ARTICLE 39 GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE SECTION 1 - GENERAL A. The purpose of this Article is to provide a mutually acceptable method for prompt and equitable settlement of grievances. We agree that cooperative discussions of disputes should generally occur and attempts be made to resolve them before a grievance is filed. B. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed as precluding discussion between a bargaining unit employee and/or their designated Union representative and the supervisor about a matter of concern. C. Once a matter has been made the subject of a formal grievance under this procedure, nothing in this Agreement shall preclude the Union and the Agency from attempting informally to resolve the grievance. SECTION 2 - SCOPE OF GRIEVANCE A. A grievance means any complaint: 1. by any employee concerning any matter relating to the employment of the employee; 2. by any labor organization concerning any matter relating to the employment of any employee; or 3. by any employee, labor organization, or Agency concerning: a. the effect, interpretation, or a claim of breach, of a collective bargaining agreement; or b. any claimed violation, misinterpretation, or misapplication of any law, rule, or regulation affecting conditions of employment. B. The procedure contained herein shall be the sole procedure available for resolution of grievances of employees in the unit and the Parties hereto, except as provided in Section 4 of this Article. C. The Parties to this Agreement and all employees within the unit shall be entitled to use the procedures contained herein. The procedure will not be available to any employee outside of the unit. SECTION 3 - MATTERS EXCLUDED A. Excluded from the grievance procedure are: 1. Any claimed violation of Subchapter III of Chapter 73 of Title 5 U.S.C. (relating to prohibited political activities). 2. Retirement, life insurance, or health insurance. 3. A suspension or removal under Section 7532 of Title 5 U.S.C. (related to national security). 4. Any examination, certification, or appointment. 5. The classification of any position which does not result in the reduction in grade or pay of an employee. 6. Nonselection for promotion from a group of properly ranked or certified candidates. This does not apply to the right to grieve over improper procedures used during the selection process. 7. Termination of temporary promotion. 8. Termination while serving under a time-limited appointment. 9. Nonadoption of a suggestion. 10. Preliminary notice of proposed action which, if effected, would be covered by this Article. 11. Disapproval of honorary or discretionary awards. 12. The reassignment or demotion of an employee to a nonsupervisory position during the probationary period served by new supervisors. 13. Separation actions taken on an employee serving a trial or probationary period. SECTION 4 - APPEAL OR GRIEVANCE OPTION An employee alleging discrimination or affected by a removal or reduction in grade based on unacceptable performance, or an adverse action, may at his or her option raise the matter under the appropriate statutory appellate procedure or under the provisions of this Article, but not both. For the purposes of this Section and pursuant to Section 7121(d) and (e) (1) of 5 U.S.C., an employee shall be deemed to have exercised his or her option under this Section at such time as the employee timely files a notice of appeal under the applicable appellate procedures or timely files a grievance in writing in accordance with the provisions of this Article, whichever occurs first. SECTION 5 - REPRESENTATION A. An employee or group of employees who files a grievance under this procedure may only be represented by an individual designated by the Union. The provisions of Section 6 apply as appropriate. B. An employee or group of employees may present a grievance under this procedure without representation as long as the resolution is not inconsistent with the terms of this Agreement and providing that a Union representative is given an opportunity to be informed of the grievance proceedings, before final decision. C. A Union representative will be on official time when performing representational functions under this Article during normal duty hours. In the interest of expeditious and economical processing of grievances, the Union will designate a representative from within DFAS and, whenever possible from the immediate worksite or office of the grievant(s). When it is not possible to designate a representative at the immediate worksite, office, or from a nearby area, attendant to the circumstances of the particular case, the Agency will pay for a reasonable amount of travel and per diem, as applicable, for the Union representative for representational functions associated with any step of the grievance procedure specified in Section 6 of this Article. In no case will the Agency grant official time or bear the costs of travel and per diem for such representational functions for a Union representative designated from outside DFAS. SECTION 6 - EMPLOYEE GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE A. STEP 1. (Informal) A grievance concerning a particular act or occurrence shall be presented within ten (10) workdays after the date of that act or occurrence or the date the employee (or group of employees) became aware of that act or occurrence. The grievance will be presented orally or in writing to the employee's supervisor or other appropriate management official who will act promptly to resolve the grievance. The supervisor will issue a decision within ten (10) workdays after the presentation of the informal grievance. If the informal grievance is in writing, the decision will be in writing. If the employee is not satisfied, he or she may submit a formal grievance for consideration in accordance with the procedural steps set forth below. An employee must seek informal resolution of a grievance before he or she may request relief through the formal grievance process except in those situations described in Section 8.B. of this Article. B. STEP 2. (Formal) 1. If an employee (or group of employees) is dissatisfied with the decision arrived at in Step 1, he or she may, within ten (10) workdays, alone or with a representative, present the grievance for further consideration in writing to the Directorate/Division level (as appropriate) of supervision above the level specified in Step 1 above. Refer to paragraph G for written requirements. 2. The Agency will promptly furnish the Union a copy of the grievance when the Union has not been named as the representative. 3. A meeting may be held at the request of either the supervisor or the employee. If the employee desires to have a meeting, he or she should request one in the written grievance. If a meeting is to be held, the supervisor must arrange such within five (5) workdays after receipt of the grievance. The Union will be notified when it has not been selected as the representative, which will constitute an invitation for the Union to be present at the meeting if held. 4. The supervisor will give a written decision to the grievant(s) within ten (10) workdays after the date of the meeting, or if a meeting is not held, within ten (10) workdays after his or her receipt of the grievance. A copy of this decision will be furnished to the Union when it is not the representative of the employee(s). 5. At any step in this procedure, where a group of employees are grievants, the group will be bound by the decision of the employee selected as representative for the group. C. STEP 3. (Formal) If the employee (or group of employees) is dissatisfied with the decision rendered in Step 2, he or she may forward the grievance, within ten (10) workdays from the receipt of such decision, in writing to the Deputate/Directorate. A meeting may be held at the request of either the Deputate/Directorate or the employee. If the employee desires to have a meeting, he or she should request one in the written grievance. If a meeting is to be held, the Deputate/Directorate must arrange such within five (5) workdays after receipt of the grievance. The Union, if not the representative, will be notified of the date, time, and place of any meeting and shall be allowed to attend same. The Deputate/Directorate shall give the grievant(s) a written decision within ten (10) workdays after the meeting, if held, or within ten (10) workdays after receipt of the grievance. A copy of the decision will be furnished to the Union. D. Alternative Grievance Step 3 If a grievance has not been satisfactorily resolved at Step 3, a written grievance may be submitted to the Labor-Management Committee by either the Union or Management within ten (10) workdays after receipt of the Step 3 decision. The grievance will be placed as an agenda item at the next regularly scheduled meeting, or sooner, for committee discussion. A written response will be given to the aggrieved Party within ten (10) workdays after the decision. E. STEP 4. (Formal) If the employee (or group of employees) is dissatisfied with the decision rendered in Step 3, he or she may forward the grievance, within ten (10) workdays from the receipt of such decision, in writing to the Center Director or designee at a higher organizational level than the deciding official at the previous step. This is the Final Administrative Review. The Final Administrative Reviewer will review the grievance and, if he or she desires, arrange for a meeting with the principals involved within five (5) workdays from receipt of the grievance. In those instances where they have not been designated as the grievant(s) representatives, the Union shall be invited to attend such meetings. The Final Administrative Reviewer shall give the grievant(s) a written decision within ten (10) workdays after the meeting, if held, or within ten (10) workdays after receipt of the grievance. A copy of the decision will be furnished to the Union. F. A grievance not satisfactorily resolved at Step 4 of this procedure may be referred to arbitration in accordance with the procedures specified in the Arbitration Article in this Agreement. G. Written grievances must be signed by the grievant(s) or their representative and must include the following data: 1. The aggrieved employee(s)' name, position title, grade, and organization. 2. A description of the basis for the grievance including, where appropriate, facts such as times, dates, names, and similar pertinent data. 3. A brief statement of the step(s) taken to informally resolve the grievance. 4. The personal remedy that is being sought. 5. Identification of the employee's representative. 6. If known, the specific section(s) of the Article(s) of this Agreement, or law, rule, or regulation with respect to personnel policy, practices, or other matters affecting conditions of employment that is subject(s) of the grievance. 7. If known, identify issue(s) not resolved at the previous step. SECTION 7 - UNION/AGENCY GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE A. Disputes that arise between the local Parties are encouraged to be informally resolved in a cooperative manner prior to filing a formal Union or Agency grievance. If a dispute remains unresolved, either Party may file a written grievance with the Center Director/Union President. B. In the case of a Union grievance: 1. The Union files a written grievance with the Center Director within ten (10) workdays. Within ten (10) workdays, the Center Director provides a written decision to the Union. 2. If still unresolved, the Union may invoke arbitration. C. In the case of an Agency grievance: 1. The Agency files a written grievance with the President of the Union within ten (10) workdays. Within ten (10) workdays, the President of the Union provides a written decision to the Agency. 2. If still unresolved, the Agency may invoke arbitration. SECTION 8 - MODIFICATION OF PROCEDURES A. The time limits at any step of the negotiated grievance procedures may be extended by the mutual consent of the Parties. An extension justified by DFAS workload, Union caseload, or emergencies will be approved. If given orally, the denial will be followed up in writing. B. Employee grievances concerning formal disciplinary or adverse actions grievable under this Article will begin at the first level of Management above the deciding official and be filed at a formal step as appropriate. In these cases, the time limit for filing the grievance will be ten (10) workdays after receipt of the notice of decision. SECTION 9 - FAILURE TO MEET REQUIREMENTS A grievance must be timely filed at the initial step. If either party fails to meet the prescribed time limits after the initial step, the grievance processing will continue (if pursued). If the grievance is not resolved and is submitted for arbitration, the arbitrator will decide the timeliness issue as a threshold matter if so requested by either party. The employee(s) or the Parties may withdraw the grievance at any time. SECTION 10 - RECORDS AND DOCUMENTATION The Agency shall, upon request, furnish the grievant(s) with pertinent records, regarding a grievance under this Article, subject to limitations of the Privacy Act. Information/data that cannot be shared with the Union or grievant so that a proper defense may be prepared cannot be used to support any action against an employee. SECTION 11 - WITNESSES All DFAS employee(s) testifying on a grievance being processed under this Article shall be in a duty status and paid travel and per diem expenses in accordance with appropriate regulations.