(A) General.
(1) A Grievance Committee will be set up on request of a complaining employee. The committee for a particular grievance will consist of one member of Fiscal Court, the County Judge and a department supervisor who does not have supervisory authorizing over the complainant.
(2) Any grievance or dispute which may arise from employment with the county shall be settled in the following manner:
(a) The employee shall present the grievance to his or her supervisor within three working days of its occurrence or within three working days of knowledge of the occurrence by the employee. The supervisor should attempt to respond to the employee within seven days of the receipt of the complaint.
(b) If the grievance remains unadjusted, it may then be presented by the employee to the County Judge for review by the Grievance Committee within a reasonable period of time. The Grievance Committee may make a recommendation to the County Judge after review.
(B) Grievance procedure for complaints relating to suspected or alleged discrimination on basis of handicapped status.
(1) Any person (employee or citizen) who believes that he or she has been subjected to discrimination as prohibited by § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, may personally or by representative, file a complaint with the office of the County Judge. A person who has not personally been subjected to discrimination may also file a complaint.
(2) When any person, (employee, citizen or applicant) who believes he or she has been adversely affected by an act or decision by the county and that such act or decision was based on handicapped status said person shall have the right to process a complaint or grievance in accordance with the following procedure.
(a) Step One. An aggrieved person must submit a written statement to the County Judge setting forth the nature of the discrimination alleged and facts upon which the allegation is based.
(b) Step Two. The County Judge shall contact the complainant no later than 20 days after receiving the written statement to establish an informal meeting with the objective of resolving the matter informally. However, in no case shall the informal meeting be conducted sooner than five days, nor more than 45 days, after receiving the written statement. The County Judge and the County Attorney or the County Attorney’s designee shall represent the county during the informal meeting. There shall be prepared written documentation of the discussions at the informal meeting, which shall be preserved in the records of the county.
(c) Step Three. Within 15 days of the informal meeting, the County Judge shall present to the Fiscal Court a proposed remedy.
(d) Step Four. The Fiscal Court shall approve the proposed remedy, approve a different remedy or choose to take no action. The Fiscal Court shall issue a written decision on the matter within 15 days.
(3) In the discussion of the grievance, the complainant may designate any person of his choice to appear with him or her and participate in the discussion. The Fiscal Court shall require the County Judge and the County Attorney, or the County Attorney’s designee, to participate in the discussion of the grievance, when it is brought before Fiscal Court. The decision shall be the final procedure for the complainant at the local level. However, should the complainant not be satisfied with the remedy, the complainant may offer an alternate remedy within 15 days of receipt of the Fiscal Court’s written decision. The Fiscal Court has 15 days to act upon the complainant’s alternate remedy or the earlier written decision shall be considered final.
(Ord. 21.230-1, passed 7-8-2021)