(A) This procedure is adopted in accordance with the County and Municipal Employees Grievance Procedure Act, S.C. Code §§ 8-17-110 et seq.
(1) A “grievance” is any complaint by an employee that he or she has been treated unfairly, unlawfully or in violation of his or her rights under county policies, with regard to any matter pertaining to his or her employment by the county. This includes, but is not limited to discharge, suspension, involuntary transfer, promotion and demotion. If an employee believes that he or she has not received or been credited with or has otherwise lost wages or benefits to which he or she is entitled, he or she must present his or her grievance in accordance with procedure or wages or benefits may be forfeited.
(2) An employee who feels that he or she has a grievance must follow the following procedure:
(a) Step 1. He or she must discuss the grievance with his or her immediate supervisor. If his or her supervisor is unable or unwilling to adjust the grievance to the satisfaction of the employee, the employee must take Step 2.
(b) Step 2. The employee must follow the chain of command in his or her department, appealing to each successive level of supervision in writing. At each level each supervisor shall have two work days (Saturdays and Sundays excluded) to render a decision. If no decision is made within this time, the grievance shall be considered denied. If a supervisor at a particular level is unavailable to consider the grievance, it shall be considered denied and the employee shall appeal to the next level of supervision.
(c) Step 3. If the head of the department in which the employee is employed denies the grievance, this decision shall be final as to any grievance brought by a probationary employee. A new employee shall be considered probationary until his or her probationary evaluation is completed and approved by his/her department director.
(3) (a) Other employees may appeal to the employee grievance committee the denial of their grievances by department directors by filing a written request for appeal at the county personnel department. This must be done within 14 calendar days of the time at which the facts on which the grievance is based become available to the employee.
(b) The written request for appeal must include the following information:
1. The purpose of the appeal and what recommendation is requested of the Grievance Committee; and
2. A statement that the chain-of-command has been followed in the appeal as is required by the grievance procedure.
(c) The Human Resources Department will assist in preparing the appeal, if requested.
(4) Within ten days of receipt of the employee’s request, the chairperson of the Grievance Committee shall schedule the requested hearing and notify the Grievance Committee, the employee requesting the hearing, the affected department and the Human Resources Department. The Human Resources Director shall assist the chairperson with scheduling the hearing.
(B) The County Council shall appoint a committee composed of six employees to serve for terms of three years, except that the members appointed initially shall be appointed so that their terms will be staggered, and approximately one-third of the terms shall expire each year. A member shall continue to serve after the expiration of his or her term until a successor is appointed. Any interim appointment to fill a vacancy for any cause prior to the completion of a member’s term shall be for the unexpired term. Any member may be reappointed for succeeding terms at the discretion of County Council. All members shall be selected on a broadly representative basis from among county employees. Members employed in the same department as the grieving employee and members having formed an opinion on the issues prior to the hearing, shall not participate in that employee’s hearing.
(1) The committee annually shall select its own chairperson from among its members. The chairperson shall serve as the presiding officer at all hearings which he or she attends but may designate some other member to serve as presiding officer in his or her absence. The chairperson shall have authority to schedule and to reschedule all hearings.
(2) A quorum shall consist of at least four members and no hearings may be held without a quorum.
(3) The presiding officer will have control of the proceedings. He or she shall take whatever action is necessary to ensure an equitable, orderly and expeditious hearing. Parties shall abide by his or her decisions, except when a committee member objects to a decision to accept or reject evidence, in which case the majority vote of the committee present will govern.
(4) The committee shall have the authority to call for files, records and papers which are pertinent to any investigation and which are subject to the control of the County Council; to call for or consider affidavits of witnesses; to request and hear the testimony of witnesses; to consider the results of polygraph examinations; and to secure the services of a recording secretary in its discretion. The committee shall have no authority to subpoena witnesses, documents or other evidence, nor shall any county employee be compelled to attend any hearing. All proceedings shall be tape-recorded. Witnesses, other than the grieving employee and the department representative, shall be sequestered when not testifying. All witnesses shall testify under oath.
(5) All hearings shall be held in executive session unless the grieving employee requests at the beginning of the hearing that it be held in open session. The official tape recording and the official minutes of all hearings shall be subject to the control and disposition of the County Manager or his/her designee.
(6) Neither the grieving employee nor the department may be assisted by advisors or by attorneys during the hearing itself. However, the committee shall have an attorney available to it at any and all times it considers necessary, and the Human Resources Department shall provide assistance in reading written materials to the committee at the request of the grieving employee.
(7) In disciplinary actions by department directors and their subordinate supervisors, the employee must receive in reasonable detail written notice of the nature of the acts or omissions which are the basis for the disciplinary action. This notice may be amended at any time 24 hours or more before the commencement of the hearing. The department must demonstrate that the disciplinary action is for the good of the county. The department shall make the first presentation. The committee may base its findings and recommendations on any additional or different grounds developed from the employee’s presentation.
(8) In nondisciplinary grievances the employee must establish that a right existed and that it was denied him or her unfairly, illegally or in violation of a county policy. The employee shall make the first presentation.
(9) In all grievances, the grieving employee and the department shall each be limited to one hour of initial presentation. The party required to make the first presentation shall be entitled to a ten-minute rebuttal of the other party’s presentation. The chairperson shall appoint himself, herself or another member of the committee as timekeeper.
(10) In all grievances, presentations may be oral or in writing or both, and may be supported by affidavits or unsworn, signed statements from witnesses, by records, other documentary evidence, photographs and other physical evidence. Presentations shall be made by the grieving employee (with reading assistance from a member of the personnel department if the employee desires) and by a managerial employee of the affected department. Neither party may call witnesses or question the other party or question any witness called by the committee.
(11) Except as provided in division (B)(12) below, the committee shall, within 20 days after hearing an appeal, make its findings and recommendation, and report the findings and recommendation to the county manager. If the County Manager approves, the recommendation of the committee shall be his or her decision and copies of the decision shall be transmitted by the committee to the employee and to the head of the particular department involved. If, however, he or she rejects the decision of the committee, the County Manager shall make his or her own decision without further hearing and that decision shall be final. Copies of the decision shall be transmitted to the employee and the head of the particular department involved.
(12) In grievances involving the failure to promote or transfer, or the discipline or discharge of personnel employed in or seeking assignment to departments under the direction of an elected official or an official appointed by an authority outside county government, the committee shall, within 20 days after hearing an appeal, make its findings and recommendation and report the findings and recommendation to the official. If the official approves, the recommendation of the committee shall be his or her decision and a copy of the decision shall be transmitted by the committee to the employee. If, however, the official rejects the decision of the committee, the official shall make his or her own decision without further hearing, and that decision shall be final. A copy of the decision shall be transmitted to the employee.
(13) Nothing in these grievance procedures creates a property interest in employment or a contract of employment, nor does this procedure limit the authority of the county or an elected or appointed official to terminate any employee when the county or respective elected or appointed official considers such action to be necessary for the good of the county.
(14) An elected or appointed official may elect not to participate in this grievance procedure, and in such case, an employee may not appeal the decision of the elected or appointed official to the grievance committee.
(‘77 Code, § 13-37) (Ord. 1584, passed 9-17-84; Am. Ord. 5288, passed 10-17-88; Am. Ord. 1589, passed 3-6-89; Am. Ord. 1393, passed 3-15-93; Am. Ord. 1214, passed 5-5-14; Am. Ord. 3918, passed 8-20-18)