The Parties wish to foster an atmosphere of cooperation and mutual respect between supervisors and employees. To that end, supervisors and employees are encouraged to communicate regularly with each other and discuss any problems or concerns and try to resolve them informally. If such informal efforts are unsuccessful, employees may utilize the grievance procedure as prescribed in this Article. A grievance is any dispute, difference, disagreement, or complaint between the Agency, an Employee/s or the Union relating to conditions of employment. A grievance will include, but is not limited to, a complaint of an employee or the Union which involves the interpretation, application of, or compliance with the provisions of this Agreement, laws, Memorandum(s) of Understanding, and local and government wide rules and regulations in existence when this agreement is effected .

Section 1. Purpose

1. The purpose of this Article is to provide a mutually acceptable method for a prompt and equitable settlement of grievances.



2. This shall be the procedure through which a just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of such grievances are secured. Therefore, the Parties agree that grievances processed through this procedure should be resolved as early as feasible and at the lowest organizational level practicable.



3. This shall be the exclusive procedure available to the Parties and employees in the Unit. .

Section 2. Coverage and Scope

1. A grievance means any complaint:



1. By any employee concerning any matter relating to the employment of the employee;



2. By Local 2419 concerning any matter relating to the employment of any employee; or,



3. By the Agency concerning:
   
   
   1. the effect or interpretation, or a claim of breach, of a collective bargaining agreement; or
   
   
   
   2. any claimed violation, misinterpretation, or misapplication of any law, rule, or regulation affecting conditions of employment.



2. An employee who alleges a prohibited personnel practice under Title 5 C.F.R. 2302(b)(1) which also falls under the scope of this Article may raise the matter under a statutory procedure or this Article, but not both. Similarly, with respect to adverse actions and performance based actions, employees may raise such matters under applicable appellate procedures or this Article, but not both.

Section 3. Exclusions

1. Excluded by Statue from the grievance procedure are:



1. Any claimed violation of Subchapter III of Chapter 73 of Title 5 of the U.S. Code (relating to prohibited political activities);



2. Retirement, life insurance, or health insurance;



3. A suspension or removal under Section 7532 of Title 5 of the U.S. Code (for National Security reasons);



4. Any examination, certification, or appointment; or



5. The classification of any position which does not result in the reduction in grade or pay of an employee.



2. Further, this Article does not apply to:



1. A binding decision made by an authority outside the Department;



2. Termination of an employee on a temporary appointment;



3. Filling a position outside the bargaining unit;



4. A preliminary warning notice of an action which if effected would be covered under the grievance procedure; or



5. Any action which is administratively appealable pursuant to 5 U.S.C. Chapter 75.

1. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed as precluding discussion between an employee and their immediate supervisor of a matter of interest or concern to either of them. Once a matter has been made the subject of a grievance under this procedure,



2. Nothing herein shall preclude either party from attempting to resolve the grievance informally at the appropriate level.
   
   
3. An employee or group of employees in the bargaining unit filing a grievance under this procedure may be represented by a Union representative. An employee or group of employees in the bargaining unit may present a grievance under this procedure without representation and have it resolved without intervention of the Union as long as the resolution is not inconsistent with the terms of this Agreement and the Union is given an opportunity to be present during the grievance proceeding.



4. In presenting a grievance, the grievant and the duly designated Union representative, if any, shall be free from restraint, interference, coercion, discrimination, and reprisal.



5. If in an active duty status, a grievant and/or duly designated Union representative shall, upon request, be allowed a reasonable amount of official time during regular working hours without charge to leave, when such time is required for obtaining, preparing, and assembling information pertinent to the presentation of the grievance.



6. Similarly, a reasonable amount of official time shall be allowed for the presentation of the grievance to the appropriate management official or third party. For this purpose, "reasonable time" is construed to be that amount of time actually needed to appear and present pertinent documents and information relating to the grievance. This includes a reasonable amount of time to travel to and from such presentation.

Section 5. Definitions

A. "Employee" means an employee in the bargaining unit or such former bargaining unit employees who have a timely grievance.

B. A "personnel action" is an action which requires issuance of a formal document (SF-50) through which a change in the employment conditions or status of an employee is requested, recorded, and documented.

Section 6. Grievance Form

A. The negotiated standard form is to be used for the filing of grievances under this Article except where the circumstances are such as, by reasonable view, to preclude the use of the form. The grievance is to be signed by the grievant(s), dated, and shall include the information specified in Section 7.B.1. for Step 2 contained in this Article.

B.Trivial or clearly mechanical errors not affecting the substantial rights of a party shall be disregarded at every stage of the proceedings under this Article. A properly filed grievance form shall be accepted and processed promptly. To be properly filed all signatures on the form must be original, photocopied signatures will not be accepted. An incomplete form will not be a basis for rejecting the grievance, but will be returned to the grievant or the Union for proper completion before processing. For purposes of timeliness, the grievance will be considered filed when the form is first received by the appropriate management official. However, the time for response will not begin until the properly completed grievance form is received by the appropriate official.

C.A grievance is properly filed when prepared in accordance with Subsection A of this Section and shall be accepted by the Agency when it is postmarked or personally delivered to the appropriate official within the time limits established in this Article.

Section 7. Procedures

A.Informal Procedures

The Agency and the Union agree that every effort will be made to settle grievances at the lowest possible level. Most grievances arise from misunderstandings or disputes which can be settled promptly and satisfactorily on an informal basis at the immediate supervisory level. In the informal stage the Employee has fourteen (14) calendar days to attempt to resolve the dispute and/or grievance before proceeding to the formal grievance procedure. The employee may use either or both of the following methods:

Employee/Supervisor Discussions: speak directly with the management official/supervisor;

Alternative Dispute Resolution: engage the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) (See Article 54)

Employee/Supervisor Discussions: Before proceeding to any formal grievance procedures, employees will discuss such issues with their supervisor. This will allow an informal resolution to be achieved regarding any problem which the employee feels the supervisor needs to address. The employee, if they so desires, may be accompanied and represented by the union steward or a representative of their choice. As a way to encourage resolving the matter at this level, the employee is responsible for submitting a written statement of concerns to the management official. The management official must provide the employee with a written response to the employees concerns whether they are resolved or not.

The Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution (CADR) offers employees the opportunity to resolve any dispute in an informal manner. The Parties encourage the use of the CADR in accordance with Article 54 (Alternative Dispute Resolution) as an enhancement for the informal step of the grievance procedure.

Step 1

1. A grievance must be filed within fourteen (14) calendar days after the informal step of the grievance procedure has been exhausted. It is the responsibility of the aggrieved party to meet this time frame. Matters of continuing violation may be grieved by the employee/union as long as the violation exists and will not be subject to the Step 1 submission time limits. The initiating party has the burden of proving the existence of a continuing violation.

2. Generally, all grievances shall be filed in writing with the first-line supervisor who was the respondent in the informal proceeding. The only exception to this practice will be if the responding official in the informal step was at a higher level of management than the first-line supervisor. In that case, the formal Step 1 would proceed to that level for formal resolution and then proceed to the next appropriate level, if necessary, to resolve a grievance. Regardless, the first step, Step 1, of the formal procedure would be with the official who made the informal response or decision. This would allow the grievance to be formally resolved at the lowest possible level. Any questions regarding or disagreements on the respondent, other than the first-line supervisor, will be referred to the servicing LRO. They shall make a decision and inform the Local President.

3. When filing a grievance at Step 1, the greivant shall provide the basic facts, issues, or concerns on the grievance form, Appendix E. The responding management official shall have seven (7) calendar days to respond to the grievance.

4. Representation at the formal Step 1 shall be provided by any steward in the same Section as the griever.

5. If no decision is rendered in a timely fashion, the griever or Union may appeal to Step 2.

Step 2

1. A grievance may be appealed to Step 2 of this procedure within fourteen (14) calender days of receipt of a unsatisfactory Step 1 response or from the date the response was due. The grievance must include the following:


1. Date of occurrence;



2. Name of griever;



3. Official to whom appealed;



4. Basic facts, issues, or concerns submitted at Step 1;



5. Provisions of the Agreement alleged to have been violated;



6. Remedy sought; and



7. Name of the on sight Union representative.



2. 2.The Step 2 appeal shall be filed with the second-line supervisor of the aggrieved employee. The second-line supervisor shall have fifteen (15) calendar days to provide a written response to the grievance. The grievance will be rejected if any portion of the required information is missing.



3. 3. If no decision is rendered by the above time frame, the aggrieved party may appeal to Step 3.

Step 3

1. If the grievance is not satisfactorily resolved at Step 2, the aggrieved party may forward the grievance to the appropriate section chief, branch chief, or Division Director, as appropriate. This Step 3 grievance must be received within seven (7) calendar days of the time frames pursuant to Step 2 above or receipt by the employee and their representative of the Step 2 decision. The Step 3 official there will issue a decision within fourteen (14) calendar days after receipt of the grievance.

2.If no decision is rendered by the above time frame, the aggrieved party may refer the matter to arbitration.

Upon receipt of the final Step decision or if no decision is rendered in a timely fashion, the Union may refer the matter to arbitration in accordance with Article 32.

Section 9. Termination of Grievance

A grievance shall terminate only upon a determination that the grievance does not meet the requirements pursuant to Section 7 B. 1. above, or by the Union not to proceed with the grievance; for failure to proceed to the next step in a timely fashion; if an arbitrator rendered a decision; or, a final decision is rendered on an appeal from the arbitrators decision.

Section 10. Modification of Procedures

The time limits delineated in this Article may be modified by mutual Agreement of the Parties. The Parties may mutually agree in writing to waive Step 1 or 2 of this procedure only if the authority to resolve the grievance extends beyond those management officials.