General Grievance Procedure

General Provisions

1. The following definitions shall be used in the application of this procedure:
1. "Employee problem or grievance" is a perceived wrong which causes an employee to feel dissatisfied or annoyed with some aspect of his/her work situation.



2. "Employee" means any employed person with probationary or permanent status in the classified service of St. Louis County under the provisions of Article VII of the County Charter.



3. "Immediate supervisor" means the person who assigns and is responsible for the work of the employee.



4. "Division head" means the director of a division within a principal department. In some instances, this may be a unit head lawfully designated as an appointing authority by the department head.



5. "Department head" means the head of a principal department appointed by the County Executive.



2. Whenever possible, grievances will be handled during the regularly scheduled working hours of the persons involved.



3. The time limits in this procedure may be extended by mutual consent or unusual circumstances. A statement indicating the nature of the extension must be noted on the Grievance Procedure Form. If one of the parties wishes an extension of time and the other party does not agree, the person desiring the extension may request, in writing, that the Personnel Director grant the extension, indicating at the same time the justification for the extension. After discussion with both parties, the Personnel Director shall notify the parties of his/her decision within two work days following receipt of the request.



4. In the event of the unavailability of a supervisor or administrator during the processing of a grievance, the grievance shall be handled by that person's designated substitute. If this is not practicable, the grievance shall then be processed at the next higher step in the procedure.



5. Any problem or grievance shall be considered settled at the completion of any step, if all parties are satisfied. Dissatisfaction of any party involved is implied in the movement of the grievance from one step to the next.



6. The Grievance Procedure Form shall be used in processing employee problems or grievances.



7. The filing of a grievance and the entire grievance procedure is to operate without discrimination, restraint, coercion, or reprisal on the part of any supervisor or employee. The filing of a grievance, or the intention to file, does not relieve an employee in any way of his/her responsibility to perform any and all assigned duties promptly and completely.



8. When the organizational structure or special departmental circumstances do not permit the normal steps to be followed in processing a grievance, the Personnel Director, with the approval of the Civil Service Commission, may modify or interpret the plan so as to provide fair and equitable procedures to be used.



9. An employee complaint, dissatisfaction or problem need not be submitted or accepted by management as a grievance subject to the grievance procedure if the employee fails to file the written grievance, as required in step two, within thirty calendar days following the date of the incident, event or activity which gave rise to the grievance.



10. In the event a grievance is filed which involves two or more employees in the same or similar event, happening or condition, the Personnel Director may rule that all grievants will be governed by one grievance form and resulting decision, and the grievance will be submitted jointly by the employees affected.




The department, Personnel Director and Civil Service Commission need not rule on each individual grievant's case separately when the aforegoing conditions are present.