APPLICABILITY

The Department of Administration Grievance Procedure shall be posted on all the Department's official bulletin boards and shall be available for use by all Department of Administration employees. The availability of this grievance procedure shall not be interpreted as granting any additional rights under the Kansas Civil Service Act, and any amendments thereto. Copies of the Grievance Procedure shall be made available upon request to any Department employee, along with the standard form(s) for processing grievances, by Division/Office Directors or the Department of Administration Personnel Office. Employees who lodge a grievance are to be free from restraint, coercion, discrimination, or reprisal. Complainants are assured the maximum possible anonymity. The filing of a grievance shall in no way reflect on an employee's good standing with the Department. If an employee believes he or she is being subjected to one of the above actions, a separate grievance shall be filed directly with the Secretary of Administration. Wherever this grievance procedure provides for any grievance to be taken to the Secretary of Administration, the Secretary may rule directly on the matter, or may appoint one or more persons as a hearing panel to gather pertinent statements and information and make recommendations to the Secretary.

 

DEFINITION

A grievance shall be defined as a statement of dissatisfaction over any condition of work which allegedly has an adverse effect on the employee. A grievance shall not include matters involving demotion, suspension, or dismissal of a permanent employee; employee performance reviews, or any other subject for which a method of settlement or an appeal procedure is established under appropriate Kansas Statutes or Regulations. Grievances shall be redressed by the process outlined in "Grievance Procedure A".  However, a separate procedure may be followed for a grievance alleging discrimination on the basis of race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, sexual harassment, or disability status. This process is outlined in "Grievance Procedure B". In addition to the right to file a grievance under this procedure, all employees have the right to file civil rights complaints with appropriate enforcement agencies.  

 

GENERAL PROVISIONS

An aggrieved employee must represent himself or herself at all steps of the grievance procedure. Another person employed within the Department of Administration may be selected by the aggrieved employee to assist at each step of the procedure at the aggrieved employee's discretion, provided that the selected employee agrees to assist. The grievant and the selected employee will be allowed to utilize work time to meet with the supervisor, director or other person designated to respond at the applicable step of the procedure so long as such absence does not create undue hardship upon completion of work in the employee's work unit. Meetings held at each step of the Grievance Procedure shall, wherever possible, take place during regular working hours. When unusual circumstances require meetings outside regular working hours, they shall be mutually agreed upon in writing, and time spent on such meetings or time spent outside regular office hours on other work on the grievance, shall not be considered as time on duty for pay purposes. Failure of the Department of Administration to reply to the employee's grievance within the time limits specified, grants the employee the opportunity to take the grievance to the next step. If an employee fails to appeal from one step to the next step within the time limits specified, the grievance shall be considered settled on the basis of the Department's last decision, and the grievance will not be subject to further appeal or consideration. In the event an immediate supervisor or the supervisor's supervisor is not available to process a grievance, a designee shall be appointed to serve in his or her place. At any step in the grievance procedure, if either party (the employee on the one hand, the immediate supervisor or supervisor's supervisor on the other hand) believes that an extension of the time limit for action is required, the party may request of the Division or Office Director an extension of the time limit. Employees covered by an approved Memorandum of Agreement that includes a grievance procedure may elect if eligible, at the time the grievance is first filed, to be covered by either the Department or the Memorandum of Agreement procedure. This decision cannot be changed at a later time.

Page last modified on:  February 24, 2009