditions listed in paragraph A above. It shall be the employee's responsibility to provide a copy of the grievance filed with the division chief to the employee's supervisor. The division chief shall respond in the same manner as described in paragraph C, above.

3. Step 3 - Review by Department Head

a. In the event the employee believes the grievance has not been satisfactorily resolved, the employee shall submit the grievance in writing to the department head within seven (7) working days after receipt of the immediate supervisor's written response.

b. Within five (5) working days after receiving the completed grievance form the department head or his/her representative shall meet with the employee to discuss the grievance. The department head shall deliver his/her written decision to the grievant and his/her representative within ten (10) working days after the discussion.

4. Step 4 - County Executive Officer

a. In the event the employee believes his/her grievance has not been satisfactorily resolved, she/he shall submit the grievance in writing to the County Administrator within seven (7) days from receipt of the department head's written response. A meeting of the parties may be held by mutual agreement of the parties.

b. Within ten (10) working days from receipt of the grievance, the County Administrator shall deliver his/her written decision to the grievant and his/her representative.

5. Step 5 – Mediation

If the grievance is not settled or an answer not forthcoming, the grievant and/or the Union Representative may require that the County enter into non-binding mediation regarding the grievance utilizing the California State Mediation and Conciliation Service. The mediation will be scheduled as soon as possible on a date mutually agreeable to the parties.

6. Step 5 - Arbitration

a. If the grievance is not settled or disposed of at Step 4, within ten (10) working days the Union may submit the grievance to the Director of Human Resources for arbitration. The Arbitrator shall be selected from a panel provided by the State Mediation and Conciliations Service. The hearing shall be conducted in accordance with the rules and regulations of the American Arbitration Association unless the parties mutually agree to other rules or procedures for the conduct of such arbitration. The Arbitrator’s decision and award shall be final and binding on the parties unless the grievance is based solely on a department-wide policy or practice, in which case the matter may go to Step 6 as provided for below.

b. The fees and expenses of the Arbitrator shall be shared equally by the parties involved, it being understood and agreed that all other expense including, but not limited to, fees for witnesses, transcripts, and similar costs incurred by the parties during arbitration, will be the responsibility of the individual party involved.

c. Not more than one grievance shall be submitted to arbitration in the same proceeding without the consent of the parties, except that grievances that are based on the same set of facts which must necessarily be decided in the same way can be submitted in a single arbitration subject to the consent of the parties.

d. The County and the Union shall endeavor to make a submission agreement, setting forth the issue of issues to be submitted to arbitration and any agreed stipulated relevant facts and principles. In the event of disagreement between the County and the Union, the issue or issues of the grievance shall be determined by the Arbitrator.

e. The Arbitrator shall have jurisdiction and authority to interpret the specific terms and provisions of this Memorandum of Understanding. Only those grievances which directly concern or involve the interpretation or application of the specific terms and provisions of this Memorandum of Understanding may be submitted to arbitration hereunder. In no event shall such arbitration extend to:

1. The interpretation, application, or legality of any federal, State or local law, ordinances or resolutions adopted by the County's Board of Supervisors; however, if the Arbitrator, in his discretion, finds it necessary to interpret or apply such federal, State or local law or ordinance or resolutions in order to resolve the grievance which has been submitted to arbitration, he may do so.

2. The interpretation, application, or legality of any or all of the County of Santa Barbara Civil Service Commission Rules, nor matters under the jurisdiction of said Civil Service Commission for which the Commission has established procedures or processes by which employees may appeal to, or request review by, said Civil Service Commission; however, if the Arbitrator, in his discretion, finds it necessary to interpret or apply such Civil Service Rules or matters under the jurisdiction of said Civil Service Commission in order to resolve the grievance which has been submitted to the Arbitrator, he may do so.

3. The interpretation, application, or the legality of the rules or regulations of the department head, or the County Administrator, or any other County agency, or Commission; however, if the Arbitrator, in his discretion, finds it necessary to interpret or apply such rules or regulations in order to resolve the grievance which has been submitted to the Arbitrator, he may do so.

7. Step 6 - Board of Supervisor's Final Decision

The Arbitrator's decision and award provided for in Step 5 shall be final and binding on the parties UNLESS the Board of Supervisors, when the grievance is based solely on a department-wide policy or practice, by majority vote, votes to set aside the decision and award of the Arbitrator within forty (40) days from the date of the issuance of the award and decision of the Arbitrator. In such event, the Board of Supervisors shall deliberate the grievance and, within a reasonable period of time (not to exceed forty (40) days), shall arrive at a decision which shall be final and binding. During such deliberations the County Administrator, or his/her designated representative, and the Union Representative shall make their presentations to the Board of Supervisors. Where possible, such presentations shall be made within thirty (30) calendar days from the date of the issuance of the Arbitrator's award. In the event the Board sets aside the decision and award of the Arbitrator, the County shall pay the Arbitrator's fee. Each party to the arbitration will still be responsible for their own expenses and costs of arbitration.

SECTION 55. AUTOMATIC PAYROLL DEPOSIT

All employees covered by this agreement shall participate in the County's automatic payroll deposit program. Participation shall mean the employee's execution of a payroll authorization form and submission of a voided check or savings deposit slip to the Auditor's office. It shall be the employee's choice as to which bank he/she designates as the institution receiving the payroll funds.

When the authorization form is properly executed and filed with the Auditor, the County shall automatically deposit in the employee's designated bank account the net amount of pay each designated biweekly payday.

SECTION 56. PAYROLL SIMPLIFICATION

During the term of this agreement the County may reopen negotiations on the issue of payroll simplification and/or modifications in compensation structure precipitated by the implementation of a new human resources and payroll system. If the County reopens negotiations on this subject the proposed changes will not be implemented unless the parties mutually agree.

SECTION 57. LEAVE OF ABSENCE POLICY

During the term of this agreement, the County may reopen negotiations on the issue of a comprehensive leave of absence policy and related changes in terms and conditions of employment. If the County reopens negotiations on this subject, the proposed changes will not be implemented unless the parties mutually agree.