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Grievance Procedure

The grievance procedure for the School provides means whereby any member of its faculty or academic professional staff who believes him or herself to be aggrieved can obtain consideration of redress of this grievance.

These procedures have been developed to conform to the Guidelines for College-Level Academic Grievance Procedures adopted by the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees on March 13, 1975.

Coverage

(1) Academic grievance procedures are applicable to those persons holding appointments as Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, Visiting Professor (all ranks), Adjunct Professor (all ranks), Instructor, Senior Lecturer, Lecturer, Senior Research Associate, Research Associate, Senior Extension Associate, Extension Associate or Postdoctoral Associate.  Persons holding these appointments are hereinafter referred to as Academic Staff.

(2) Academic grievance procedures are not applicable to degree candidates having appointments such as Teaching Assistant, Research Assistant, Extension Assistant or Graduate Research Assistant, for whom a special procedure exists.

(3) Academic grievance procedures for Librarians, Associate Librarians or Assistant Librarians in the School will normally proceed through the Cornell University Libraries’ grievance procedures.

(4) An individual (or individuals) who, by his or her appointment, is covered by more than one college or University Grievance Procedure, may choose the procedure under which he or she wishes to protest a particular grievance.  An individual (or individuals) may not, however, initiate more than one grievance procedure for the same grievance.

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Fundamental Precepts Governing Grievance Proceedings

The individual (or individuals) submitting a grievance (the griever), the individual (or individuals) against whom the injustice or harm is alleged (the respondent), witnesses, individuals giving depositions, members of the Grievance Committee, the Dean of the School and all other parties involved will be governed by the following precepts in the conduct of grievance proceedings:

(1) The griever bears the burden of proof required to sustain the grievance.

(2) Precepts of fairness shall govern all proceedings.

(3) The griever and the respondent may be represented by persons (including legal counsel) of their own choice for the purpose of providing counsel and conducting cross-examination.  The Grievance Committee shall have the right to limit representatives and counsel to a reasonable number.  If the griever wishes to retain a representative or counsel, he or she shall bear the expense of such representation.  If the griever is represented by another individual from the University, such representative will be allowed reasonable time to perform his or her function without loss of pay.

(4) If either the griever or the respondent elects to have legal counsel, the Grievance Committee should consult with University Counsel about the advisability of retaining legal counsel on behalf of the Grievance Committee.

(5) Except on the basis of clear need-to-know, all proceedings of the Grievance Committee shall be held strictly confidential by all parties involved.  Where questions arise covering confidentiality and need-to-know, the Grievance Committee is empowered to make binding rulings.

(6) Privileged or confidential information cannot be divulged or made available by reason of a grievance proceeding that would not otherwise be made available.  For example, a grievance involving salary does not entitle the individual asserting the grievance to confidential information about the individual salaries of his or her fellow academicians.  In the event that dispute arises over whether information is or is not confidential and privileged, options for providing the information should be explored.  The following options are deemed not to break the promise of confidentiality:

(a) Under injunction of confidentiality, Grievance Committee members may be provided with confidential information;

(b) Written information, modified to exclude names and identifying material, may be submitted in evidence; and

(c) An individual who provided information on a confidential basis may authorize its release.  Where a group of individuals – such as a committee – has provided information on a confidential basis, it may authorize its release only on a unanimous basis.

An individual possessing confidential information will be the final judge as to whether he or she should release it.  The individual’s decision shall not, however, bind the decision of other individuals who may possess the same confidential information.

(7) At any time during a grievance proceeding, the griever may withdraw the complaint.  Notification of withdrawal must be made in writing to the respondent, members of the Grievance Committee and the Dean of the School.  Once withdrawn, the same grievance cannot, under any circumstances, be reasserted.  All parties will follow Preservation of Records (Section 1.8).

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Grievable Action

(1) A grievance is defined as an injustice or harm arising from a specific situation involving an act or acts of alleged unfairness which the individual regards as just cause for protest on his or her own behalf.  Grievable actions may grow out of a number of separate or related aspects of an individual’s responsibilities, of which the following are illustrative but not limiting:

(a) Salaries and other benefits;

(b) Academic freedom;

(c) Work conditions;

(d) Discrimination by race, creed, sex or age;

(e) Task assignments; and

(f)  Existence of, adequacy of and adherence to equitable grievance procedures.

(2) With the exception noted in Section 1.3 below, this academic grievance procedure can be applied to the substantive and/or procedural aspects of any grievance arising out of the academician’s execution of his or her designated responsibilities.

(3) This academic grievance procedure does not apply to matters of appointment, reappointment, promotion or tenure.  Review of these matters is covered by a separate procedure.

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Grievance Proceedings, Institution of

(1) In case the individual (or individuals) is dissatisfied after following the pre-grievance procedures outlined in Section 1.6, a written grievance, stating the basis for the grievance and summarizing the attempts to resolve the dispute, may be presented to the Chairperson of the Johnson School’s Faculty Policy Committee within ten (10) days following the conference with the Dean.

(2) An Ad Hoc Grievance Committee to consider the grievance shall be constituted with the aid of the Chairperson of the Faculty Policy Committee and shall consist of three (3) members:

(a) One (1) member from the Academic Staff of the School – chosen by the aggrieved individual;

(b) One (1) member from the Academic Staff of the School – chosen by the Dean of the School; and

(c) One (1) member from the Academic Staff of the University – chosen by the above two (2)  designated committee members.

The third member chosen by this procedure shall be the Chairperson of the Ad Hoc Grievance Committee.  If agreement on the third committee member cannot be reached in fifteen (15) days, the third member shall be chosen by the Faculty Policy Committee of the School within the next seven (7) days.  Notwithstanding the above method of selecting members of the Ad Hoc Grievance Committee, no individual can serve as a member who is also a directly affected party to the grievance at issue.  In case of dispute, the Faculty Policy Committee shall determine who is a directly affected party.

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Hearings

(1) The Grievance Committee will set the time and place of all hearings.  Written notice will be given to all parties at least forty-eight (48) hours in advance of all hearings.

(2) During hearings, all members of the Grievance Committee will be present.  Decisions on all matters coming before the three member Grievance Committee will be by majority vote.

(3) In any situation where the rules and procedures described herein do not apply, Robert’s Rules of Order will guide the Grievance Committee.  By majority vote, the Grievance Committee shall be sole and final arbiter of all procedural questions that arise during hearings.

(4) Hearings shall be conducted with relative informality and the normal rules of evidence applied in judicial proceedings may not necessarily be strictly observed.

(5) The griever, the respondent and their respective representatives will be brought before the Committee simultaneously.  They will be permitted to remain throughout the hearing until the Committee begins its deliberations.  No other individuals are allowed to be present at the hearing.  Witnesses may be called by either party or at the Committee’s request, but will appear only when called to testify and will withdraw immediately after testifying.

(6) Since he or she bears the burden of proof, the griever will have the opportunity to present his or her case first.  The respondent will then have the opportunity to present his or her case.

(7) Both griever and respondent will have the opportunity to make a reasonable cross-examination of witnesses presented by the opposing party.  If the griever or respondent testifies on his or her own behalf, he or she shall be subject to reasonable cross-examination.  All members of the Grievance Committee may question all witnesses who appear before the Committee.

(8) The griever and respondent need not present themselves as witnesses if they choose not to do so.  No unfavorable inferences shall be drawn from a decision not to appear as a witness.

(9) In lieu of appearing as a witness, any individual may submit a written statement to the Grievance Committee.  Written statements will not be subject to cross-examination and the weight given thereto by the Grievance Committee will be judged accordingly.

(10) A representative of either griever or respondent may give testimony as a witness and, after such testimony, be subject to cross-examination.  As a general rule, a representative, having testified, may not thereafter, except in unusual circumstances, give testimony as a witness.  Exceptions to this rule will be made at the absolute discretion of the Committee and only where the ends of justice require such a variance in procedure.

(11) All testimony and questioning will be kept germane to the issues involved and will not be repetitive, argumentative or provocative.  The Chairperson will rule on all questions of the propriety of any testimony or questions in accordance with precepts of fairness and due process.  The decision of the Chairperson shall be final, subject only to appeal to the entire Committee.

(12) On conclusion of the testimony, the griever and representative and the respondent and representative shall, in that order, have the opportunity to give a brief recapitulation of their positions and the issues that they see in dispute.

(13) The griever and respondent shall be afforded the opportunity to file a written brief setting forth their positions.  Notice of intent to file such a brief must be given to the Chairperson prior to the close of the hearing.  Such briefs must be submitted to the Chairperson within five (5) days after close of the hearing.

(14) All testimony at hearings shall be recorded.  Such recordings shall be kept and used only by the Grievance Committee in its deliberations or, on appeal, by the Faculty Committee on Academic Freedom and Responsibilities (or such Committee’s designate).

(15) Upon conclusion of the hearing and receipt of such briefs as may be tendered, the Grievance Committee will conduct its deliberations in private.

(16) The findings and recommendations of the Grievance Committee shall be communicated in writing to the griever, the respondent and to the Dean of the School within fifteen (15) days of conclusion of hearings.

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Pre-Grievance Procedures

An individual (or individuals) who believes an action or actions covered in Section 1.3 taken by the School, and/or the University, makes the effective execution of the individual’s responsibilities intolerable, should discuss the action (or actions) with the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.  In negotiating, the parties involved should remember that the purpose of this grievance procedure is to resolve differences, where possible, on a basis mutually acceptable to all parties.  If the disputed action is not satisfactorily resolved as a result of such discussion, the individual (or individuals) should discuss the problem with the Dean of the School.

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Pre-Hearing Review

1) Upon constitution, the Grievance Committee shall conduct a pre-hearing review of the alleged grievance to determine:

(a) Whether or not direct negotiation remedies (described in Section 1.6) have, in fact, been exhausted; and

(b) Whether or not facts warrant consideration on the substantive and/or procedural aspects of the issue, a detailed investigation, hearings, recommendations and decisions.

(2) In conducting the pre-hearing review, the Grievance Committee shall be provided with the written statement of the griever.  As it deems necessary in order to establish essential facts and unresolved issues, the Grievance Committee may request written statements from the respondent and from such other individuals as it considers appropriate in the circumstances.

(3) If the Grievance Committee determines that negotiating remedies have not been exhausted, it may return the grievance for further negotiation.  It should also take such actions as are feasible to foster further negotiations.  If the grievance is not resolved by these procedures, the grievance will proceed in the manner set forth in Section 1.4.

(4) The findings of the Grievance Committee’s pre-hearing review shall be communicated in writing to the griever, the respondent and to the Dean of the School within fifteen (15) days of the constitution of the Grievance Committee.  As set forth above, possible findings include:

(a) Remanding for further negotiation;

(b) Dismissing for lack of merit; or

(c) Proceeding to hearings.

If the finding involves dismissal for lack of merit, Sections 1.8 through 1.11 will be followed as applicable.

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Preservation of Records

(1) If a review is not requested, the recordings of hearings and all other material submitted in evidence and in the possession of the Grievance Committee will be erased or otherwise destroyed by the Grievance Committee, so as to preserve confidentiality.

(2) If a review is requested, the Grievance Committee will make available to the Faculty Committee on Academic Freedom and Responsibility recordings of the hearings and all other material submitted in evidence and in the possession of the Committee.

(3) With the exception of the Grievance Committee, all parties to a grievance proceeding may preserve the written records that are made available to them during the course of the grievance proceeding.  Such retention does not relieve any party of the responsibility to maintain confidentiality on a need-to-know basis. 

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Review

Any of the principal parties to a grievance that have proceeded through to decision by the Dean may request a review of that decision in accordance with the procedures of the Faculty Committee on Academic Freedom and Responsibilities.  Such request must be submitted in writing to the Provost with copies to other principal parties, the Dean of the School and to the Dean of the University Faculty within ten (10) days after the Dean reports an acceptance or rejection of the Grievance Committee recommendations.

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Right to Grievable Action

The individual academician has the right as a condition of his or her appointment to seek through these formal grievance procedures, involving the judgment of the individual’s peers, a redress of decisions made and/or actions taken at the Program, School and/or University level, that the individual considers intolerable to the effective execution of his or her responsibilities.  The right to initiate a formal grievance action does not extend to circumventing or impairing the normal decision-making processes.  The desire to anticipate or register unhappiness over a particular decision or action does not justify initiating a grievance procedure.  Only when direct negotiations between parties to a dispute have been exhausted and have not led to a resolution, may individuals resort to invoking the academic grievance procedure of the School.

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Subsequent Action

(1) The findings and recommendations resulting from the grievance procedure described herein are advisory to the Dean of the School and to the President and Trustees of the University.  While a prior academic decision may be reviewed, modified or affected as a consequence of a grievance proceeding, the proceeding itself shall not effect that change.

(2) On receipt of the report of the Ad Hoc Grievance Committee, the Dean of the School may or may not accept the act in accordance with its recommendations.  In either case, the Dean shall, within ten (10) days, communicate in writing the decisions and proposed actions to the griever, respondent, Provost and Dean of the University Faculty.  If the Dean of the School rejects recommendations of the Grievance Committee, the reasons for doing so shall be set forth in his or her report.

(3) Within five (5) days after the Dean reports on acceptance or rejection of Grievance Committee recommendations, the griever, the respondent or the Dean may request the Grievance Committee to prepare a summary report on the nature of the grievance and its resolution, for issuance to the Academic Staff of the School.  At its discretion, the Grievance Committee may accept or reject such requests.

If such a request is denied, the nature of the case and its resolution shall remain confidential on a need-to-know basis.

For information on Academic Grievance Procedures, go to the University Faculty's web site at http://web.cornell.edu/UniversityFaculty/. In the red box on the left, click on "Academic Policies" and click on the relevant "Faculty Appeals Procedures" for:

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Last Modified: May 13, 2008

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