Politics & Government
Shorewood Adopts New Grievance Policy for Non-Union Employees
To comply with Act 10, the village changed its grievance policy to include an impartial hearing officer.
Non-union village employees will follow a new grievance procedure after it passed the Village Board Monday night.
Many municipalities have had to redraft grievance policies to fit the requirements of Wisconsin Act 10 (section 170), which mandates the inclusion of an impartial hearing officer.
"It's not all that different from what we had before, except for the impartial hearing officer," Village Manager Chris Swartz said.
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The new procedure applies only to management and non-representative employees.
Police and public works employees will continue to use the grievance procedure in their contract. Even when their contracts expire, Swartz said the new grievance policy would not apply to them. He said their policies would be addressed independently.
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Under the new process, an employee must begin by discussing grievances with their immediate supervisor, except in cases of termination. If not resolved, the employee may file a written grievance within 15 working days of the issue's occurance.
After a grievance is filed, the village manager must meet with the grievant within 15 working days, and provide a written response in the next five working days.
If yet unresolved, within the next 10 days an employee can request a hearing with an impartial hearing officer, someone appointed by the village who is not employed by the village.
The policy stipulates that the officer may be "an employee of another municipality, a lawyer, a professional mediator/arbitrator, or other quialified individual."
The officer must decide whether the decision of the administration was "arbitrary or capricious," not in the best interest of the village.
After the officer files a response, the Village Board may decide to take up the case, with or without an appeal from either party. Trustees may review the record and make a decision, or hold a new hearing.
The policy passed the board 6-1, with Trustee Ellen Eckman voting against it.
Before the vote, Eckman said she thought the Village Manager should be required to give an employee a record of receipt of a grievance.
Village Attorney Ray Pollen said an employee's record in the village system would reflect when a grievance was submitted.
"When they file it it will be there," Pollen said. "It's not just going to get lost somewhere."
The new and former grievance policies can be found in the board's agenda.
