Source: http://www.wvlegislature.gov/WVCODE/code.cfm?chap=06c&art=2&section=4
Timestamp: 2018-02-23 03:11:23
Document Index: 682690403

Matched Legal Cases: ['§6', '§6', '§6', '§6', '§6', '§6', '§6']

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ARTICLE 2. WEST VIRGINIA PUBLIC EMPLOYEES GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE.
§6C-2-1. Purpose.
(a) The purpose of this article is to provide a procedure for the resolution of employment grievances raised by the public employees of the State of West Virginia, except as otherwise excluded in this article.
(b) Resolving grievances in a fair, efficient, cost-effective and consistent manner will maintain good employee morale, enhance employee job performance and better serve the citizens of the State of West Virginia.
(c) Nothing in this article prohibits the informal disposition of grievances by stipulation or settlement agreed to in writing by the parties, nor the exercise of any hearing right provided in chapter eighteen or eighteen-a of this code. Parties to grievances shall at all times act in good faith and make every possible effort to resolve disputes at the lowest level of the grievance procedure.
(d) Effective July 1, 2007, any reference in this code to the education grievance procedure, the state grievance procedure, article twenty-nine, chapter eighteen of this code or article six-a, chapter twenty-nine of this code, or any subsection thereof, shall be considered to refer to the appropriate grievance procedure pursuant to this article.
§6C-2-2. Definitions.
For the purpose of this article and article three of this chapter:
(a) "Board" means the West Virginia Public Employees Grievance Board created in article three of this chapter.
(b) "Chief administrator" means, in the appropriate context, the commissioner, chancellor, director, president, secretary or head of any state department, board, commission, agency, state institution of higher education, commission or council, the state superintendent, the county superintendent, the executive director of a regional educational service agency or the director of a multicounty vocational center who is vested with the authority to resolve a grievance. A "chief administrator" includes a designee, with the authority delegated by the chief administrator, appointed to handle any aspect of the grievance procedure as established by this article.
(c) "Days" means working days exclusive of Saturday, Sunday, official holidays and any day in which the employee's workplace is legally closed under the authority of the chief administrator due to weather or other cause provided for by statute, rule, policy or practice.
(d) "Discrimination" means any differences in the treatment of similarly situated employees, unless the differences are related to the actual job responsibilities of the employees or are agreed to in writing by the employees.
(e) (1) "Employee" means any person hired for permanent employment by an employer for a probationary, full- or part-time position.
(2) A substitute education employee is considered an "employee" only on matters related to days worked or when there is a violation, misapplication or misinterpretation of a statute, policy, rule or written agreement relating to the substitute.
(3) "Employee" does not mean a member of the West Virginia State Police employed pursuant to article two, chapter fifteen of this code, but does include civilian employees hired by the superintendent of the State Police. "Employee" does not mean an employee of a Constitutional officer unless he or she is covered under the civil service system, an employee of the Legislature or a patient or inmate employed by a state institution.
(f) "Employee organization" means an employee advocacy organization with employee members that has filed with the board the name, address, chief officer and membership criteria of the organization.
(g) "Employer" means a state agency, department, board, commission, college, university, institution, State Board of Education, Department of Education, county board of education, regional educational service agency or multicounty vocational center, or agent thereof, using the services of an employee as defined in this section.
(h) "Favoritism" means unfair treatment of an employee as demonstrated by preferential, exceptional or advantageous treatment of a similarly situated employee unless the treatment is related to the actual job responsibilities of the employee or is agreed to in writing by the employee.
(i) (1) "Grievance" means a claim by an employee alleging a violation, a misapplication or a misinterpretation of the statutes, policies, rules or written agreements applicable to the employee including:
(i) Any violation, misapplication or misinterpretation regarding compensation, hours, terms and conditions of employment, employment status or discrimination;
(ii) Any discriminatory or otherwise aggrieved application of unwritten policies or practices of his or her employer;
(iii) Any specifically identified incident of harassment;
(iv) Any specifically identified incident of favoritism; or
(v) Any action, policy or practice constituting a substantial detriment to or interference with the effective job performance of the employee or the health and safety of the employee.
(2) "Grievance" does not mean any pension matter or other issue relating to public employees insurance in accordance with article sixteen, chapter five of this code, retirement or any other matter in which the authority to act is not vested with the employer.
(j) "Grievance proceeding", "proceeding" or the plural means a conference, level one hearing, mediation, private mediation, private arbitration or level three hearing, or any combination, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
(k) "Grievant" means an employee or group of similarly situated employees filing a grievance.
(l) "Harassment" means repeated or continual disturbance, irritation or annoyance of an employee that is contrary to the behavior expected by law, policy and profession.
(m) "Party", or the plural, means the grievant, intervenor, employer and the Director of the Division of Personnel or his or her designee, for state government employee grievances. The Division of Personnel shall not be a party to grievances involving higher education employees.
(n) "Representative" means any employee organization, fellow employee, attorney or other person designated by the grievant or intervenor as his or her representative and may not include a supervisor who evaluates the grievant.
(o) "Reprisal" means the retaliation of an employer toward a grievant, witness, representative or any other participant in the grievance procedure either for an alleged injury itself or any lawful attempt to redress it.
§6C-2-4. Grievance procedural levels.
(a) Level one: Chief administrator. --
(1) Within fifteen days following the occurrence of the event upon which the grievance is based, or within fifteen days of the date upon which the event became known to the employee, or within fifteen days of the most recent occurrence of a continuing practice giving rise to a grievance, an employee may file a written grievance with the chief administrator stating the nature of the grievance and the relief requested and request either a conference or a hearing. The employee shall also file a copy of the grievance with the board. State government employees shall further file a copy of the grievance with the Director of the Division of Personnel.
(2) Conference. -- The chief administrator shall hold a conference within ten days of receiving the grievance. A conference is a private, informal meeting between the grievant and the chief administrator to discuss the issues raised by the grievance, exchange information and attempt to resolve the grievance. The chief administrator may permit other employees and witnesses to attend and participate in a conference to reach a resolution. The chief administrator shall issue a written decision within fifteen days of the conference.
(3) Level one hearing. -- The chief administrator shall hold a level one hearing within fifteen days of receiving the grievance. A level one hearing is a recorded proceeding conducted in private in which the grievant is entitled to be heard and to present evidence; the formal rules of evidence and procedure do not apply, but the parties are bound by the rules of privilege recognized by law. The parties may present and cross-examine witnesses and produce documents, but the number of witnesses, motions and other procedural matters may be limited by the chief administrator. The chief administrator shall issue a written decision within fifteen days of the level one hearing.
(4) An employee may proceed directly to level three upon the agreement of the parties or when the grievant has been discharged, suspended without pay or demoted or reclassified resulting in a loss of compensation or benefits. Level one and level two proceedings are waived in these matters.
(b) Level two: Alternative dispute resolution. –-
(1) Within ten days of receiving an adverse written decision at level one, the grievant shall file a written request for mediation, private mediation or private arbitration.
(2) Mediation. -- The board shall schedule the mediation between the parties within twenty days of the request. Mediation shall be conducted by an administrative law judge pursuant to standard mediation practices and board procedures at no cost to the parties. Parties may be represented and shall have the authority to resolve the dispute. The report of the mediation shall be documented in writing within fifteen days. Agreements are binding and enforceable in this state by a writ of mandamus.
(3) Private mediation. -- The parties may agree in writing to retain their choice of a private mediator and share the cost. The mediator shall schedule the mediation within twenty days of the written request and shall follow standard mediation practices and any applicable board procedures. Parties may be represented and shall have the authority to resolve the dispute. The report of the mediation shall be documented in writing within fifteen days. Agreements are binding and enforceable in this state by a writ of mandamus.
(4) Private arbitration. -- The parties may agree, in writing, to retain their choice of a private arbitrator and share the cost. The arbitrator shall schedule the arbitration within twenty days of the written request and shall follow standard arbitration practices and any applicable board procedures. The arbitrator shall render a decision in writing to all parties, setting forth findings of fact and conclusions of law on the issues submitted within thirty days following the arbitration. An arbitration decision is binding and enforceable in this state by a writ of mandamus. The arbitrator shall inform the board, in writing, of the decision within ten days.
(c) Level three hearing. –-
(1) Within ten days of receiving a written report stating that level two was unsuccessful, the grievant may file a written appeal with the employer and the board requesting a level three hearing on the grievance. State government employees shall further file a copy of the grievance with the Director of the Division of Personnel.
(2) The administrative law judge shall conduct all proceedings in an impartial manner and shall ensure that all parties are accorded procedural and substantive due process.
(3) The administrative law judge shall schedule the level three hearing and any other proceedings or deadlines within a reasonable time in consultation with the parties. The location of the hearing and whether the hearing is to be made public are at the discretion of the administrative law judge.
(4) The administrative law judge may issue subpoenas for witnesses, limit witnesses, administer oaths and exercise other powers granted by rule or law.
(5) Within thirty days following the hearing or the receipt of the proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law, the administrative law judge shall render a decision in writing to all parties setting forth findings of fact and conclusions of law on the issues submitted.
(6) The administrative law judge may make a determination of bad faith and, in extreme instances, allocate the cost of the hearing to the party found to be acting in bad faith. The allocation of costs shall be based on the relative ability of the party to pay the costs.
§6C-2-5. Enforcement and appeal.
(a) The decision of the administrative law judge is final upon the parties and is enforceable in the circuit court of Kanawha County.
(b) A party may appeal the decision of the administrative law judge on the grounds that the decision:
(1) Is contrary to law or a lawfully adopted rule or written policy of the employer;
(2) Exceeds the administrative law judge's statutory authority;
(3) Is the result of fraud or deceit;
(4) Is clearly wrong in view of the reliable, probative and substantial evidence on the whole record; or
(5) Is arbitrary or capricious or characterized by abuse of discretion or clearly unwarranted exercise of discretion.
(c) A party shall file the appeal in the circuit court of Kanawha County within thirty days of receipt of the administrative law judge's decision. The decision of the administrative law judge is not automatically stayed upon the filing of an appeal, but a stay may be granted by the circuit court upon a separate motion for a stay.
(d) The court shall review the entire record that was before the administrative law judge, and the court may hear oral arguments and require written briefs. The court may reverse, vacate or modify the decision of the administrative law judge, or may remand the grievance to the administrative law judge or the chief administrator for further proceedings.
§6C-2-6. Allocation of expenses and attorney's fees.
(a) Any expenses incurred relative to the grievance procedure at levels one, two or three shall be borne by the party incurring the expenses.
(b) In the event a grievant or employer appeals an adverse level three decision to the circuit court of Kanawha County, or an adverse circuit court decision to the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, and the grievant substantially prevails upon the appeal, the grievant may recover from the employer court costs and reasonable attorney's fees for the appeal to be set by the court.
§6C-2-7. Mandamus proceeding.
Any employer failing to comply with the provisions of this article may be compelled to do so by a mandamus proceeding and may be liable to a prevailing party for court costs and reasonable attorney's fees to be set by the court.
§6C-2-8. Employee organizations may not be compelled to disclose certain communications; exceptions.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, an employee organization or an agent of an employee organization may not be compelled to disclose any communication or information the employee organization or agent received or acquired in confidence from a public employee, while the employee organization or agent was acting in a representative capacity concerning a public employee grievance or an investigation of a potential public employee grievance, regardless of whether the public employee is a member of the employee organization: Provided, That the confidentiality established under this section does not apply to written communications between the employee and the employee organization.
(b) (1) The confidentiality established under this section applies only to the extent that the communication or information is germane to a grievance or potential grievance of the employee.
(2) The confidentiality established under this subsection continues after termination of:
(A) The employee's employment; or
(B) The representative relationship of the employee organization or its agent with the public employee.
(3) The confidentiality established under this subsection protects the communication or information received or acquired by the employee organization or its agent, but does not protect the employee from being compelled to disclose, to the extent provided by law, the facts underlying the communication or information.
(c) The protection for confidential communications provided by this section only extends to proceedings under the public employees grievance procedure. Nothing in this section may be construed to extend the confidentiality to circuit court proceedings or other proceedings outside of the public employees grievance procedure.
(d) An employee organization or its agent shall disclose to the employer as soon as possible a communication or information described in subsection (a) of this section to the extent the employee organization or its agent reasonably believes:
(1) It is necessary to prevent certain death or substantial bodily harm.
(2) It is necessary to prevent the employee from committing a crime, fraud or any act that is reasonably certain to result in substantial injury to the financial interests or property of another or to rectify or mitigate any such action after it has occurred;
(3) The communication or information constitutes an admission that the employee has committed a crime; or
(4) It is necessary to comply with a court order or other law.
(e) An employee organization or its agent may disclose a communication or information described in subsection (a) of this section in order to:
(1) Secure legal advice about the compliance of the employee organization or its agent with a court order or other law;
(2) Establish a claim or defense on behalf of the employee organization or its agent in a controversy between the employee and the employee organization or its agent;
(3) Establish a defense to a criminal charge or civil claim against the employee organization or its agent based on conduct in which the employee was involved; or
(4) Respond to allegations in any proceeding concerning the performance of professional duties by the employee organization or its agent on behalf of the employee.
(f) An employee organization or its agent may disclose a communication or information described in subsection (a) of this section, without regard to whether the disclosure is made within the public employees grievance procedure, in the following circumstances:
(1) The employee organization has obtained the express written or oral consent of the employee;
(2) The employee has, by other act or conduct, waived the confidentiality of the communication or information; or
(3) The employee is deceased or has been adjudicated incompetent by a court of competent jurisdiction and the employee organization has obtained the written or oral consent of the personal representative of the employee's estate or of the employee's guardian.
(g) If there is a conflict between the application of this section and any federal or state labor law, the provisions of the federal or other state law shall control.