What is the Grievance Process?
Grievance Procedures for Montana Municipal Employees: Ensuring Fairness and Legal Compliance
An established grievance process can be an effective tool for minimizing claims of wrongful or constructive discharge/termination against Montana’s municipalities. Grievances from the employees can come from a wide range of areas including work rule or regulation, policy or procedure, health and safety regulation, wage, disciplinary action and non-probationary termination. The grievance process should be part of the municipality’s written Personnel Policy Manual and all employees and supervisors should be instructed in its use upon hire.
Municipalities must provide terminating employees, even employees who are voluntarily leaving, a copy of the grievance process upon discharge and document in writing in the employee’s personnel file that the employee was provided a copy of the grievance process. If the employee left employment and does not return to the city or town, a return receipt (or delivery confirmation) letter should be sent to the employee outlining the employee’s rights under the municipality’s grievance process. An employee must first exhaust their internal grievance process prior to filing an action under the Wrongful Discharge Act. Mayors, managers and supervisors must be aware of the importance of the grievance process and their role in
maintaining favorable relations with employees. Effective grievance handling is an essential part of cultivating good employee relations and running a fair, successful, and productive workplace. The above comments are largely intended for employees who are not covered by a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Employees covered by a CBA may have negotiated grievance processes that are different from other non‐union employees. In fact, some municipalities may have three or four different grievances processes; those for the individual unions represented in the city or town, the non-union employees and one for the Police
Department.
Municipalities must provide terminating employees, even employees who are voluntarily leaving, a copy of the grievance process upon discharge and document in writing in the employee’s personnel file that the employee was provided a copy of the grievance process. If the employee left employment and does not return to the city or town, a return receipt (or delivery confirmation) letter should be sent to the employee outlining the employee’s rights under the municipality’s grievance process. An employee must first exhaust their internal grievance process prior to filing an action under the Wrongful Discharge Act. Mayors, managers and supervisors must be aware of the importance of the grievance process and their role in
maintaining favorable relations with employees. Effective grievance handling is an essential part of cultivating good employee relations and running a fair, successful, and productive workplace. The above comments are largely intended for employees who are not covered by a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Employees covered by a CBA may have negotiated grievance processes that are different from other non‐union employees. In fact, some municipalities may have three or four different grievances processes; those for the individual unions represented in the city or town, the non-union employees and one for the Police
Department.