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A grievance is defined as a dispute between the City and one (1) or more of its employees concerning the interpretation or application of or compliance with this Agreement, including disputes regarding discipline.
Section 2. Should a grievance arise, there shall be an earnest effort on the part of the parties to settle such grievance promptly. Grievances involving discipline shall follow the procedure established in Section 4 of this Article. Probationary employees shall have rights in the grievance procedure through Step 3, except for non-disciplinary matters, but shall not be entitled to use the arbitration or the Disciplinary Review Board procedures established by this Article. All other grievances shall be processed in accordance with the following procedure:
Step 1. An employee shall present and attempt to resolve any grievance with the immediate supervisor within ten (10) working days of its occurrence or within ten (10) working days from the time the employee(s) became aware of the cause of complaint. A Union Steward may be present if so requested. Discussion will be informal for the purpose of settling the dispute in the simplest and most direct manner. The decision of the immediate supervisor shall be given orally to the employee no later than ten (10) working days after the discussion.
Step 2. If the grievance has not been resolved to the satisfaction of the employee at Step 1, the grievance may be reduced to writing on the regular grievance form, signed by the employee and presented to the employee's bureau commander or designee not later than ten (10) working days after the immediate supervisor's response was rendered at Step 1. If the grievance involves more than one (1) employee, at least one (1) of the aggrieved employees must sign the grievance form, and at least ten percent (10%) of the aggrieved employees must sign the grievance prior to proceeding to Step 3. Any resolution of the grievance shall be limited to those employees who have been named on the grievance form. The bureau commander or designee shall conduct a meeting with the affected employee(s) and/or Union Steward within ten (10) working days of receipt of the written grievance and shall reply to the affected employee(s) and the Union, in writing, of the decision within ten (10) working days after the close of the meeting.
Step 3. If the grievance is not settled to the satisfaction of the employee(s) at Step 2, the decision may be appealed by presenting the written grievance to the Police Chief or designee not later than ten (10) working days after receipt of the decision by the bureau commander or designee at Step 2. The Police Chief or designee shall conduct a meeting with the affected employee(s) and/or Union Steward within ten (10) working days of receipt of the appeal and shall reply to the affected employee(s) and the Union, in writing, within ten (10) working days following the close of the meeting.
Step 4. If the grievance is not resolved to the satisfaction of the employees at Step 3, the Police Chief’s decision may be appealed to the Labor Relations Manager not later than ten (10) working days after receipt of the Step 3 decision. The Labor Relations Manager shall meet with the affected employees and/or the Union Steward within ten (10) working days following receipt of the grievance and shall reply, in writing, within ten (10) working days following the close of the meeting.
Section 3.
A. The City and the Union hereby agree that this procedure and the arbitration procedure set forth in Article 43 shall be the sole and exclusive method for interpreting and enforcing this Agreement.
B. For the limited purpose of this Article, a working day shall be from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, exclusive of holidays observed by the City.
C. The time limits set forth above are to be strictly adhered to but may be lengthened or shortened by mutual agreement in writing.
D. Representatives of the City and the Union shall acknowledge receipt of grievances by signing and dating the form when presented or received.
E. Any grievance not advanced by the employees to the next higher step within the time limits provided shall be considered settled on the basis of the answer most recently given. If the City does not answer a grievance within the time limits provided, the employees may elect to treat the grievance as denied at that step and immediately advance the grievance to the next step.
F. No action or matter shall be considered the subject of a grievance unless a written complaint is made within ten (10) working days of its occurrence or within ten (10) working days from the time the aggrieved employees became aware or by use of reasonable diligence should have become aware of the cause for complaint. The City shall not be subject to any liability for any period more than ten (10) days prior to the date the grievance was filed in writing.
G. A Union Steward shall be permitted to confer with the appropriate supervisor and/or bureau commander or designee under the circumstances defined in Steps 1 and 2 above without loss of pay provided that the City may discontinue payment for such time in case of abuse by the Union Steward. A Union Steward shall report to the immediate supervisor when stopping work to process a grievance as requested by an employee(s) and shall report back to the supervisor when ready to resume work. If a grievance involves more than one (1) employee, such employees shall designate not more than two (2) employees to represent the group and, with the steward, shall be permitted to confer with the supervisor and/or bureau commander or designee in Steps 1 and 2 as provided above. An aggrieved employee(s) will be permitted to confer with representatives of City management as provided in the grievance procedure without loss of pay provided that the City may discontinue payment for such time if this privilege is abused.
H. In the event that the grievance involves a group of employees who do not have the same immediate supervisor, the grievance shall first be presented to their bureau commander as indicated in Step 2 of this procedure. The subsequent steps of the grievance procedure as outlined in this Article shall then apply.
I. In the event that the grievance involves a group of employees who do not have the same bureau commander, the procedure shall start with Step 3.
J. In accordance with State law, the Union shall not be obligated to process a grievance of a non-member.
K. The Union shall have the right to file grievances in the third step of the grievance procedure in any non-disciplinary matter involving the interpretation or application of this Agreement, provided however, that this right shall be strictly limited to those matters where the Union can factually demonstrate:
1 that the matter is covered by a provision of the Agreement; and 2. that the matter involves the interpretation or application of that provision; and 3. the grievance does not seek to add to or subtract from any provision of the Agreement- and 4. the subject matter of the grievance is general in nature, having application to a majority of the members of the Unit.
Section 4.0 Employees may be disciplined only for cause involving deficiencies in performance and/or deficiencies in conduct. When disciplinary action is taken, the affected employees shall be informed in writing either prior to or at the time the action is taken of (1) the reason for the discipline; (2) the penalty assessed; and (3) the effective date of the penalty.
Disciplinary action shall include the following: 1. Written Reprimand 2. Suspension/Forfeiture of Time 3. Demotion 4. Discharge
Employee corrective interviews shall not be considered disciplinary action for the purpose of this Agreement and may be appealed only to the next level in the chain of command above the issuing authority. There shall be no further appeal.
A letter of reprimand may be appealed orally or in writing through the chain of command. Each level in the chain of command shall have the power to rescind a letter of reprimand. The Police Chief shall be the final appeal for all letters of reprimand.
An appeal of a suspension, demotion, or dismissal shall be processed as set forth below.
Section 4.1 If discipline other than counseling or reprimand is contemplated, the Police Chief or designee shall meet with the employee and/or the Union Steward if so requested by the employee and shall provide the written notice described in 4.0 above, which shall include the notice that the employee may request a hearing on the matter within five (5) working days if the employee feels that the disciplinary action is unwarranted. If the employee does not request such hearing within five (5) working days, the hearing shall be considered waived.
Section 4.2 If a written request for a hearing from the employees is received within five (5) working days, the Police Chief or designee shall schedule such hearing within five (5) working days after the request is received at which the facts regarding the disciplinary action shall be reviewed with the employees. The Union Steward and/or legal counsel may accompany or represent the employee at the hearing, but the City shall not be responsible for payment for such representation. The hearing shall be recorded by tape.
Section 4.3 Failure of the employee to appear at such scheduled hearing shall, except for mutually agreed upon good reason, be considered a waiver of the desire for a hearing.
Section 4.4 The Police Chief or designee, within five (5) working days following the close of the hearing, will submit to the City Manager a recommendation for action. Within five (5) working days after receipt of that recommendation, the City Manager will issue a final decision in the matter in writing, a copy of which will be delivered to the employee and/or the Union Steward.
Section 4.5 If disciplinary action is taken by the City Manager which the employee considers to be unwarranted, the employee and the Union representative may appeal such action by filing a grievance directly under Section 2, Step 4 of this Article.
Section 4.6 In considering the severity of a disciplinary recommendation, the Police Chief or designee may take into account past counseling letters of reprimand or disciplinary action, prior conduct, and the employee's employment record.
Section 4.7 Any regular employee may be immediately terminated or suspended without advance notice where the giving of such notice could result in damage to the City or to private property, injury to the employee, a fellow employee, or the general public.
Section 4.8 In any case in which an employee is charged by proper authorities with commission of a crime involving moral turpitude, the employee may be immediately suspended without pay pending final disposition of such criminal charges. Such suspension shall not be subject to review by either a Disciplinary Review Board or through arbitration.
A. In the event that any employee is convicted of such criminal charges, his or her suspension shall automatically be converted into an involuntary termination and shall not be subject to further review by a Disciplinary Review Board or through arbitration.
B. Where charges against any employee are dismissed for any reason, or there is no adjudication of guilt, the City shall have twenty (20) days after receipt of notice of such action to either reinstate the employee with back pay or to institute administrative disciplinary charges against the employee. Such administrative charges, if any, shall be subject to review under either the Disciplinary Review Board or grievance/arbitration procedures provided herein, but not both.
C. In no event shall any employee be granted back pay for any period of suspension attributable to pending criminal charges against the employee unless the employee is found innocent of such charges or such charges are found to have arisen out of direct line of duty conduct undertaken in good faith,
Section 5.0 If the City Manager rescinds and/or modifies the disciplinary action, a loss in pay, if any, will be corrected.
Section 5.1 If the grievance has not been satisfactorily resolved under this procedure, the employee with the approval of the Union may proceed to arbitration as set forth in Article 43, "Arbitration", or if the grievance involves dismissal, the employee may elect to forego grievance arbitration procedures in favor of review through the disciplinary review set forth below.
The employee shall notify the City in writing of such election of the Disciplinary Review Board procedures within ten (10) working days after receiving the City Manager’s final written decision regarding the disciplinary action. An employee's election of Disciplinary Review Board procedures shall be irrevocable, and the decision rendered pursuant to that procedure shall be final.
A. A Disciplinary Review Board shall be composed of one (1) member appointed by the City, one (1) member appointed by the Union, and one (1) Chairman, who shall be an arbitrator selected in accordance with the provisions established in Article 43, Section 2, "Arbitration", of this Agreement. Each Disciplinary Review Board shall be appointed on a case-by-case basis unless otherwise agreed upon by the parties.
B. 1. The Disciplinary Review Board convened pursuant to this Section shall conduct a hearing not more than fifteen (15) days after selection of the Chairman at a time and place agreed upon by the Board members or, absent agreement, set by the Chairman. The Chairman shall provide not less than five (5) days notice of the hearing by certified mail to the City, the Union, and the affected employee. The purpose of the hearing and the authority of the Board shall be limited to review of such evidence as may be necessary to determine whether the disciplinary action is arbitrary or capricious or based upon deficiencies in performance and/or deficiencies in conduct.
2. In accordance with Section 682.08, Florida Statutes (1983) the Chairman shall have the authority to issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses and for the production of records, documents, and other evidence and shall have the power to administer oaths.
3. At the hearing, the City and the employee may each be represented by legal counsel and shall have the right to introduce documentary and testimonial evidence. Evidence may be received in written form. All testimony of parties and witnesses shall be under oath. All hearings shall be tape recorded. The Chairman shall preside over the hearing and may rule upon objections raised in the course of the proceedings. Hearsay evidence may be used for the purpose of supplementing or explaining other evidence, but shall not be sufficient in itself to support a finding unless it would be admissible over objection in a civil action. The burden of proof, based upon a preponderance of evidence, shall be upon the City.
4. Hearings before the Board shall be conducted informally and shall not be controlled by technical rules of evidence. Where an employee's challenge to the dismissal is grounded upon any question of law related to a Police Department rule, regulation, or procedure, the Board may hear argument, receive briefs, or both in connection with the challenged action and the Board shall include its conclusions regarding the legal question in its report.
5. Within fifteen (15) days after the close of the hearing, the Board shall issue its written decision to the City Manager with a copy to the Union and/or employee. The minimum contents of such report shall be as follows:
(a) that charges sufficient in law were preferred, (b) that due notice was given; (c) that a hearing was conducted at which an opportunity to be heard was afforded; (d) that each party was either afforded the opportunity to have legal counsel or waived such right; (e) findings of fact material to the issues; (f) conclusions based upon the evidence and argument presented; (g) a final decision affirming, rejecting, or modifying the dismissal and a statement of grounds therefore.
C. Exception: Review of Issues of Law
The decision of the Disciplinary Review Board shall be final and binding in all respects and not subject to further review through arbitration or otherwise; provided that any issues of law raised before the Disciplinary Review Board and preserved in the record of the hearing concerning and limited to departmental rules, regulations, and orders may be reviewed by a circuit court through common law certiorari. An issue of law shall be limited to only one (1) of the following issues:
1. Was there a lack of competent and substantial evidence? 2. Was there a denial of due process? 3. Does the decision depart from the essential requirements of the law?
If such issue is not so raised and preserved, it is waived.
D. Costs
In all proceedings before a Disciplinary Review Board, each party shall bear its own costs and attorney's fees. The per diem fee and/or expenses of the Chairman, if any, shall be equally shared by the parties. Any party desiring a transcript of the hearing shall pay the full costs of transcription or any court reporter fees unless otherwise agreed by the parties. |
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