La Habra Police Association

La Habra Police Department

Grievance Procedure

1006.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE

It is the policy of this department that all grievances be handled quickly and fairly without discrimination against employees who file a grievance whether or not there is a basis for the grievance. Our Department’s philosophy is to promote a free verbal communication between employees and supervisors.

1006.11 GRIEVANCE DEFINED

A grievance is any difference of opinion concerning terms or conditions of employment or the dispute involving the interpretation or application of any of the following documents by the person(s) affected:

• The employee bargaining agreement (Memorandum of Understanding)

• This Policy Manual

• City rules & regulations covering personnel practices or working               conditions

Grievances may be brought by an individual affected employee or by a group representative. Specifically outside the category of grievance are complaints related to alleged acts of sexual, racial, ethnic or other forms of unlawful harassment, as well as complaints related to allegations of discrimination on the basis of sex, race, religion, ethnic background and

other lawfully protected status or activity are subject to the complaint options set forth in Policy Manual § 328, and personnel complaints consisting of any allegation of misconduct or improper job performance against any department employee that, if true, would constitute a violation of department policy, federal, state or local law set forth in Policy Manual §1020.

1006.2 PROCEDURE

Except as otherwise required under a collective bargaining agreement, if an employee believes that he or she has a grievance as defined above,then that employee shall observe the following procedure:

(a) Attempt to resolve the issue through informal discussion with immediate supervisor.

(b) If after a reasonable amount of time, generally seven days, the grievance cannot be settled by the immediate supervisor, the employee may request an interview with the Division Commander of the affected division or bureau.

(c) If a successful resolution is not found with the Division Commander, the employee may request a meeting with the Chief of Police.

(d) If the employee and the Chief of Police are unable to arrive at a mutual solution, then the employee shall proceed as follows:

1. Submit in writing a written statement of the grievance and deliver one copy to the Chief of Police and another copy to the immediate supervisor and include the following information:

(a) The basis for the grievance (i.e., what are the facts of the case?).

(b) Allegation of the specific wrongful act and the harm done.

(c) The specific policies, rules or regulations that were violated.

(d) What remedy or goal is being sought by this grievance.

(e) The employee shall receive a copy of the acknowledgment signed by the supervisor including the date and time of receipt.

(f) The Chief of Police will receive the grievance in writing. The Chief of Police and the City Manager will review and analyze the facts or allegations and respond to the employee within 14 calendar days. The response will be in writing, and will affirm or deny the allegations. The response shall include any remedies if appropriate. The decision of the City Manager is considered final.

1006.3 EMPLOYEE REPRESENTATION

Employees are entitled to have representation during the grievance process. The representative may be selected by the employee from the appropriate employee bargaining group.

1006.4 GRIEVANCE RECORDS

At the conclusion of the grievance process, all documents pertaining to the process shall be forwarded to Support Services for inclusion into a secure file for all written grievances. A second copy of the written grievance will be maintained by the City Manager’s office to monitor the grievance process.

Grievance Procedure 323

April 2008 © 19952008

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