Title:     #IV-26.  GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES         

On March 7, 2007, the West Virginia Legislature passed Senate Bill No. 442, which amended the State employees’ grievance process. All grievances filed on or after July 1, 2007, will be processed under the new legislation, WV Code §6C-2.  The following guidance is provided for WVU at Parkersburg employees:

Level 1:   Conference or Informal Hearing

The grievance form is to be filed with the WVU President’s office (105 Stewart Hall, Morgantown, WV 26506), and copies sent (by the grievant) to the campus Human Resources Director, and to the Public Employees’ Grievance Board.  Send a copy of the form to: Mr. Earl Maxwell, Director, Public Employees’ Grievance Board, 808 Greenbrier Street, Charleston, WV 25311 or fax to: 304-558-1106.   A level I grievance must be filed within 15 working days of an incident.  An employee can choose to have an informal conference or an informal hearing which would be tape recorded.  A designee of the President will conduct the conference or hearing and issue a written decision within 15 working days of the meeting.

Level II:   Mediation

If the employee is not satisfied with the response at Level I, he/she can appeal in writing, within 10 working days, to the Public Employees’ Grievance Board with a copy to the WVU President’s office.  The Grievance Board will set a date for mediation which will be conducted by an administrative law judge (ALJ) from the Grievance Board.

Or, if both parties agree to share the cost, they can choose a mediator outside of the Grievance Board.  The third option at this level, if both parties agree, is to conduct mediation (with an ALJ) and if any issues are unresolved at the end of the mediation, the ALJ will become an arbitrator and issue a decision on the remaining issues.

Level III:  Formal Hearing with Administrative Law Judge

If the employee is still not satisfied with the outcome at Level II, he/she can file an appeal, in writing, with the Grievance Board within 10 working days of receiving the written report from Level II.  A copy should be sent to the WVU President’s office.  The ALJ will schedule a hearing and issue a decision on the grievance within 30 days after the hearing.   

Forms and More Information

For more information about this process, including the new grievance forms, go to the Grievance Board website at www.state.wv.us/admin/grievanc/grievanc.htm.

Questions regarding these procedures may be directed to the Director of Human Resources (Ext. 212) or to the Special Assistant to the President (Ext. 201) on the Parkersburg campus.