MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN
COUNTY OF SANTA BARBARA AND
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY PROBATION PEACE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION

SECTION 37. GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

A. Purpose

1. To promote improved employer-employee relations by establishing a grievance procedure to afford employees, individually or through qualified representation, a systematic means of obtaining consideration of complaints, questions, and disputes which constitutes 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 adversely affected by an alleged violation, misinterpretation or misapplication of this Memorandum of Understanding or other written County policy or rule applicable to the employee, except the following issues that provide their own means of administrative review:

1. Any matter that can be appealed to the Santa Barbara County Civil Service Commission.

2. Complaints relating to discrimination, occupational health and safety, Worker's Compensation and Retirement Board matters shall be processed pursuant to established County complaint procedure 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. Formal grievance forms shall be made available to the employee through the Personnel Department, the Probation Department and/or the Association, and all formal grievances shall be submitted on these forms.

b. Grievance forms must be complete upon filing and must clearly and concisely state the nature of the complaint including explicitly specifying the particular section of the agreement or rule, 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.

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 Association 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 1, 2 or 3 in the Procedure as provided in Section F 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 3 and 4 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 2 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 ten (10) working 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 Association a copy of the grievance form and the resolution agreed to by the employee and the County.

D. Processing Grievances

1. The Grievant and/or his/her 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

1. Insofar as possible, when a grievant's representative at Step 1 is a County employee, the representative shall be employed in the same work location as the grievant(s). When the foregoing condition cannot be met, a grievant's representative who is a County employee may be employed outside the same work locations, provided said representative is no longer than ten (10) minutes away, by the most practical and common mode of transportation, from the grievant’s work location. This time limit may be waived by mutual agreement of the parties when the grievant is assigned to a remote work location, or under other unusual circumstances.

2. At steps 2, 3 and 4 of the Grievance Procedure the restrictions outlined in a(1) above shall not apply to a grievant's chosen representative who is a County employee.

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 Sections E and F 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. Informal Procedure

An employee having a grievance should verbally present same directly to his/her supervisor in an effort to clarify the grievance and mutually achieve settlement. The initial presentation should be without the benefit of representation; however, one (1) subsequent presentation may be made with the benefit of representation.

Every effort shall be made to resolve the grievance at this level. The supervisor, in consultation with department management, has the responsibility to:

1. Inform the employee of any limitation of the department's authority to fully resolve the grievance; and

2. Supply the employee with the necessary information to process his/her grievance with the proper agency, organization, or authority.

F. Formal Grievance Procedure Steps

Step 1: Written Grievance/Immediate Supervisor

a. An employee may submit a formal grievance, on a form provided by the County, by filing one copy with his/her immediate supervisor, one copy with the appropriate Probation Manager and one copy with the Personnel Department not more than ten (10) working days from the date of the action or incident claimed to be the basis for the grievance, or not more than ten (10) working days from the date when the employee knew or should have known of such action or incident, but in no event shall any grievance be accepted for consideration more than one year from the action or incident claimed as its basis regardless of the date of discovery. If the grievance is not presented within the time limitation herein provided, it shall be deemed not to exist.

b. It shall be the responsibility of the supervisor to consult and involve the Probation Manager in any and all grievance meetings and in arriving at a written response to the grievant.

c. Within seven (7) working days of receipt of the grievance, the immediate supervisor shall deliver his/her written decision to the grievant or his/her representative. Should the written decision of the supervisor propose a solution to the grievance, such solution shall be subject to the review and confirmation of the department head before the settlement may become effective. In the event the department head does not confirm the settlement, the grievant may initiate Step 2 of this procedure.

Step 2: Review by Department Head

a. In the event the employee believes the grievance has not been satisfactorily resolved at Step 1, the employee may 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 ten (10) working days of receipt of the grievance, the department head shall deliver his/her written decision to the grievant or his/her representative.

Step 3: County Administrator

a. In the event the employee believes his/her grievance has not been satisfactorily resolved at Step 2, he/she may submit the grievance in writing to the County Administrator within seven (7) working days from receipt of the department head's written response, or if no department head decision is forthcoming, within seven (7) working days from the expiration of the time limit for the department head’s decision.

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

Step 4: Advisory Arbitration

a. If the grievance is not settled or disposed of at Step 3, the grievance may be submitted within ten (10) working days to the Personnel Director for advisory arbitration. The Arbitrator shall be selected from a panel provided by the State Conciliation’s 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.

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. Where the individual is representing himself, he/she shall be solely responsible for his/her share of the fees and expenses as outlined above.

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 Association 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 Association, 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/her 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/she 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/her 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/she 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/her 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/she may do so.

Step 5: Board of Supervisor's Final Decision

The Arbitrator's decision and award provided for in Step 4 shall be final and binding on the parties UNLESS the Board of Supervisors, 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 the decision which shall be final and binding. During such deliberations the County Administrator, or his/her designated representative, and the Association Representative shall make 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 expense and costs of arbitration.