(Note: OLPM sections on this page may be cited following the format of, for example, "GSC.V.D.12.1". These policies may be amended at any time, do not constitute an employment contract, and are provided here only for ease of reference and without any warranty of accuracy. See OLPM Main Menu for details.)

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D. Employee Relations

12.   Complaint Resolution

12.1   Preamble. The Grievance and Complaint Resolution procedures represent two distinct but related processes established for the purpose of resolving workplace problems. The policy is broken into two sections one describing a complaint procedure and one describing a grievance procedure. Except where noted, GSC status staff may use either procedure solely and separately, or may use the complaint procedure as the first step of the grievance procedure.

12.2   Complaint Resolution -- General.

12.2.1   Purpose. The purpose of the GSC complaint procedure is the resolution complaints and problems arising out of the interpretation and/or implementation of the Board of Trustees, University System, or Granite State College personnel policy, procedure and practice. The intent is to provide an effective, easily accessible means to seek solutions to workplace disputes and misunderstandings.

12.2.2   Definition. A complaint is an issue of concern related to a workplace situation or working conditions. Complaints related to judgments regarding performance, supervisory style, and final classification determinations are not appropriate for either the complaint procedure or the grievance procedure. Termination may be addressed only through the grievance procedure.

12.2.2.1   The complaint resolution procedure may serve as the informal step for the GSC grievance procedure.

12.2.3   Conditions

12.2.3.1   The complaint resolution mechanism shall not, and shall not be construed to, provide employees any right other than the right to have a complaint heard and considered. It also shall not bind GSC to a particular outcome or course of action or in any other way limit the institution's discretion to determine an appropriate outcome or course of action.

12.2.3.2   Complaints may be brought at any time, however, in order to continue complaints in the grievance procedure, complaints must be filed in conformance with the time lines established by the grievance procedure.

12.2.3.3   The complainant may have any other GSC employee (except an attorney) present during the complaint process to act as an advocate/advisor/support person.

12.2.3.4   Confidentiality shall be required of all participants in the complaint resolution. All information revealed and all discussions held shall be confidential.

12.2.3.5   The filing of a complaint shall not affect the rights of an employee to seek any remedy which may be available in an external forum. However, the filing of a complaint does not postpone any deadlines for pursuing remedies in any external forum.

12.2.4   Remedies. Remedies pursued under the complaint procedure may include any remedy which is in conformance with policy and need not be limited solely to a correction of a policy violation.

12.2.5   Training and orientation. The intent of the complaint procedure is to find a solution to perceived workplace problems. The GSC Personnel Office shall serve as a resource for understanding the process, explaining remedies available, if appropriate, and providing options for alternative resolutions and processes if appropriate.

12.2.6   Record keeping. Any record of complaint information shall be the property of GSC and shall be kept in a confidential file.

12.3   Complaint Resolution Process

12.3.1   A GSC staff member may register a complaint by notifying the Personnel Office either verbally or in writing of a concern.

12.3.2   Considering the nature of the complaint, the Personnel Office will initiate a discussion/resolution. Options to pursue resolution will include, but not be limited to, discussions with the supervisor, informal investigation of facts, use of the third party to help mediate between the decision maker and the complainant, and/or an assessment/advice to the complainant about whether the action is grievable.

12.3.3   If the complainant is not satisfied with the outcome, s/he may file a written grievance, if appropriate, to the definition and conditions of a grievance within no more than seven calendar days after the failure of the complaint resolution.

13.   Grievance Resolution

13.1   Purpose. The GSC grievance procedure is intended to provide staff with a mechanism to resolve alleged violations of Trustee, University System or GSC policy.

13.2   Definition. The definition of a grievance shall be "a written statement alleging a violation of the Board of Trustees, University System of New Hampshire, or Granite State College policy. The grievance procedure shall not be used to review the substantive merits of an administrative judgment, evaluation, or other discretionary act or decision, except as may be necessary when a violation of a nondiscrimination policy is alleged." A grievance may be filed by any status staff member except principal administrators.

13.3   Conditions

13.3.1   The deadline for filing a grievance shall be ten (10) calendar days from the day on which the aggrieved staff member becomes aware of the action which is alleged to violate policy. In no event may a grievance be filed more than one year after the occurrence of the alleged violation.

13.3.2   A grievant may bring an advocate to any meeting or hearing held as part of the following grievance procedure. The advocate may act in an advisory capacity to the grievant or, at the grievant's request, may speak on the grievant's behalf. The third party must be a USNH employee and may not be an attorney.

13.3.3   Two or more persons similarly aggrieved by the same alleged violation of policy may file a joint grievance. All grievants to a particular grievance shall be identified. A "class action" grievance shall not be permitted.

13.3.4   Confidentiality shall be required of all participants in a grievance. All information revealed and all discussions held shall be confidential as reasonable within legal constraints and organizational responsibilities.

13.3.5   The filing of a grievance shall not affect the rights of any employee to seek any remedy which may be available in an external forum. However, the filing of a grievance does not postpone any deadlines for pursuing remedies in any external forum.

13.3.6   An employee who is grieving a termination or suspension may be placed on leave of absence without pay during the time involved in the processing of a grievance. See USY V.D.12.3.3 and USY V.C.9.9.5.

13.4   Remedies. Remedies available under this grievance procedure shall be limited to those necessary to bring the grieved action into conformance with the policies violated.

13.5   Training and Orientation. The GSC Personnel Office shall provide for informational materials and orientation of participants in the grievance process. This includes a copy of the grievance policy as well as other materials or resource personnel as may be appropriate to the participants and the case.

13.6   Record keeping

13.6.1   All materials generated in a grievance proceeding, including tape recordings, exhibits, minutes, and affidavits shall be the property of GSC.

13.6.2   At the conclusion of the grievance all materials shall be held in a confidential file in the GSC Personnel Office.

13.6.3   At step one of the grievance the GSC Personnel Office shall have the authority to determine what materials and records shall be available for copies to participants. At step two the hearing panel will make that determination.

13.6.4   The GSC Personnel Office shall make an annual report to the GSC CEO and the USNH Human Resources Office of the total number of grievances filed.

13.7   Grievance Resolution Process. The grievant files a written statement of grievance with the GSC Personnel Office. The statement will include the policy, procedure or practice alleged to be violated, a brief statement of the alleged violation and the resolution desired.

13.7.2   If the grievant has already used the GSC complaint procedure, or if the grievance is because of employment termination, the grievance will be submitted to step one of the grievance procedures.

13.7.2.1   If neither of the above is applicable, the Personnel Office and the grievant will consider the appropriateness of using the complaint procedure before using the grievance procedure.

13.7.3   Step One

13.7.3.1   The GSC Personnel Office will arrange a conciliation meeting to take place within thirty (30) calendar days of receipt of a properly filed grievance. The meeting will include the grievant, the grievant's advocate, a representative of the GSC Personnel Office, the person whose actions are being grieved and any other administrators appropriate to resolution of the grievance.

13.7.3.2   The grievant and GSC each have the responsibility to provide the conciliation group documents which can reasonably be expected to contain evidence bearing on the case. This process of "discovery" may include an effort to investigate the facts and ask questions of the participants prior to the conciliation meeting in an effort to seek out evidence relevant to the grievance.

13.7.3.3   The GSC Personnel Office shall coordinate the collection of the documents. All documents shall be made available to all parties to the conciliation meeting.

13.7.3.4   The conciliation group will meet to review the grievance and fashion a mutually acceptable resolution. The meetings shall be non-adversarial, and each party will extend serious consideration to the views of the other parties.

13.7.3.5   If the parties are able to reach a consensus for the resolution of the grievance, the terms of the resolution will be implemented by GSC. The terms of the resolution will be recorded. The resolution shall not be precedent setting.

13.7.3.6   If the parties are unable to reach a solution, the grievant shall have the option of filing a written request to proceed to step two. This request will be made to the GSC Personnel Office no later than five (5) calendar days after the end of step one. No formal statement or summary of step one is required.

13.7.4   Step Two. The grievant and the GSC CEO shall have the option to have a step two grievance heard directly by the CEO or by a hearing panel which makes a recommendation to the CEO. If the grievant and the CEO do not agree on the method of hearing, a hearing panel will hear the grievance.

13.7.4.1   The hearing panel shall consist of three (3) USNH status employees chosen by the GSC Personnel Office after consultation with the GSC CEO.

13.7.4.2   After selection of the hearing panel, the panel shall determine the rules for hearing evidence, including, but not limited to, time limitations, if any, methods of hearing witnesses, and overall format.

13.7.4.3   The panel will make a recommendation to the GSC CEO which will include a determination of which, if any, policies or procedures have been violated, and a proposed remedy, if appropriate. The decision will be a majority decision.

13.7.4.4   The panel's responsibility in making the decision will be to determine whether a policy violation has occurred. The panel shall not serve to provide greater wisdom on an issue as part of the decision/recommendation.

13.7.5   Final Decision. The GSC CEO shall receive the recommendation of the hearing panel within five (5) calendar days of their final hearing and render a final decision within ten (10) calendar days. That decision may be reviewed under USY V.D.12.4.1.7. In the case where the campus CEO is the subject of the grievance, the Chancellor will perform the role of the CEO for purpose of this step of the grievance.

 (Note: OLPM sections on this page may be cited following the format of, for example, "GSC.V.E.2.1". These policies may be amended at any time, do not constitute an employment contract, and are provided here only for ease of reference and without any warranty of accuracy. See OLPM Main Menu for details.)

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E. Professional Development and Training

2.   Staff Development and Training opportunities are specifically job-related and may take the form of training sessions, workshops, or seminars.

2.1   Using the USNH Tuition Benefit Plan or taking courses at other institutions will generally not be considered professional development and training unless specifically denoted in the employee's job agreement or so designated by the GSC Dean.

2.2   Participation in a Staff Development and Training session, workshop, or seminar requires the approval of the employee's supervising Dean or Director.

2.3   Generally, employees engaged in a professional development and/or training activity are not required to make up the time away from their normal job responsibilities if the activity meets at least one of the following criteria:

2.3.1   The activity is specifically job-related as designated by the supervising Dean or Director;

2.3.2   The activity is at the express request of the Dean or Director;

2.3.3   The activity is required in order to fulfill the requirements of the currently held position.

2.4   Staff members in trainee appointments are not generally required to make up the time away from their normal job responsibilities if the activity is required to attain the minimum qualifications of the currently held position.

2.4.1   Whether such time away from normal job responsibilities will be counted as part of the workday shall be articulated in a written agreement with the trainee appointment.

2.5   In all cases considered under GSC V.E.2, time will be accounted for in compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act. See USY V.E.2.4.

(Note: OLPM sections on this page may be cited following the format of, for example, "GSC.V.F.7.1". These policies may be amended at any time, do not constitute an employment contract, and are provided here only for ease of reference and without any warranty of accuracy. See OLPM Main Menu for details.)

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F. Compensation

7.    Additional Pay

7.1    Definition. Additional pay is extra compensation paid to a status staff member, above salary paid as regular budgeted earnings. Compensation is for an extra service of a temporary nature on behalf of GSC or any other USNH institution. There are three categories of additional pay:

          Hourly-Based Pay for Services (described in GSC V.F.7.3)
          Salary-Based Pay for Services (described in GSC V.F.7.4) and
          Additional Pay for Recognition, Recruitment, Other (described in GSC V.F.7.5)

Extra service for additional pay may occur either inside or outside the regular appointment period. The college expects under normal circumstances extra service for additional pay will occur outside the regular appointment period. An appointment period shall be defined as follows:

7.1.1    An appointment period for non-exempt (hourly-based) staff shall mean normal work hours as described in system policy USY V.F.5.1. (The normal work schedule is 7.5 hours per day or 37.5 hours per week.)

7.1.2   An appointment period for exempt (salary-based) staff shall mean a work schedule as described in system policy USY V.F.6.1. (Exempt staff are expected to work those hours which are necessary to accomplish effectively the objectives of the position, but no less than 40 hours per week.)

7.2   Conditions for Review and Approval of Additional Pay

7.2.1   At a minimum, hourly based additional pay for services or salary based additional pay for services (sections GSC V.F.7.3 and 7.4) shall require prior supervisory approval, regardless of whether it is inside or outside the appointment period. Additional approvals and documentation requirements are noted in the particular policy sections below.

7.2.1.1   Additional Approvals. All grant-funded status staff or those non-grant funded status staff seeking approval to work under a grant or contract may do so only in accordance with the guidelines and regulations related to pay as outlined in the grant or contract. They must also receive prior approval from the Office of Sponsored Research.

7.2.1.2   Approval for additional pay within the appointment period described in sections GSC V.F.7.3 and 7.4 shall require the prior approval of the supervisor and the next highest level of supervisory authority, and must include documentation that the payment is for services performed outside the regular job description and responsibilities. The absence from the regular job duties shall be accounted for through the use of documented vacation/earned time.

7.2.2   Categories of additional pay for recognition (bonus, award, etc.) or recruitment (compensation in lieu of reimbursement) (see GSC V.F.7.5) shall require prior supervisory approval and/or the President. Acting Appointment Stipends require the final approval of the President. No secondary level of approval is required for honorariums under $250.

7.2.2.1   All grant-funded status staff or those non-grant funded status staff receiving additional pay for recognition under a grant or contract must also receive prior approval from the Office of Sponsored Research.

7.3   Hourly-Based Additional Pay for Services (non-exempt only). All categories of non-exempt additional pay for services require prior approval by the supervisor as noted above in section V.F.7.2.

7.3.1   Overtime Pay. Time worked in excess of 40 hours in any week is paid at one and one-half times the regular rate of pay. The hours worked in all jobs must be paid by the hour and combined for calculation of overtime. The only exceptions are (1) when the hourly rate in the additional job is higher than the staff member's overtime rate in her/his regular job or (2) when the additional job is teaching a credit course. A holiday is counted as a day worked for the purpose of computing overtime pay. The first 2.5 hours per week are paid at their regular hourly rate.

7.3.1.1   Approvals. Under normal work circumstances, the supervisor must approve overtime compensation in wages, prior to the hours being worked.

7.3.1.2   Records. The staff member is responsible for:

                Recording the number of overtime hours worked each pay period.
                Submitting the timesheet to her/his supervisor each pay period.

                Records shall be signed by the supervisor and maintained electronically.

7.3.2   Compensatory Time. Whereas flexible schedules are sometimes used, the Operating Staff member may request compensation for overtime in the form of compensatory time off in lieu of a monetary payment. (Under normal circumstances, the supervisor must approve such compensation in wages in advance.) Compensatory time will be at one and one-half hours for each hour of overtime worked in excess of forty hours in one week. For staff who work a 7.5 hour day or a 37.5 hour work week, compensatory time off for the first 2.5 hours per week will be at an hour-for-hour rate.

7.3.2.1   Agreement. If compensatory time is taken, it must be the result of a mutual agreement between the staff member and the supervisor prior to the performance of the work, without any coercion or pressure by the supervisor.

7.3.2.2   Accumulation and Usage. Compensatory time may not be carried from one fiscal year to another. It should be used as soon as practically possible after it has been earned, generally within the current or subsequent pay period. Compensatory time should be used prior to the usage of earned time.

7.3.2.3   Monetary Payment. If a staff member terminates or transfers to another department, cash payment will be made for accumulated compensatory time based on the final regular rate of pay.

7.3.2.4   Records. The staff member is responsible for recording:

                Number of compensatory hours earned each pay period.
                Number of compensatory hours used each pay period.

                Records shall be signed by the supervisor and maintained in the Human Resources Office.

7.3.3   Stand-By Pay. See USY V.F.7.3.2.

7.3.4   Call Back Pay. See USY V.F.7.3.3.

7.3.5   Shift Differential. Does not apply.

7.3.6   Pay for Adjunct Hourly Appointment. The pay rate is determined by the type of adjunct appointment. The supervisor must have documentation indicating the job is being performed outside the work hours of the staff member's status job. If the work occurs during the staff member's regular work day, the staff member may, only with the concurrence of the supervisor, perform the adjunct work during the regular work day and either use earned time/vacation leave or make up the hours through a documented agreement with the supervisor.

7.4   Salary-Based Additional Pay for Services – By Event, Project, or Course. All categories of exempt additional pay for services shall be subject to GSC’s approval process outlined in Section GSC V.F.7.2.

7.4.1   Payment for Staff Work outside the Appointment Period. Compensation made for services rendered to USNH which are not included in the regular work assigned and which are performed outside the staff member's normal work period (e.g. outside daily work period, weekends, outside the flex appointment).

7.4.2   Payment for Staff Work inside the Appointment Period. Compensation made for services rendered to USNH which are not included in the regular work assigned and which are performed inside the staff member's work period.

7.5   Additional Pay - Recognition, Recruitment, Other. These categories of additional pay shall have approval processes as described in Section GSC V.F.7.2.

7.5.1   Bonus (see USY V.F.7.5.1)

7.5.2   Compensation in Lieu of Reimbursement (see USY V. F.7.5.2)

7.5.3   Acting Appointment Stipend (see USY V.F.7.5.3)

7.5.4   Temporary Upgrade (see USY V.F.7.5.4)

7.5.5  Temporary Increase in Percent Time (see USY V.F.7.5.5)

7.5.6  Honorarium (see USY V.F.7.5.6)

7.5.7   Award (see USY V.F.7.5.6)

7.5.8   Longevity Pay - Applies only to Operating Staff with current status employment start dates prior to July 1, 2011 (see USY V.F.7.5.8).

7.5.9   Payment of Accrued Earned Time and Vacation/Personal Leave (see USY V.F.7.5.9).