Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
a) When clients feel that they have not been
treated with courtesy, consideration or respect by a Department employee, they
or their representative may file a written grievance. The client may file a
written grievance in any Department office, even if the grievance is against a
staff person not working in that office.
b) The Department will investigate any
written grievance which is filed within 60 days after the grieved occurrence. A
client grievance filed more than 60 days after the grieved occurrence will not
be investigated by the Department.
c) Responsibility for Handling a Grievance
1) When the client is in the local office and
files a grievance against a local office staff person, the intermediary will
handle the grievance.
2) When the
client is in the local office and files a grievance against the local office
administrator, the local office administrator or designee will accept the
grievance and notify the next higher level supervisor.
3) When the client is in the local office and
files a grievance against other agency personnel, the worksite manager will
accept the grievance and notify the appropriate intermediary.
4) When the client is in any other Department
office and files a grievance against a local office staff person or other
agency personnel, the worksite manager will accept the grievance and notify the
appropriate intermediary within 48 hours.
d) Intermediary
1) An intermediary is a designated staff
person who investigates and decides the merits of a client grievance. If
necessary, the intermediary decides about disciplinary action.
2) For local office personnel, the
intermediary is:
A) The local office
administrator;
B) A management
person designated by the local office administrator; or
C) The next higher level supervisor if the
grievance is filed against the local office administrator.
3) For other agency personnel, the
intermediary is:
A) The Bureau Chief of the
employee against whom the grievance has been filed; or
B) A management person designated by the
Bureau Chief.
e) Investigation and Conference
1) The intermediary registers all grievances
in a log. The information on the log contains:
A) The name of the grievant;
B) The name of the worker or workers against
whom the grievance is directed;
C)
The person who heard the grievance, if a hearing was held;
D) The issue or issues involved;
and
E) The resolution of the
grievance and any appropriate effective dates.
2) The intermediary will investigate the
grievance. If necessary, the intermediary will determine the merits of the
grievance and any disciplinary action that may be indicated.
3) When the intermediary determines that the
investigation indicates a need for action, the intermediary will send a copy of
the grievance to the employee against whom the grievance was filed. Within ten
days after the receipt of the grievance, the intermediary will arrange a
conference between:
A) The client who filed
the grievance;
B) The
representative of the client who filed the grievance, if any;
C) The employee against whom the grievance
was filed;
D) A representative
designated by the employee, if any; and
E) The intermediary.
4) For a bargaining unit employee, the
representative of the bargaining unit may be the representative. The
representative is allowed to:
A) Be present
to make sure that a bargaining unit employee's rights under the contract are
not violated and that the collective bargaining agreement is not violated;
and
B) Be present to make sure a
non-bargaining unit employee's rights under the Personnel Rules (80 Ill. Adm.
Code 310) are not violated.
5) The meeting to hear a client's grievance
is an informal conference controlled by the intermediary to obtain information
from the client and the employee in order to determine the facts about the
issue. The meeting should be conducted so as to protect both the client and the
employee from abuse.
6) Within 15
calendar days after the conference, the intermediary will advise the client who
filed the grievance in writing of any action being taken. The client will not
be informed of disciplinary action taken against Department staff.
f) The Department will take
corrective action when just cause is shown in accordance with the Agreements
between the State of Illinois and the American Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees or Personnel Rules of the Department of Central Management
Services (80 Ill. Adm. Code 302: Subpart K), whichever is applicable.
