Open Door Procedure

Section 212

The College has two grievance procedures: this policy for the General Open-Door Procedure and the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy.

This Open-Door Procedure is provided for exempt/administrative and nonexempt/administrative support staff of the College, recognizing that, from time to time, various problems occur involving work relationships and conditions of employment. It is the responsibility of all employees to establish a working environment in which problems or complaints can be readily brought to the attention of an appropriate College official (normally the immediate manager) and given fair consideration. No employee should hesitate to seek redress for a legitimate grievance or fear retaliation for doing so.

An employee should feel free to discuss any problem informally with their manager, department head, or the staff in the Office of Human Resources at any time without the discussion being considered part of a formal grievance procedure. However, when an employee wishes their concern to be considered formally by the College, they will follow the procedure described below.

This procedure applies to all issues (with the exception of sexual harassment or complaints covered under the College’s EEO policy) which involve work conditions and relationships within a department and/or the interpretation and application to individuals of general employment policies and procedures. The actual terms of employment policies and employee benefit plans are not covered by this procedure. Voluntary resignations are not subject to this procedure. If a question exists as to whether a particular matter is covered by these procedures, the Human Resources Office will decide in consultation with the employee’s manager.

Procedure

STEP 1 – Informal Discussion with the Immediate manager and/or Department Head

  • The employee asserting the grievance should generally attempt to resolve the problem informally with their immediate manager. If that is not appropriate under the circumstances or is not successful in resolving the matter, the employee should bring the matter to the attention of the department head.

STEP 2 – Written Complaint to the leader of Human Resources Consulting

  • If the matter cannot be resolved informally within the department, the employee may file a written complaint with the leader of Human Resources Consulting. This complaint must be delivered in writing within 5 business days after the employee knows or should know that the matter cannot be resolved informally within the department. 

  • If the leader of Human Resources Consulting determines that the complaint is not timely or is not within the scope of these procedures, the grievance may be dismissed, and the employee will be informed in writing.

  • If the complaint is deemed timely and within the scope of these procedures, the leader of Human Resources Consulting will provide necessary details to the person(s) against whom the grievance is asserted, review the matter as appropriate, and attempt to reach a resolution acceptable to all parties. 

  • If an agreed resolution cannot be reached, the leader of Human Resources Consulting will decide whether the grievance has merit and, if so, how it should be resolved. The decision will be delivered in writing to the parties involved.

Alternative Human Resources representatives may act as the leader of Human Resources Consulting’s designee in this process.

Conflicts

If a grievance is asserted against or otherwise cannot be addressed by the leader of Human Resources Consulting, the college will designate another College official to serve in the role of the leader of Human Resources Consulting under these procedures.

Appeals

If the matter cannot be resolved at step 2 the employee may appeal in writing to the vice president of human resources within 10 business days from the date they received the decision from the leader of Human Resources Consulting. After thorough review and consideration, the vice president of human resources will make a final decision on the grievance. The decision of the vice president of human resources is final and binding, and no further appeals will be entertained within the college's internal grievance procedures.