Milestone 2 (600)

What are the steps typi- cally foxind in a grievance procedure?

A grievance is generally deñned as a claim by an employee that he or she is adversely impacted by the

misinterpretation or misapplication of a written company policy or a collectively bargained agreement. To address griev- ances, employers typically implement a grievance procedure.

A grievance procedure is a means of internal dispute resolution by which an employee may have his or her grievance addressed. An effective grievance proce- dure can help employees resolve issues of concern and may help employers cor- rect problems before they become more serious or result in litigation.

Most collective bargaining agree- ments include procedures for filing and resolving grievances. Within a union environment, the grievance processes will typically involve the employee, union representatives and members of

the employer's management team. Grievance processes may differ

somewhat from employer to employer and under collective bargaining agree- ments. However, most will have certain general processes in common.

Grievances are typically brought to the employee's immediate supervisor. This initial step may represent either an informal process or the beginning of the formal process. Generally, there will be a requirement that the grievance be submitted in writing using a griev- ance form. Usually, the supervisor and the union representative will review the grievance to determine whether it is valid. Also, most grievance procedures will require that the grievance be sub- mitted within a specified time following the event or incident.

Three possible outcomes may occur at this stage: • The supervisor and union represen-

tative determine that no valid griev- ance exists.

• The grievance is resolved.

• The grievance is not resolved to the employee's satisfaction, and it will move forward to the next step. The next step typically involves the

next supervisor in the company hierar- chy. In most union environments, the em- ployee will be represented by the union and is not present in the review process.

If the grievance still is unresolved, it will be reviewed at a higher level of man- agement and potentially by a higher- level union representative. Ultimately, the grievance may reach the highest lev- els as set forth by the contract.

When agreement still can't be reached, many procedures include a provision for an outside arbitrator to re- solve the issue. Senior leaders from the union and the company are typically involved in the arbitration. Union con- tracts may include mediation, nonbind- ing arbitration, binding arbitration or a combination of the three. In mediation and nonbinding arbitration, failure to resolve the issue could lead to litigation.

—Edward Yost

What should we consider when amending company policies?

Policies set behavioral expectations and reflect an employer's stan- dards relative to employee activi-

ties and employment-related matters. As companies expand and laws and regula- tions change, so must policies.

Employers often question how to make changes to their policies. Must employees be given advance notice? What is the best way to communicate changes? Must the company obtain em- ployees' signatures acknowledging a change?

Consider the steps below when revis- ing a policy: • Ensure that the actual policy or the handbook has a disclaimer that the employer may change or modify the policy at any time. This reduces the risk of policies being seen as a binding con- tract. If there is no policy modification disclaimer, consult with legal counsel to ensure that changes can be enforced. • Obtain buy-in. Some employers will

develop a committee of employees and other stakeholders to review the policy and make recommendations for revision. • Determine if state or federal laws will impact the proposed policy change. For example, some states have provi- sions regulating the payment for unused vacation time or paid time off when an individual's employment is terminated. • Communicate the new information to employees as soon as the revised pol- icy has been approved by company lead- ership and legal counsel. While advance notice of most policy changes is not required, it is a good HR practice. Con- sider the impact on morale as well as the impact on employees' finances, benefits, work/life balance and job expectations when determining how much advance notice to give and how to communicate the changes. For example, changes to a vacation policy may call for several months of notice to allow employees time to adjust their vacation sched- ules. Some states require that pay day changes be accompanied by an expla- nation of the impact on take-home pay and advance notice of at least one to two

pay periods to allow employees to adjust for any personal financial impact. But a change to hiring practices may not call for any notice prior to implementation if it has no impact on current employees. • Obtain acknowledgments that employees have received information regarding significant or important pol- icy revisions. This can be accomplished by any method that works for your orga- nization, including a written signature, e-mail verification or some other form of electronic signature. The wording of the acknowledgment can demon- strate that the employee has received the updated policy and understands the information. Again, this step is not required, but it is a good HR practice.

Following the steps above will help employers change their policies effec- tively and ensure that employees under- stand and comply with the changes.

—Yvette Lee

ShariLau, GPHR, SPHR-CA, Edward Yost, SPHR, and Yvette Lee, GPHR, PHR-CA, are HR knowledge advisors in SHRM's HR Knowl- edge Center.

May 2012 • HR Magazine 21

Copyright of HR Magazine is the property of Society for Human Resource Management and its content may not

be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written

permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.