Revised: October 3, 2022

I. Definitions

1. Grievance: For purposes of this procedure, a grievance is defined as one or a combination of the following: (a) when an employee of the College feels that a violation of a written College policy, procedure or established practice has taken place regarding him/her personally at the hands of another employee of the College, (b) when a policy, procedure or established practice has been perceived to have been intentionally and with malice misrepresented to an employee of the College by another employee of the College, or (c) when an employee believes a policy, procedure or established practice has been inequitably or unreasonably applied to him/her by the College or an employee of the College.
2. Employee of the College: A person employed full-time by Sandhills Community College who has been approved by the Board of Trustees for continuous employment. Part-time or temporary employees are not covered by this Grievance Policy. Part-time or temporary employees who feel aggrieved can utilize the procedure as outlined in the informal discussion process below. Grievant: An employee of the College who initiates the Grievance Procedure; the person making a written and signed claim for relief or redress.
3. Respondent: An employee of the College specifically named in a grievance accused of being the cause of the grievance.

II. Procedure

1. Except as otherwise stated elsewhere in this document, the Grievance Procedure shall not apply to suspension, dismissal, non-renewal, reduction in force or reasonable directives and instructions from supervisors acting within the boundaries of their authority. Additionally, a reassignment without a corresponding reduction in salary shall not be subject to Grievance Procedures.
2. A formal grievance must be filed within ten (10) days after the occurrence of the action motivating the grievance or within ten (10) days after the grievant would reasonably be expected to have knowledge of that action. If the grievance is filed more than 10 days after the occurrence, the grievance is no longer considered to be valid, at the discretion of the President.

III. Proceedings

Informal
Normally, employee grievances can be resolved through informal discussions and conferences between or among the grievant, the respondent, and the immediate administrator/supervisor and other parties-in-interest. This informal proceeding has been determined by experience to be the best and most common avenue employed for resolving personnel problems. The grievant will be required to fully utilize, or attempt to utilize, the informal resolution approach to resolving his/her grievance through an informal discussion with their immediate supervisor or next level supervisor prior to submitting a formal written grievance.

Formal
In the event the informal process fails to resolve the matter, a formal grievance procedure begins when a written and signed statement is delivered in person or by campus email to the President of the College or his/her designee citing the specific policy, procedure or practice alleged to have been violated, misinterpreted or inequitably applied. The written statement shall also contain the specific action(s) requested to be taken that will satisfy the grievant. This statement is to be submitted on the “Faculty and Staff Formal Grievance Form,” found on the Sandhills Community College website in the Policies and Procedures Manual forms section.

Step I
After the Faculty and Staff Formal Grievance Form is submitted, the President or the President’s designee will contact all of the involved parties and if appropriate, arrange a meeting for the purpose of resolving the conflict.. If the grievance is satisfactorily resolved at the conclusion of Step I, the matter shall be considered closed with no need for continuation at a higher level. If it is not resolved, evidence of resolution or impasse shall be put in the form of a written statement prepared and signed by the grievant. The President or President’s designee shall review this statement in order to render findings and recommendations.

Step II
With respect to grievances other than grievances involving sexual harassment and/or racial discrimination, the President's findings and recommendations are final.

*The Complainant alleging discrimination, harassment or retaliation as prohibited by law or College policy has the right, at any time, to bypass or discontinue the EEO Informal Inquiry process or the formal internal grievance process and file a charge directly with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or the Office of Administrative Hearings - Civil Rights Division (OAH-CRD). 

Information about filing an EEOC charge and deadlines for filling the charge can be found at:http://www.eeoc.gov/employees/charge.cfm or by calling the EEOC regional offices located in Raleigh, Greensboro and Charlotte at 1-800-669-4000.