Section 801—Vacancies
A. All vacancies shall be posted on the Agency intranet site for a minimum of seven (7) calendar days. Current employees shall have seven (7) calendar days from the date of initial posting to express an interest in transfer or promotion to a vacant position. Current employees who are interested in positions that are under recruitment should apply via the Agency’s Recruitment Website. The bargaining unit president will be notified of changes in job specifications in accordance with Section 811.
B. Offering and acceptance of a position shall be in writing by the Agency and the employee on a form as set forth in Appendix A. The written form shall in all respects be consistent with the provisions of this Agreement.
C. When deemed appropriate by the Agency in its sole discretion, one or more regular employees within the affected program shall, upon request of the relevant supervisor, be entitled to provide input into the process of determination of the best candidate to fill a vacancy. Such input could range from a review of applicants’ resumes, to discussions with the supervisor concerning relative necessary applicant qualifications, to actual participation in the applicant interview process.
C. 1. Where a vacancy on a work team exists, the remaining team member(s) within the affected program shall be entitled to provide input into the process of determination of the best candidate to fill the vacancy. Employee input in such situations will include a review of the resumes of applicants with the exception of the resumes of applicants who are current employees, unless such employees authorize such peer review, discussions with the supervisor concerning relative necessary applicant qualifications, and participation in the applicant interview process. All final hiring decisions will be made by the supervisor.
D. When the qualifications of an employee applying to fill a vacancy and the qualifications of an outside applicant for such vacancy are equal, preference shall be given to the current employee. Where qualifications between internal applicants are substantially equal, seniority shall be the tie breaker. Written notice of the Agency’s decision will be given to all internal applicants.
E. Vacancies which are to be filled by substitute employees as well as those filled pursuant to 806D or 806E(2) shall not be subject to the posting procedures of this Agreement.
F. An Agency decision, notwithstanding Section 801E of this Article, filling a vacancy with an individual employed by the Agency at the time the vacancy is filled, shall be final. A grievance alleging a violation of any of the provisions of this article and/or an Agency decision that an applicant lacks requisite qualifications shall be subject to the grievance procedures of this Agreement.
Section 802—Performance Evaluations
Each employee shall be evaluated at least annually.
The first evaluation will occur at or near the completion of the initial probationary period or at the end of the first six (6) months of employment. Subsequent evaluations will occur at least annually however they may be done on a more frequent basis when deemed appropriate by the employee’s immediate supervisor or as determined by the director of the service unit.
A formal evaluation shall be in writing and shall be reviewed with the employee. After such review, the evaluation shall be signed by the employee, which signature shall indicate only that the employee has read and/or reviewed the evaluation with their immediate supervisor. An employee shall have the right to respond in writing to their evaluation and to have the response attached to the evaluation in their personnel file. An employee shall receive a copy of the evaluation report for their own records. The original evaluation report shall be maintained in the employee’s personnel file.
If the employee does not receive their annual evaluation by the end of the year, the employee may submit a draft self-evaluation to the Chief Client Services Officer within 30 days. In the absence of amendments provided by the Supervisor, the Chief Client Services Officer will incorporate the performance appraisal into the personnel file within 60 days of receipt.
In cases where an employee’s position changed within 90 days prior to the annual performance evaluation, the previous supervisor will participate formally in the evaluation.
Section 803—Probation
The different types of probation and contract rights of each type are set forth below:
A. Initial Probation – A newly hired employee shall be on probation for a period of six (6) continuous (uninterrupted by means of a Leave) months of actual work following the commencement of employment. The initial probationary period may be extended by the Agency once for a period of up to three (3) additional months. The decision to extend the initial probationary period shall be non-grievable. Permanent status will be granted after successful completion of the probation period. All pay raises that occurred during an employee’s probationary period shall become effective upon completion of that employee’s probationary period, without retroactivity.
B. Promotion or Transfer Probation – A continuing employee promoted or transferred within the Agency to a new or different position or from part-time to full-time status, shall be on probation for a period of four (4) continuous months of actual work from the effective date of promotion or transfer. The initial probationary period may be extended by the Agency for a period of up to two (2) additional months.
If an employee does not make a successful adjustment to the newly held position, the Agency shall make reasonable efforts to place the employee in a vacant position at a pay grade equal to or less than that previously held prior to the promotion or transfer, provided that the employee is qualified to assume the vacant position. If no such vacancy is available, the employee shall be placed on the recall list (806).
Section 804—Personnel Records
A. Personnel files maintained by the Agency are the property of the Agency. Personnel files are confidential. Only the Director of Human Resources or their designee has immediate access to the records.
The Agency will make a good faith effort to accommodate a reasonable request presented by an employee to the Director of Human Resources or their designee to review the contents of the employee’s personnel records. A copy of an employee’s personnel file contents will be provided upon request to the employee at the employee’s expense. Under no circumstances will materials or copies thereof contained in an employee’s personnel file be removed or forwarded to any person or organization outside Howard Center without the express written permission of the Director of Human Resources or their designee and the employee.
Notification must be provided within three days to any employee of any derogatory material, outside of routine performance evaluations, that is being entered into their personnel file. Failure of the agency to provide this notification will exclude any such information from being used against the employee in any disciplinary action. The employee shall acknowledge in writing that they have been given notice of the placement of such material in the personnel file, and may, if they wish, write a separate commentary concerning such information which shall also be placed in the personnel file.
B. After three (3) years of “incident free” job performance, the written document evidencing the imposition of disciplinary action will be removed from an employee’s personnel file. This provision does not apply to evaluation documents, nor to documents relating to disciplinary action resulting from theft, sexual harassment, improper use of physical force or conviction of a felony.
Section 805—Grievance and Arbitration Procedures
A. Grievance: A “grievance” shall mean a claim by the Union or an employee that there has been a violation, misinterpretation, or misapplication of the terms of this Agreement.
A. 1. Process: The Union may file a grievance only when a provision of this Agreement granting the Union a specific right has been violated.
Steps: The steps of the Grievance process are outlined as follows:
Step 1: Except as otherwise specifically provided, a grievance must be presented orally and informally to the person who allegedly committed the grievance within ten (10) calendar days after the employee knew, or in the exercise of reasonable diligence, should have known of the events giving rise to the grievance.
Step 2: If the grievance is not resolved at the informal step 1 as described above, a written grievance must be filed with the person who allegedly committed the grievance within ten (10) calendar days. A meeting may then be arranged between the grievant and the person alleged to have committed the grievance within ten (10) calendar days after the grievance has been filed. Such person holding the grievance hearing shall issue their written decision to the grievant and the union president (or their designee) within ten (10) calendar days following the meeting. In the event that the person alleged to have committed the grievance is the Chief Client Services Officer and the grievance is not resolved at Step 2, the grievant or the union may appeal directly to the Step 4 level.
Step 3: In the event the grievance is not resolved at Step 2, the grievant may within ten (10) calendar days of receipt of the Step 2 answer, appeal the grievance in writing to the Chief Client Services Officer. The Chief Client Services Officer shall investigate the relevant facts and shall conduct a conference with the grievant. The Chief Client Services Officer shall issue their written decision to the grievant and the union president (or their designee) within ten (10) calendar days following the conference.
Step 4: In the event the grievance is not resolved at Step 3, the Union may within ten (10) calendar days of receipt of the Step 3 answer, appeal the grievance in writing to the Director of Human Resources. The Director of Human Resources or Chief Executive Officer (or their designee) shall investigate the relevant facts and shall conduct a conference with the grievant. The Director of Human Resources or Chief Executive Officer (or their designee) shall issue their written decision to the grievant and the Union President (or their designee) within ten (10) calendar days following the conference.
A. 2. Form: A grievance must be set forth in writing, using the form attached as Appendix J of this agreement, describing the alleged violation, misinterpretation or misapplication of this Agreement. A Union grievance must be signed by a Union steward or a Union officer. The specific sections violated must be cited and the relief or remedy requested must be specified.
A. 3. Union Representation: A grievant shall be entitled to Union representation at each step of the grievance procedure. A grievant may forego such Union representation at Steps 1 through 4 provided that any settlement reached does not conflict with the provisions of this Agreement.
A. 4. Time Limits:
A. 4. a. In order to be valid, a grievance must be filed and processed within the time limits set forth herein unless mutually agreed to by both parties.
A. 4. b. The time limits specified for the processing of a grievance may be extended by mutual written agreement.
A. 4. c. Failure at any step of the grievance procedure to communicate the written decision within the specified time limits shall be deemed a denial of the grievance on the last date for the timely issuance of the written decision. The grievant may then proceed to the next step.
A. 4. d. Failure at any step of the grievance procedure to appeal a decision within the specified time limits shall be deemed an acceptance of the last decision rendered.
A. 5. Communication Regarding Grievances: All written communication shall be served electronically, personally or by United States certified mail.
B. Arbitration
B. 1. In the event that an arbitrable grievance is not resolved at Step 4, the Union, may file for arbitration by giving written notice of such intention to the Chief Executive Officer or the Director of Human Resources within fifteen (15) calendar days after receipt of the Step 4 decision.
B. 2. The Director of Human Resources or their designee and the Union shall have twenty-one (21) calendar days during which to attempt to agree upon the services of an arbitrator. In the event that there is no such agreement, the Union within twenty-one (21) calendar days may file for arbitration to the Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service.
B. 3. The arbitrator shall have no power to alter the terms of this Agreement. Appeals from the decision and award of the arbitrator shall only be those authorized by the Vermont Arbitration Act.
B. 4. Each party shall bear the full cost for its representation in the arbitration. The cost of the arbitrator and the FM&CS, if any, will be divided equally between the parties. Should either party request a transcript of the proceedings, such party will bear the full cost of the transcript.
B. 5. Neither the Union nor the grievant may raise any arguments or issues or facts beyond Step 4 which have not been raised at Step 4, provided such arguments, issues or facts were known or should have been known at the time of the Step 4 hearing.
C. General:
C. 1. Confidentiality: A grievance shall be treated as confidential (i.e. kept within the Union and the Agency), by the Agency, the Union and the grievant until a final decision has been rendered or a settlement reached.
C. 2. No Retribution: There shall be no retribution against any employee who makes good faith use of this grievance procedure.
C. 3. Retroactivity: In no case may the relief or remedy granted have a retroactive financial impact earlier than the later of fifteen (15) calendar days preceding the date of the initial filing of the grievance or the date of the grievable incident.
C. 4. Cooperation: The parties to this Agreement, as well as the grievant, will cooperate in the investigation of any grievance and will provide to the other such information reasonably available to it as is reasonably requested for the processing of a grievance. Each party will disclose all information which it knows concerning a grievance and neither party may utilize information which it knew but did not disclose.
C. 5. Compensation for Grievance and Arbitration Hearings: An employee reasonably required in good faith to be present at a grievance meeting or arbitration hearing during regular working hours shall not suffer any loss of pay for absence from work.
D. Fee for Services Authorized
The Agency recognizes that expenses may be incurred by the Union in its representation of covered employees, and that these expenses are not reimbursed in the case of covered employees who elect not to be members of the Union or to pay Union dues. The Union may assess a fee for services for the time incurred by its staff employees in representing the interests of covered employees for requested Union representation that requires the assistance of an employee of AFSCME Council 93.
Section 806—Staff Reduction and Recall
A. Staff reductions may be authorized by the Chief Executive Officer when appropriate, including but not limited to the following situations: (1) financial necessity, (2) efficiency of operation, and (3) program reduction. The determination to effect a staff reduction shall be final.
B. An employee to be laid off shall be given at least thirty (30) calendar days written notice of layoff.
C. Within a job classification (title) affected by a staff reduction, determination of the employee or employees to be laid off shall be in the reverse order of seniority. Between employees with equal seniority, the Chief Executive Officer, whose decision shall be final, shall determine the employee to be laid off.
D. If there is a vacancy in a job classification in a pay grade equal to or one pay grade less than that from which an employee is to be laid off, and the employee scheduled for layoff has the requisite qualifications, in the eyes of the Chief Executive Officer, to fill such vacancy, rather than being laid off, the employee shall be offered the vacancy. If the position offered is refused, the employee shall be laid off.
E. Recall
E. 1. A laid off employee shall be placed on a recall list for a period of one (1) year if the employee had less than three (3) years of seniority at the time of layoff and for two (2) years if the employee had more than three (3) years of seniority at the time of layoff.
E. 2. Recall shall be automatic in reverse order of layoff to a vacancy which, without regard to the hours of assignment, is identical to that held by the employee at the time of layoff, i.e. same responsibilities at same job site.
E. 3. If there is no employee entitled to a vacancy pursuant to Section 806E(2) hereof, the Agency shall post the vacancy for internal transfer and/or promotion requests in accordance with the posting procedures of 801B hereof.
E. 4. Unless a vacancy is filled pursuant to 806E(2) or 806E(3) of this section, an employee on the recall list, in the reverse order of layoff, shall be offered a vacancy within the same pay grade as that held at the time of layoff or one (1) pay grade lower, provided in the eyes of the Chief Executive Officer or their designee, the employee has the requisite qualifications to fill the vacancy.
E. 5. An employee who refuses a job offered pursuant to 806E(2), which job entails approximately the same hours as that held at the time of layoff, shall be removed from the recall list.
E. 6. It is understood that the Agency may not fill a vacancy with an outside applicant if there is an employee with recall rights to such position who has not declined the position.
F. An employee on the recall list must maintain their current address on record with the Director of Human Resources. Notice of recall shall be by certified mail. Failure to accept an offered position within five (5) calendar days of receipt of the offer shall be deemed a refusal to accept the offered position. An employee on the recall list who has accepted recall to a vacancy must return to work no later than two (2) weeks subsequent to acceptance of the recall unless such period has been extended by the Director of Human Resources or their designee, whose decision shall be final.
G. An employee who has completed initial probation and who is on the recall list shall continue to accrue seniority during the period that the employee is on the recall list.
H. Voluntary Layoff
In the event of layoffs, the Agency may first seek and consider volunteers within the affected title(s) at the affected worksite. This shall be communicated by a memo to staff and an announcement in staff meeting. Continued individual discussion shall be at the initiative of the employee. Volunteers shall express their interest in writing to the Director of Human Resources and a copy shall be sent to the Union President. The final determination with respect to the application of a volunteer shall be made by the Agency.
I. Recall Rights for Co-Employees
If a co-employer fails to renew a contract for a co-employee for any reason, a co-employee shall have rights to recall under Paragraph H of Section 807. Such employee shall be placed on a recall list for a period of two (2) years. If a vacancy exists in the same division and is in a pay grade equal or one pay grade less, such employee shall be offered the position if qualified, provided no such recall rights shall exist for an employee who has grieved the Agency concurrence with the co-hiring employer’s determination, if such grievance is not sustained.
Section 807—Discipline
A. An employee shall not be disciplined except for just cause. Whenever an employee is being investigated for workplace misconduct, the Agency shall provide the employee with notice of the specific violation of policy or work performance .
B. Where appropriate, the Agency shall follow a policy of progressive discipline. Disciplinary response may be based upon the severity and/or frequency of the offense. Where warranted by severity or frequency, lesser forms of discipline need not be utilized.
C. Available forms of discipline include:
C. 1. Oral reprimand – to constitute a formal oral reprimand as opposed to an evaluative comment, criticism or request for improvement, the giving of the reprimand must be noted in the employee’s personnel file.
C. 2. Written reprimand.
C. 3. Suspension.
C. 4. Denial of salary increment for up to three (3) months.
C. 5. Discharge – Termination could result from unsatisfactory job performance, violation of Agency policy or acceptable standards of behavior, including but not limited to the following:
C. 5. a. Unethical and/or destructive behavior.
C. 5. b. Falsification of client reports or other documents.
C. 5. c. A breach of confidentiality.
C. 5. d. Negligence during job performance which jeopardizes the welfare or safety of others.
C. 5. e. Failure to report for work as scheduled with no notification given.
C. 5. f. Theft.
C. 5. g. Willful destruction of Agency property.
C. 5. h. Insubordination.
C. 5. i. Failure or refusal to follow orders of a superior.
C. 5. j. Use, possession or being under the influence of alcohol while on duty.
C. 5. k. Use, possession or being under the influence of drugs that are not legally prescribed and authorized under Vermont or Federal Statute while on duty.
D. Authorization for Discipline: Any disciplinary action more serious than a written reprimand may only be imposed by the Chief Executive Officer or their designee. This is not to prevent a supervisor from immediately relieving an employee from duty when in the sole opinion of the supervisor it is in the best interests of the Agency to do so.
E. Arbitrating Discipline: An arbitrator ruling on a grievance challenging a suspension or a discharge shall be empowered to determine whether there was just cause for the imposition of discipline, but shall not be empowered to alter the discipline imposed.
F. Probationary Termination: Notwithstanding the above, an employee during the initial probationary period may be discharged without regard to just cause and such discharge shall be final. Provided, each probationary employee shall be given a meeting with their supervisor at approximately the mid point of the probationary period. At such conference, the perceived strengths and weaknesses of the employee will be pointed out together with a candid assessment of the employee’s prospects for attaining permanent status if work performance continues at the existing level of competency. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Agency shall be free to terminate the services of a probationary employee prior to the mid-point of the probationary period if it should determine, in its sole discretion, that the probationary period has not been successful.
G. Union Representation: Disciplinary action shall be given privately with reasonable opportunity for Union representation present. However, the prior sentence shall not be read to prohibit a supervisor from relieving an employee from work in appropriate circumstances. Union officials and employees involved in a grievance shall be reasonably allowed to attend grievance hearings on work time once a grievance has been filed.
H. Disciplinary Rights of Co-Hires
H. 1. For new co-hire contracts and the renewal of existing co-hire contracts, the Agency will write in provisions whereas a co-hire and the Agency shall be notified by the co-employer of any deficiency of performance by the co-hire employee. When possible, the co-hire employee shall have thirty (30) days to correct any deficiencies in performance identified by the co-employer. If the co-employer thereafter or immediately wishes to terminate the employee, such employee will have rights to recall as described in Paragraph E of Section 806.
H. 2. If the Agency does not agree with the co-employer’s notice of deficiency or termination of a co-employee, no reference to such deficiency shall be placed in such employee’s personnel file. The Agency will attempt to find other employment opportunities for a displaced co-hire employee and shall have rights of recall under Paragraph E of Section 806, if no such employment opportunity is available.
H. 3. If the Agency agrees with the co-employer, the co-employee shall have full access to due process and the grievance procedure regarding the appropriateness of such discipline. Should the grievance be upheld at any level of the grievance procedure, the remedy shall not include restoring the co-employee to the position held with the co-employer, but shall include rights of recall under Paragraph E of Section 806.
Section 808—Safety and Health
The Agency and its staff agree to strive to provide, with all reasonable efforts to provide a safe, injury-free environment for all, and to comply with all applicable State and Federal laws regarding workplace safety. Any concerns regarding safe working conditions should be reported to the Chief Client Services Officer. The Agency will provide the opportunity for staff input and training as follows:
A. Client Services Team Safety Committees: For FY 2016, the Client Services Team will have Safety Committees in each area previously known as CYFS, MHSAS and DS whose mission is to work towards identifying safety issues including training needs. The committee will be chaired by the Chief Client Services Officer and/or their designee and will be conducted quarterly or more or less frequently if deemed appropriate by the committee. The Union may designate one individual, with supervisor’s approval, from each service area to serve on each committee. Upon approval by the committee, the minutes will be posted on the Agency’s intranet site.
B. Safety Training: As a proactive measure, the Agency shall provide each union employee, whose job requires it, an opportunity for annual training or restraint/physical intervention techniques. Staff may register for these trainings, with supervisory approval, via the Agency’s Mastery Institute. The Agency will notify staff regarding safety training requirements.
C. Critical Incidents: A critical incident is defined as: an event that is extraordinary, being beyond the bounds of normally expected stressful incidents associated with an individual’s specific job. A critical incident may produce significant reaction and manifest as physical, cognitive or emotional response, either immediately after the critical incident or days, weeks or months later.
After such an incident, employees are encouraged to avail themselves of a free, confidential debriefing and/or support session(s) through the Agency’s Employee Assistance Program. To protect confidentiality, these sessions may occur at a site other than the employee’s work site. An employee may initiate the sessions by contacting the EAP. Contact with EAP may be required by a supervisor.
In the event that an employee experiences a critical incident and feels they need to leave work early that day and/or, with their supervisor’s approval which shall not be unreasonably denied, be excused for one additional day within the following seven (7) calendar days due to physical or emotional consequences of the critical incident, payment for a regular day’s work will be covered by the Agency.
If an employee experiences trauma as a result of a critical incident and wishes to utilize the leave provisions of this policy, the employee must communicate this to their supervisor.
D. Per Section 401 (B), the Union will be entitled to appoint three (3) representatives to the Employer’s Safety Committee.
Section 809—Supervision
Permanent part-time and permanent full-time employees shall be provided an opportunity to attend a minimum of one (1) face to face supervisory session a month and shall be obligated to attend any supervisory meeting called by the employee’s supervisor. There shall also be the opportunity to attend a minimum of one (1) staff meeting a month. In connection with these supervisory meetings, both clinical and administrative issues shall be covered.
Section 810—Involuntary Schedule Change
Should the Agency change the regular schedule of an employee, the Agency shall give the employee a minimum of 21 days notice of such change.
Section 811—Job Specifications
A. All job specifications for each title listed in Appendix G of this Agreement shall be made available for bargaining unit employees, Union Officers and Stewards. In the event the employer wishes to create or substantively amend the job description and/or the associated duties for a covered position, or to substantially amend the job description and/or the associated duties for a covered position, or to create or amend the title and/or pay grade associated with a covered position, it shall notify the employee and the Union not less than ten (10) work days prior to the date it wishes such amendments to take effect. Similar notice shall also be given for new covered positions.
B. The notice shall specify the new position or the position to be amended, the proposed new job description, its title and its pay grade. At the request of the Union, the parties will meet and confer within twenty-one (21) work days concerning the proposed change. Following such (if requested) consultations, the employer may put in place the amended or new position. The initial title and pay grade shall be as determined by the employer. If a disagreement exists, the Union shall be authorized to utilize the bargaining and impasse procedures in Title 21, Vermont Statutes Annotated only with regard to the title and pay grade for such position.
C. Job descriptions shall contain at a minimum the following information: objectives, responsibilities, qualifications, essential functions, and applicable supervisors and supervisees.
Section 812—CRASH Duties
A. The Agency shall first solicit qualified volunteers from within and outside the Agency. Volunteers from within the Agency shall have priority. If the necessary coverage is not attained through internal and/or external volunteers, the Agency may assign CDAS employees on a rotating basis. The assignment pool shall also include qualified clinicians who have a clinical supervisory responsibility, but not administrative supervisors.
B. Unless there is supervisory approval for another arrangement (such as counting CRASH work as a part of an employee’s regular work week responsibilities), employees who provide CRASH service shall be compensated a rate equal to at least their regular hourly rate.
C. Employees who provide CRASH services on holidays shall be compensated in accordance with the requirements of Section 602 hereof.
D. Employees receiving monetary compensation for CRASH work shall not have their regular hours or work responsibilities curtailed in any way because of such work.
AFSCME Local #1674 