Employee Grievances

Purpose

This policy governs the handling of employee grievances.

Duration

This policy is permanent, but it is subject to revisions.

Policy

Section 1. Employee Grievances

  1. As is natural, there are times when disputes arise between employees or between an employee and the school administration. Consistent with the philosophy behind the Charter, it is expected that during any dispute, all employees will model the conflict resolution skills that they encourage in ANCS students. Should it become necessary, this procedure is intended to provide a simple, expeditious, and fair process for resolving employee complaints at the lowest possible level and with a minimum of conflict and formal proceedings.
  2. No employee will be subject to reprisal as a result of filing a complaint under this procedure.

Section 2. Scope of Complaint Procedure

  1. Any current employee may file a complaint concerning his or her employment or the implementation of the personnel policies. The complaint should be in writing, and every attempt should have been made to settle the issue with individual conversations before bringing formal grievance.

Exclusions

This procedure may not be used to complain about the following:

  1. Performance ratings contained in the employee's personnel evaluations
  2. The employee's job performance
  3. Termination, non-renewal, demotion, suspension, or reprimand of employee
  4. Revocation, suspension, or denial of certificates to all certified employees
  5. Alleged misconduct, as that term is defined in the Reporting Misconduct Policy, unless the employee has already followed the reporting procedures therein and remains dissatisfied.

Section 3. Complaint Procedure Steps

  1. Step One: Informal Discussion. An employee having a grievance hereunder shall make a good-faith effort to resolve the matter through informal discussions with the individual(s) involved in the matter and/or with the employee’s direct supervisor, within five (5) working days of the occurrence or cause of such matter.
  2. Step Two: Administrative Review. If the matter cannot be resolved through informal discussion, the aggrieved employee After a good-faith effort with the Campus Principal to thoroughly resolve the dispute, all employees may submit their complaint, in writing, to the Campus Principal or immediate supervisor within ten (10) days after the most recent event upon which the complaint is based. The written complaint should include identification of the problem, a description of the efforts undertaken to informally resolve the dispute, and a proposed resolution. The Campus Principal will make every reasonable effort to schedule a meeting to occur within five (5) working days of receipt of the complaint with the Campus Principal and any other person(s) whose actions or decisions give rise to the matter. At such meeting, each party will have the opportunity to be heard and to request relief. Within three (3) working days or as soon thereafter as is reasonably practicable, the Campus Principal will issue a written recommendation as to how the matter should be resolved. All parties present at the meeting shall receive copies of the written recommendation.
  3. Step Three: Review by Executive Director. If the aggrieved employee remains dissatisfied after administrative review, the employee may, within ten (10) working days of receipt of the Campus Principal’s written recommendation, submit the complaint to the Executive Director. The Executive Director and an HR Manager will meet with the employee to go over the complaint and for a discussion of the complaint with all parties involved. This meeting shall take place within ten (10) working days of the Executive Director’s receipt of the complaint, or as soon thereafter as is reasonably practicable given the circumstances. The Executive Director shall make every reasonable effort to prepare a written decision within five (5) working days of the meeting with the employee. All parties present at the meeting shall receive copies of the written decision.
  4. Step Four: Review by the Governing Board or a Committee thereof. If the aggrieved employee remains dissatisfied after review by the Executive Director, the employee may appeal the Executive Director's decision by filing within ten (10) working days of the decision, with the Chair of the Governance Committee , the original complaint, and a written explanation of why he or she disagrees with the decision of the Executive Director. A written decision will be issued by the Governing Board or their designee as soon as is reasonably practicable, but no later than five (5) working days after the next meeting of the Governing Board. In its discretion, the Governing Board may delegate any such review to a Committee of the Board or other delegate and/or hold a hearing where appropriate. If a hearing is held, it will be in closed session to the extent permitted by law. Governing Board members who are interested parties shall excuse themselves from the hearing if such members have a conflict of interest in the subject of the appeal.

Mediation

At any time in the process, the employee may elect to proceed to mediation and the time frames specified in this policy will be suspended. If mediation fails to resolve the complaint, this procedure will resume where it left off prior to the mediation.

Approval and Review

Approved

Effective

 Last Review

Next Review
06/16/2015 07/02/2015 09/2024 03/2027