All staff employees. Faculty are excluded from this Policy.
The purpose of this Policy is to establish procedures and guidelines to address staff complaints as defined below.
Complaint: any concern arising from the staff member’s employment with the University relating to compensation, hours of work, working conditions, job assignments, written warnings, performance evaluations, or the interpretation or application of a University policy. A Complaint does not apply to the following:
It is the policy of Thomas More University to afford staff employees the opportunity to participate in a conflict resolution process to facilitate resolving Complaints involving employer-employee relations.
Any staff employee who elects to participate in the conflict resolution process will not be retaliated against in any way by the University, its employees, or agents. Retaliation against an employee for participating in the conflict resolution process in good faith will not be tolerated and will subject the individual engaging in the retaliation to corrective action up to and including termination. Any complaints about retaliation may be reported to the Director of Human Resources.
Not Applicable.
If a staff employee has a Complaint as defined above, the staff employee is encouraged to address the situation as follows:
Step 1 - The Immediate Supervisor
The staff employee will bring the situation to the attention of his or her immediate supervisor and explain the nature of the problem along with a suggested solution if he or she has one.
After being advised verbally of the complaint, the supervisor will investigate and provide a solution or an explanation to the staff employee within 5 business days of hearing the complaint.
In the event the staff employee feels the answer is unsatisfactory, the staff employee will proceed to Step 2.
Step 2 - Director of Human Resources
The staff employee may write a summary of the Complaint to, or discuss the Complaint with, the Director of Human Resources, if he or she feels the answer from the supervisor was unsatisfactory.
The staff employee must file the written summary of the Complaint within 10 business days of the receipt of the supervisor’s response, outlining the nature of the Complaint and the redress sought, and submit the complaint to the Director of Human Resources.
The Director of Human Resources will have 10 business days to provide a written response to the staff employee.
Step 3 – Area Vice President
If the Complaint is not resolved to the employee’s satisfaction, the Complaint will be submitted to the area vice president within 5 calendar days of the Director of Human Resource’s response. The area vice president will have 10 business days to provide a written response to the staff employee.
Step 4 - President
If the Complaint is not resolved to the staff employee’s satisfaction at this point, the employee may, within 10 business days of the receipt of the vice president’s written response to the employee, request in writing that the decision be reviewed by the President. The decision of the President, which will be submitted to the staff employee within 10 days of receipt of the written appeal, will be final.
Note: the timelines above may be extended by the area vice president or President for good cause.
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Date |
Supersedes Policy |
Summarize Change |
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September 2018 |
This is a new policy, replacing language in the Staff Manual (May 2014). |
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There are no appendices to this Policy.
Laura Custer, Director of Human Resources
Dr. Kathleen Jagger, Acting President