SECTION A: Purpose

The purpose of these provisions is to provide for the orderly and expeditious adjustment of grievances.

SECTION B: Definitions

As used in this grievance procedure:

1. "Grievance" means a claim based upon an event or condition which affects the conditions or circumstances under which an employee works, allegedly caused by misinterpretation or inequitable application of written District regulations, rules, resolutions or District practices, and/or the provisions of this Agreement.

2. "Grievant" means an employee or employees of the District covered by this Agreement having a grievance or the Seattle Association of Educational Office Personnel.

3. "Association" means the Seattle Education Association.

4. "Day" means a calendar day.

5. "Working day" means a day on the school calendar excluding holidays and Winter and Spring Vacations.

SECTION C: Initial Grievance Provisions

1. The adjustment of grievances shall be accomplished as rapidly as is possible in order to resolve the grievance promptly.

a. To expedite resolutions, the grievance shall be initiated within sixty (60) days following the events or occurrences upon which it is based, except that grievances related to salary may be filed at any time the situation is discovered.

b. The number of days within which each step is prescribed to be accomplished shall be considered as maximum and every effort shall be made to expedite the process.

c. At Formal Steps 1 and 2, failure of the appropriate District administrator to hold the grievance conference within the prescribed time limits shall be cause for the grievant to proceed to the next step by submitting a Grievance Review Request.

(1) If, after a hearing, further investigation and data are required before an administrator can respond in writing, the administrator shall contact the
grievant, inform the grievant of the need for additional time to respond,
and request agreement for a time extension.

(2) The time limits prescribed in these provisions may be extended by a written mutual agreement between the grievant and person or persons by whom the grievance is being considered.

d. Failure of the grievant to submit a timely Grievance Review Request for the next step or to submit a timely Demand for Arbitration within the time limits shall result in the grievance being dropped unless the time limits have been extended by mutual agreement as provided above.

2. Grievances which have been submitted and processed and which have resulted in the grievance being adjusted satisfactorily, dropped, or withdrawn by the employee in writing shall be deemed closed. Grievances which are identified by mutual agreement of the grievant and the appropriate District administrator to have been changed at Step 2 shall be deemed withdrawn and resubmitted at Step 1.

SECTION D: Procedures by Steps

1. Required Informal Discussion:

An employee shall first take up a complaint or problem with his/her immediate
administrative supervisor in private informal discussion(s) and every effort shall be made
to adjust the complaint or deal with the problem in an informal manner. The informal
conference shall occur within ten (10) working days of the employee's request for such
conference.

2. Formal Step 1:

If the grievant is dissatisfied with the outcome of the informal private discussion(s), he/she may, within ten (10) working days after the informal conference, initiate the formal grievance procedure at Step 1 by presenting a Seattle Association of Educational Office Personnel Grievance Review Request form to the Department of Labor Relations (or its successor) with a copy to the immediate supervisor.

a. Every effort should be made in the formal Step 1 conference to develop an understanding of the facts and the issues in order to create a climate which will lead to a solution.

b. The formal conference shall occur within fifteen (15) working days of the receipt of the written request by the Department of Labor Relations.

c. A written response shall be given or addressed and mailed to the grievant by the immediate administrative supervisor within ten (10) working days after the formal conference, and copies shall be filed with the Department of Labor Relations and the Association.

3. Formal Step 2:

If the grievance is not adjusted to the satisfaction of the grievant under Step 1 within ten (10) working days after receipt of the copy of the Step 1 response by the Association, the grievant may, within that time constraint, request review, conference and action at Step 2 by submitting a completed Grievance Review Request form to the Department of Labor Relations.

a. The Department of Labor Relations will assign the grievance to an appropriate Central Administrator for review and conference at Step 2.

b. The formal conference at Step 2 shall occur within fifteen (15) working days of the receipt of the Grievance Review Request by the Department of Labor Relations.

c. A written response shall be mailed/given to the grievant by the designated Central Administrator within ten (10) working days after the formal conference, and copies shall be filed with the Department of Labor Relations and the Association.

4. Formal Step 3:

If the grievance is not adjusted to the satisfaction of the grievant under Step 2 within sixty (60) days after the Association's receipt of the copy of the Step 2 response, the Association may, within that time constraint, submit the grievance to binding arbitration by filing a written notice of intention to arbitrate (Demand) with a copy to the Department of Labor Relations. Such arbitration shall be conducted by an arbitrator under the rules and administration of the American Arbitration Association (AAA).

SECTION E: Arbitration Procedures

1. Binding Arbitration:

The following provisions apply to grievances that are judged appropriate for Step 3 binding arbitration.

a. Such arbitration shall be conducted by an arbitrator under the rules and administration of the American Arbitration Association (AAA).

b. To initiate final and binding arbitration, the Association must file a written notice to the District and to the AAA of the formal Demand under the rules of the AAA.

c. If the Association does not notify the District and the AAA of intention to arbitrate (Demand) (Section 7 of AAA Rules) within sixty (60) days after the Association's receipt of the Step 2 response, then the grievance shall be deemed withdrawn.

d. During the arbitration under this Step, neither the District nor the grievant will be permitted to assert any grounds not previously disclosed to the other party.

e. The arbitrator shall render his/her award in writing no later than thirty (30) days after the conclusion of the hearings, or if oral hearings are waived, then thirty (30) days from the date statements and proofs were submitted to the arbitrator.

f. The award of the arbitrator shall be accepted as final and binding. There shall be no appeal from the arbitrator's decision by either party if such decision is within the scope of the arbitrator's authority and jurisdiction as described in this Agreement.

(1) The arbitrator shall not have the power to add to, subtract from, disregard, alter or modify any of the terms of this Agreement.

(2) His/her power shall be limited to deciding whether there has been a violation, misinterpretation, or misapplication of any of the terms of this Agreement. In the
case of disciplinary action which the arbitrator finds improper or excessive, such action may be set aside, reduced, or otherwise changed by the arbitrator. He/she may, in his/her discretion, award back pay to compensate the employee wholly or partially for any salary lost.

g. The fees of the arbitrator, the cost of transportation, and other necessary general
costs shall be shared equally by the District and the Association. Each party will
pay the full cost of presenting its own case and the cost of any transcript that it
requests.

2. Expedited Arbitration Procedure:

Upon mutual consent of the SEA Executive Director and the District's General Counsel, the following expedited procedure may be used. After selection of the arbitrator to hear the grievance, such arbitrator shall hold a hearing within twenty (20) days of his/her selection. The hearing shall be preceded by at least ten (10) working days' notice to both parties of the time and place of the hearing. The arbitrator may have up to twenty (20) days to render a final and binding decision to the parties. The arbitrator's decision shall be in writing in "letter form" and shall briefly set forth his/her finding of fact, reasoning and conclusions of the issues submitted. No court reporter(s) will be used.

SECTION F: Supplemental Conditions

1. All individuals who might possibly contribute to the acceptable adjustment of a grievance are urged to provide any relevant information they may have to the grievant and/or District administration, with full assurance that no reprisal will follow by reason of their involvement in the grievance.

2. All documents/communications/records dealing with the processing of the grievance shall be filed separately from the grievant's personnel file.

3. At each step of the procedure for adjusting grievances after the initial private conference(s) with his/her immediate administrative supervisor, the grievant may request to be accompanied by a representative of the Association, provided that any employee at any time may present his/her grievance to the appropriate District administrator and have such grievance adjusted without the intervention of the Association, as long as the Association has been given reasonable opportunity to be present at any grievance adjustment hearing and to make its views known, and as long as that adjustment is not inconsistent with the terms of this Agreement pursuant to RCW 41.56.080.

4. Excluded from the grievance procedure shall be matters for which law mandates another method of review.

5. No known agent of an organization in competition with the Association shall be allowed to process or monitor grievances unless such agent is the grievant or possesses relevant information which may contribute to adjustment of the grievance.