B.03 Disciplinary Action Grievance Procedure

Disciplinary Action and Grievance Policy

General

In every organization, honest differences of opinion about interpretation of policy and other matters can occur.

It is also, regrettably, the case that sometimes individuals, by ignoring or flouting the policies and procedures of the organization, can affect the morale and efficiency of those working around them. In some cases this can be prejudicial to the best interests of the organization as a whole. In such circumstances it may be necessary to discipline that individual via a Disciplinary Action.

This policy is also designed to addressdeal with genuine and substantial disagreementsinformal and formal grievances or concerns between individuals who are volunteers within the organization (, be they general members, day of event volunteers, sub-committee members, and co-chairs and , and Board members) where informal resolution has not been successful..

If you have a problem you should first discuss this withGrievances or concerns shall first be addressed via an informal resolution process that is directed either to the President or the Executive Director. who will furnish you with an answer as soon as possible or attempt to arbitrate the dispute (which may include a face to face meeting attended by both parties). We hope that inIn all the vast majority of cases, the goal will be to resolve the grievance or concern quickly through informal means (direct communication, informal mediation, etc.), your problem can be resolved at this level. If the issue cannot be resolved according to the informal process established by the President or Executive Director, then an individual may is route you may file a formal grievance.

The principal distinction between a Disciplinary Action and a Grievance is that a Disciplinary Action is instituted by the Board of Directors and a Grievance is instituted by an individual.

Employment law considerations mean that this policy is not suitable for the resolution of issues between compensated persons and volunteers. Any volunteer who has a complaint to make about a compensated staff member or contractor should first see the Board President. Any Compensated staff and contractors who wish to complain about a volunteer should see the Executive Director. Where appropriate the Board President and Executive Director will bring such matters to the attention of the Board for resolution/action.

A separate policy exists for inter-staff disputes.

Definitions
1. Board of Inquiry-
  
  Consists of at least three Board Members drawn from Board Members being members of the Community Affairs Committee, Board Members being members of the Personnel Committee, the Officers and the Executive Director; . Ssuch persons shall (subject to any provision to the contrary contained in this policy) serve on the Board of Inquiry during their tenure in one or more of the aforesaid capacities regardless of the date of the incident or grievance being considered. Board members who are no longer committee members or serving as officers and shall be relieved of their responsibilities on the Board of Inquiry. if they cease to act in one of the aforesaid capacities during the Period of Inquiry.
2. Convener-
  
  The Board President, Vice -President or Person appointed in accordance with the Procedure outlined below who shall chair the Board of Inquiry.
3. Date of First Notification-
  
  Either:
  
  1) the date of the Board Meeting at which a Disciplinary Action shall be instituted; or
  2) the later of:
  1) the third working day following the postmark on the envelope containing the original grievance or, if the grievance shall be delivered by hand, the date of delivery or, if the grievance is sent via email, the date of delivery; or
  2) the third working day following the postmark on the envelope containing the amended grievance filed in accordance with VI.D.1 of this policy or, if the amended grievance shall be delivered by hand, the date of delivery of such amended grievance or, if the grievance is sent via email, the date of delivery of such amended grievance.
4. Hearing-
  
  The meeting of the Board of Inquiry at which the Petitioner (if any) and the Respondent may speak and at which other materials, witness statements and evidence may be considered.
5. Period of Inquiry-
  
  The period between the Date of First Notification and the date upon which the Board of Inquiry shall deliver its decision or the Disciplinary Action/Grievance shall be otherwise terminated.
6. Petitioner-
  
  The person who shall file the Grievance.
7. Respondent-
  
  The person named in the Grievance and/or Disciplinary Action whose behavior/actions/failure to act shall be the subject of the Grievance/Disciplinary Action.
Board of Inquiry
1. Composition
  1. Neither the Petitioner nor Respondent shall sit upon the Board of Inquiry.
  2. No person who shall be giving evidence shall sit upon the Board of Inquiry.
  3. The Petitioner and Respondent shall be informed in writing by the Convener within 5 working days of the date of first notification of the names of those persons sitting on the Board of Inquiry and, with the exception of the Convener and the Executive Director, both the Petitioner and the Respondent may each object to one of thosechallenge any persons who have been appointed to the Board of Inquiry. Challenges shall be submitted in writing to the Executive Director and Board President. Challenges should specifically address instances of conflict of interest, personal relationship, injury or harm with any appointed members of the Board of Inquiry. The Executive Director and Board President, who will then present their recommendation in writing to the Convener for their consideration. be excused from sitting on the Board of Inquiry by the Convener. If by virtue of the Petitioner and/or Respondent exercising this right or otherwise the number of persons on the Board of Inquiry (including the Convener and the Executive Director) shall be less than five, then at her/histheir sole discretion the Convener may appoint other Board members to the Board of Inquiry so that there be a minimum of five persons (including the Convener and Executive Director) on the Board of Inquiry.
2. Convener
  
  The Convener shall be (in order of availability):
  1. The Board President.
  2. The Vice -President, subject to the Board President being unavailable to act in this capacity by reason of illness, absence, being a party to the grievance/disciplinary hearing and/or giving evidence to the Board of Inquiry.
  3. Some other person, being a member of the Board of Directors of the Corporation, appointed by the Board for this purpose within three working days of the date of first notification in the event that the Vice -President shall be unavailable for the same reasons described in III.B.2 above.
3. Role of the Executive Director
  
  The Executive Director shall be a member of the Board of Inquiry in a record keeping and advisory capacity. S/heThey shall not have any decision making or voting authority.
Disciplinary Action
1. Authority
  
  Only the Board may authorize a Disciplinary Action. It may do so of its own volition or upon receiving a written statement of facts from a third party. but in either caseThe Board shall record in the minutes at a meeting of the Board, meeting minutes for this during Executive Session shall include , how the basis for a Disciplinary Action, how this basis was is established and the specific instances where an individual shall be alleged to have acted or failed to act in accordance with the organization’s policies and procedures.
2. Process
  1. Upon establishing the basis for a Disciplinary Action the Board shall immediately refer the matter to the Board of Inquiry
  2. The Convener and Executive Director shall draft a statement detailing the alleged behavior/action/failure to act and the consequent breaches of policy and mail this to the Respondent and all members of the Board of Inquiry within 5 working days of the date of first notification. This document shall be known as the Discipline Notice and shall not state a proposed remedy. It shall however be accompanied by a copy of this policy and state the date, time and place of the Hearing. The date of the Hearing shall be no more than 20 business days following the date of first notification. The hearing shall be held on a weekday at 7pm unless the Respondent requests otherwise and such request is agreed to by the Board of Inquiry. The venue of the Hearing shall be the organization’s office unless the Board of Inquiry shall direct otherwise (e.g., virtual meeting). The venue of the meeting shall be accessible to the Respondent and situate within the City and County of San Francisco.
  3. The Board of Inquiry shall meet within 10 working days of the date of first notification to discuss any interim arrangements which may be required (see section 6.3 below “Interim Arrangements”) and make any other directions for the Hearing including identifying any third parties it wishes to invite to give evidence (oral or written) to the Board of Inquiry. Any interim arrangements which affect the Respondent including the names of any third parties who have been asked to give evidence by the Board of Inquiry shall be communicated by mail to him/her by the Convener the next business day following such meeting.
  4. Attendance at the Hearing shall be by invitation of the Board of Inquiry only and shall not be open to the public, guests, media or any other person whatsoever. The Petitioner and the Respondent shall attend in person or by virtual meeting by himself/herself alone and may not bring a support person with them. The Board of Inquiry will be limited to dialogue with the Respondent, and support persons shall not speak for or engage directly with the Board of Inquiry, friend, attorney or other person with them. The Respondent shall have the opportunity to hear all the evidence presented to the Board of Inquiry and may then make a statement of up to 15 minutes in length. The Respondent shall not have the opportunity to question any witnesses. Upon conclusion of their statement the Respondent may be asked questions by members of the Board of Inquiry. Following such questions, the Respondent shall be excused and the Board of Inquiry shall consider its decision.
  5. In making its decision the Board of Inquiry shall first discuss its findings and clearly document its findings of fact in relation to the Disciplinary Action. The Board of Inquiry shall then determine whether the Disciplinary Action is valid (in whole or in part). If the Board of Inquiry finds that the Disciplinary Action is without substance then it shall publicly exonerate the Respondent and apologize for any distress and inconvenience unless the Respondent shall request otherwise. In either event the exoneration and apology shall also be made in writing to the Respondent. If the Board of Inquiry finds that the Disciplinary Action is valid, in whole or in part, it shall then determine what remedy is appropriate. Remedies at the disposal of the Board of Inquiry include any one or more of:
    1) Verbal warning
    2) Written warning
    3) Probation
    4) Verbal reprimand
    5) Written reprimand
    6) Requiring the Respondent to make a personal and/or public apology
    7) Suspension of Membership for a limited period
    8) Termination of Membership and period during which any application for membership submitted by the Respondent will be refused
    9) Permanent Termination of Membership
    10) Being relieved of all duties for a period of time
    11) Permanently relieved of all duties
    12) Temporary removal from the organization’s offices for a period of time
    13) Permanent removal from organization’s offices
    
    Steps c) and higher shall require ratification by the Board of Directors at its next meeting (unless the Board of Inquiry shall request and be granted an extension by the Board of Directors). In determining what action to take the Board of Inquiry shall have regard to:
Any previous infractions by the Respondent
The desire to mend hurt feelings and create a happy team spirit within the organizationheal and improve the morale of the organization in direct relation to the hearing in question as a whole
Any extenuating circumstances
The record and length of service of the Respondent

The Board of Inquiry shall give a time frame within which any and all of the above steps will be completed, such time frame to be no earlier than the date of ratification by the Board of Directors.
1. Nothing in IV.B.5 shall preclude the organization or any other person seeking further relief through the courts or from reporting matters to the appropriate authorities.
  1. The Board of Inquiry shall advise the Respondent in writing of its Decision within five working days of the Hearing.
  2. Subject to ratification by the Board of Directors, the decision of the Board of Inquiry shall be final and there shall be no appeal notwithstanding the non-attendance and/or non-cooperation (for whatever reason) of the Respondent.
Grievances
1. Process
  1. A grievance must be in writing signed and dated by the Petitioner and contain:
    1) a clear statement of the Grievance
    2) the date(s) of occurrence
    3) proposed remedy
  2. The Petitioner must file their grievance in triplicate with the Board President, Executive Director and Secretary within 14 business days of the last occurrence of the behavior and/or incident(s) referred to in the Grievance. All matters relating to the Grievance will be treated as confidential (see clause VI.E).
  3. The Convener and Executive Director shall review the Grievance within two working days of the Date of First Notification to check that the Grievance conforms to the requirements of this policy and at this point the Convener may contact the Petitioner pursuant to clause VI.D.1 requesting amendment. If the Petitioner does not provide the requested information pursuant to clause VI.D.1 within the time limit prescribed the Grievance will be automatically dismissed. The Petitioner may always re-file the Grievance respecting the other time limits set out in this policy.
  4. Within five days of the Date of First Notification the Convener shall mail the Petitioner, Respondent and all members of the Board of Inquiry a copy of the Grievance accompanied by a copy of this policy. The Convener shall attach to this mailing a covering letter acknowledging receipt of the Grievance and stating the date, time and place of the Hearing. The date of the Hearing shall be no more than 20 business days following the date of first notification. The hearing shall be held on a weekday at 7pm unless either the Petitioner and/or Respondent requests otherwise and such request is agreed to by the Board of Inquiry and both parties. The venue of the Hearing shall be the organization’s office unless the Board of Inquiry shall direct otherwise (e.g., virtual meeting). The venue of the meeting shall be accessible to both the Petitioner and the Respondent and situated within the City and County of San Francisco.
  5. The Board of Inquiry shall meet within 10 working days of the date of first notification to discuss any interim arrangements which may be required (see section VI.C below “Interim Arrangements”) and make any other directions for the Hearing including identifying any third parties it wishes to invite to give evidence (oral or written) to the Board of Inquiry. The Board of Inquiry may also, in its absolute discretion, terminate the Grievance Process at this meeting if, in the opinion of the Board of Inquiry; the Grievance is brought by a vexatious Petitioner, implied indemnity as envisaged by clause VI.I of the policy exists, the Grievance is inadmissible or ill-founded, the Grievance is retaliatory in nature (e.g., a counter-grievance or a response to some other disciplinary action), there shall have been a breach of confidentiality by the Petitioner as specified in clause VI.E.1 of this policy or if the Grievance shall be defective. Any such interim arrangements which affect the Petitioner and/or Respondent, including the names of any third parties who have been asked to give evidence by the Board of Inquiry, shall be communicated by mail to both parties by the Convener the next business day following such meeting together with the reasons for dismissal, if that is the case.
  6. Attendance at the Hearing shall be by invitation of the Board of Inquiry only and shall follow the process noted in Section IV of this policy, subsection B, paragraph 4. not be open to the public, guests, media or any other person whatsoever. The Petitioner and the Respondent shall attend in person by themselves only and may not bring a friend, attorney or other person with them. The Petitioner and Respondent shall have the opportunity to hear all evidence presented to the Board of Inquiry and may then each make a statement of up to 10 minutes in length. Neither the Petitioner or the Respondent shall have the opportunity to question any witnesses. Upon conclusion of their statement the Petitioner and Respondent may be asked questions by members of the Board of Inquiry. Following such questions, the Petitioner and Respondent shall be excused and the Board of Inquiry shall consider its decision. The Petitioner and Respondent shall not be present during the statement and questioning of the other.
  7. In making its decision the Board of Inquiry shall first discuss its findings and clearly document its findings of fact in relation to the Grievance. The Board of Inquiry shall then determine whether the Grievance is valid (in whole or in part). If the Board of Inquiry finds that the Grievance is without substance then it shall publicly exonerate the Respondent and apologize for any distress and inconvenience unless the Respondent shall request otherwise. In either event the exoneration and apology shall also be made in writing to the Respondent. The Board of Inquiry may also request the Petitioner to apologize to the Respondent and, in extreme cases, may also recommend action be taken against the Petitioner up to and including all of the steps listed below. The Board of Inquiry may also recommend instituting a Disciplinary Action against a Petitioner. If the Board of Inquiry finds that the Grievance is valid, in whole or in part, it shall then determine what remedy is appropriate. Remedies at the disposal of the Board of Inquiry include any one or more of:
    1) Verbal warning
    2) Written warning
    3) Probation
    4) Verbal reprimand
    5) Written reprimand
    6) Requiring the Respondent to make a personal and/or public apology
    7) Suspension of Membership for a limited period
    8) Termination of Membership and period during which any application for membership submitted by the Respondent will be refused
    9) Permanent Termination of Membership
    10) Being relieved of all duties for a period of time
    11) Permanently relieved of all duties
    12) Temporary removal from organization’s offices for a period of time
    13) Permanent removal from organization’s offices
    
    Steps c) and higher shall require ratification by the Board of Directors at its next meeting (unless the Board of Inquiry shall request and be granted an extension by the Board of Directors). In determining what action to take the Board of Inquiry shall have regard to:
    
    14) Any previous infractions by the Respondent
    15) The desire to mend hurt feelings and create a happy team within the organization as a whole
    16) Any extenuating circumstances
    17) The record and length of service of the Respondent
    18) The remedy proposed by the Petitioner
    
    The Board of Inquiry shall give a time frame within which the above steps will be completed, such time frame to be no earlier than the date of ratification by the Board of Directors.
  8. Nothing in V.A.7. shall preclude the organization or any other person seeking further relief through the courts or from reporting matters to the appropriate authorities.
  9. The Board of Inquiry shall advise the Petitioner and Respondent in writing of its Decision within five working days of the Hearing.
  10. Subject to ratification by the Board of Directors, The decision of the Board of Inquiry shall be final and there shall be no appeal notwithstanding the non-attendance and/or non-cooperation (for whatever reason) of the Petitioner and/or the Respondent.
Supplemental Provisions
1. Limitations
  1. A grievance in writing or by email, signed by the Petitioner, must be filed in triplicate with the Board President, Executive Director and Secretary by the Petitioner within 14 days of the last occurrence of the behavior and/or incident(s) referred to in the Grievance.
  2. The Board of Inquiry may extend the period during which a Grievance may be filed upon:
    1) written representation from the Petitioner explaining why it may not have been possible to file a grievance within the time limit prescribed; and
    2) a unanimous vote of the Board of Inquiry to waive rule VI.A.1 above.
  3. No grievance shall be accepted or Disciplinary Action initiated where the behavior/incident(s) referred to occurred more than 6 months prior to the date of first notification.
2. Notices/Address for Service
  1. All notices and communications may be served on any party either in person or by first class mail, fax and/or email at the address currently on record with the organization.
  2. The Board of Inquiry shall not be required to investigate the whereabouts and/or schedule of either the Petitioner or Respondent within the Period of Inquiry as the time limits set forth are sufficient to accommodate vacations and other factors.
  3. Any communication received after 5pm on a business day or on a weekend shall be deemed to be received at 10am on the next business day.
3. Interim Arrangements
  
  It may, on occasion, be necessary for the organization to make interim arrangements, prior to the Hearing, to protect either the health and well being of either the Petitioner or Respondent and other persons from emotional distress, intimidation and even physical danger. The Board of Inquiry shall have power at its sole discretion, with or without the input of the Petitioner and Respondent and with or without their knowledge and/or attendance, to give interim directions, subject to review at the Hearing, for either one or more of the following:
  1. Suspension of Membership (including not entering upon the organization’s office premises, even for public meetings).
  2. Suspension of Duties (including not entering upon the organization’s office premises).
  3. Request that the Petitioner and Respondent refrain from communicating with one another.
  4. Reclassify the Grievance as a Disciplinary Action
  5. Such other interim arrangements as the Board of Inquiry shall deem appropriate.
4. Amendment/Withdrawal of Grievance
  1. Upon review by the Convener and Executive Director, it may be that the Grievance as filed does not satisfy all the requirements of this policy. If this is the case, then the Convener shall telephone send notice to the Petitioner via email or U.S. standard mail within two working days of receiving the Grievance, to advise her/himthem of the deficiencies status of their Grievance and give her/himthem a further period of three working days within which to remedy these deficienciesaddress the request for additional information by either amending the Grievance or re-filing the Grievance. This telephone callAll notices shall be backed up byinclude a letter sent by first class post and (where possible) emailU.S. mail.
  2. The Petitioner shall have the right at any time up to 48 hours prior to the Hearing, with or without cause, to withdraw the Grievance. In the event of withdrawal, all papers documents relating to the Grievance shall be sealed in an envelope (which shall be dated) and/or digitally-archived and kept in safe custody by the Executive Director of the organization. Unless the grievance procedure shall be reinstituted by the Petitioner, at which time the Board of Inquiry shall determine what action to take in regard to the sealed envelope, the envelope shall be destroyed by the Executive Director in the presence of an independent observer appointed for that purpose by the Board on the second anniversary of the date on the envelope.
5. Confidentiality
  1. All matters relating to any Grievance and/or Disciplinary Action subject to this policy shall be kept confidential and shall only be discussed by the Board during executive session. This is designed to preserve the reputations of persons who may be a party to any process of investigation pursuant to this policy and to protect the organization from legal liability. The staff of the organization may, of necessity, be privy to matters arising under this policy but shall be required to keep such matters confidential. A breach of confidentiality by the Petitioner may render a grievance procedure void and result in the automatic termination of a grievance if, in the opinion of the Board of Inquiry, such breach will prejudice a fair and unbiased hearing.
  2. Following the Period of Inquiry the Board may in its absolute discretion decide to release a summary or, in the event of misinformed media attention generated at the behest of an aggrieved party (or otherwise), make a part, parts or whole of the proceedings available to the media in the interests of defending the organization and/or any person or persons within it, ensuring accurate coverage and fair comment.
6. Consolidation/Multiple Grievances
  
  A grievance shall only be filed by one individual against another individual. However, it may be the case that an individual may wish to bring a grievance against more than one person and that more than one individual may wish to file a grievance against a single individual, and so multiple grievances may be filed. In such circumstances the Board of Inquiry may consolidate one or more grievances within a single process and hearing.
7. Commencement/Transitional Arrangements
  1. This policy is effective 02.02.00 and replaces the Disputes Policy.
  2. This policy is effective in relation to all grievances and disciplinary actions received but not yet acknowledged as of 02.02.00, which date shall be deemed as the effective Date of First Notification in relation to such matters.
  3. Subject to VI.G.2 any grievance or disciplinary action under consideration as of 02.02.00 shall be resolved in accordance with the Disputes Policy.
8. Eligibility of Petitioner
  
  A grievance may only be brought by a member in good standing of the Corporation.
9. Implied Indemnity
  
  There shall be a rebuttable presumption that any officer of the Corporation shall be deemed to have acted with the knowledge and consent of the Board in exercising her/histheir duties and any grievance brought against any officer in relation to that officer’s behavior shall be inadmissible unless a Petitioner can show that the officer was not acting with the knowledge and consent of the Board.

Approved: by the Board 02.01.00
Amended 04.04.00