The Oklahoma Public Employees Association Board of Directors adopted a new policy at its June 2009 meeting regarding the eligibility and assistance the Association will provide its members with the filing of grievances at the employing agency and appeals with the Oklahoma Merit Protection Commission. Over the past few years there has been some confusion as to what services members were eligible to use and what assistance the Association provided to these members. With the adoption of this policy eligibility requirements are clearly defined and the service the Association provides in these particular areas is clearly set out. The policy is as follows.
GRIEVANCE (INTERNAL WITH AGENCY)
Eligibility: The member must be an active dues paying member.
Assistance: The Employee Relations Coordinator will assist the member with the completion and filing of the grievance, to include:
(a) Consultation to determine if a grievance is the appropriate process to seek resolution;
(b) Providing current grievance forms;
(c) Explanation and interpretation of laws, rules, agency policy and procedure;
(d) Referral to the appropriate agency grievance manager;
(e) Depending on the facts and circumstances, the Employee Relations Coordinator will not normally attend grievance meetings or hearings and the Association will not provide an attorney to act in this role;
(f) Representing the member at any voluntary mediation session scheduled to resolve the grievance.
APPEAL (OKLAHOMA MERIT PROTECTION COMMISSION)
Eligibility: The member must be an active dues paying member for 180 days.
Assistance: The Employee Relations Coordinator will assist the member with the completion and filing of the appeal, to include:
(a) Consultation to determine if an appeal is the appropriate process to seek resolution;
(b) Registering the member and filing the appeal through the Commission’s on-line filing process;
(c) Explanation and interpretation of laws, rules, agency policy and procedure;
(d) Representing the member at any investigative interview, voluntary mediation session or negotiation conference scheduled to resolve the appeal;
(e) Depending on the facts and circumstances, the Employee Relations Coordinator will not normally attend pre-disciplinary or pre-termination hearings and the Association will not provide an attorney to act in this role.
LEGAL ADVOCACY (ATTORNEY REPRESENTATION)
Eligibility: The member must be an active dues paying member for 180 days and have approval of the Legal Advocacy Committee for use. Eligibility is limited to the Oklahoma Merit Protection Commission appeals process only.
Documentation: The member must provide the Employee Relations Coordinator the following documents for review by the Legal Advocacy Committee.
(a) a copy of the last two (2) Performance Management Process (PMP) evaluations;
(b) a copy of the proposed adverse action notice and a copy of the final adverse action notice, with attachments;
(c) a written response to each of the allegations contained in the final adverse action notice;
(d) a copy of any decision or determination issued by the Oklahoma Merit Protection Commission in regard to the appeal.
Determination: Prior to the assignment of an attorney the Legal Advocacy Committee will need to determine the viability of providing legal .
(a) The Legal Advocacy Committee shall be made up of one (1) member of the OPEA Board of Directors (or designee); one (1) OPEA member at large; the OPEA Executive Director (or designee); the OPEA Attorney (or designee); and the Employee Relations Coordinator;
(b) The decision of the Legal Advocacy Committee is final and not appealable;
(c) The Employee Relations Coordinator will advise the member of the decision of the Legal Advocacy Committee and if approved, coordinate with the attorney for legal representation.
At the July 2009 meeting the Board of Directors appointed Tom Dunning (Department of Human Services) as the Board of Directors member and Kara Morrow (Office of Disability Concerns) as the member at large. Tom and Kara will join Sterling Zearley, Executive Director; Clyde McLendon, Employee Relations Coordinator; and Kevin Donelson, Attorney on the Legal Advocacy Committee.
If you read this article and you are not a member of the Association, why not? Don’t wait until something adverse happens in your employment before you decide to join – you could miss out on a very valuable service. If you are a member and have questions regarding grievances or appeals contact Clyde McLendon by phone at (405) 524-6764 or 1-800-880-6732 or by e-mail at cmac@opea.org.
