An equal opportunity grievance is a work-related complaint in which the employee claims discrimination on the basis of sex, race, color, age, religion, national origin, or handicap. Employees should feel free to consult the Equal Opportunity Officer at any time, informally and confidentially, about an equal opportunity grievance or about the equal opportunity grievance procedure.
The procedure below applies to all but faculty employees and students of Swarthmore College. An employee who wishes to have an equal opportunity grievance resolved by the College is required to followed this procedure.
The Procedure
Step 1: The objective of this procedure is to resolve any claim of
discrimination at the source, and as quickly as possible. For this reason,
the employee should first discuss the grievance with the person claimed to
have discriminated, as soon as possible, but no later than thirty days
after the problem arises or becomes known.* (The employee or supervisor
may request a reasonable extension of this time limit and/or the time limit
in Step 4. A request for an extension must be made to the Equal
Opportunity Officer before the time limit expires. The EO Officer will
grant or deny such an extension in writing.) If College policy is claimed
to be involved, the employee may speak directly to his or her immediate
supervisor. The employee may bring another person to these discussions and
to discussions in Steps 2-5 of the procedure.
Step 2: If the grievance is not resolved and the employee has not already done so, he or she should discuss the grievance with his or her immediate supervisor.
Step 3: If the grievance is not resolved by the supervisor, the employee should discuss it with the supervisor's supervisor, unless that person is the President, in which case the employee should initiate Step 4. (An employee who does not know the identity of the supervisor's supervisor should ask the Personnel Assistant.)
Step 4: If Step 3 does not resolve the grievance, the employee should contact the College's Equal Opportunity Officer within sixty days of initiating Step 1. In person or in writing, the employee should indicate the nature of the grievance, the evidence on which it is based, the solution sought, and the handling of the grievance so far.
Step 5: Negative EO Officer Response: If the Equal Opportunity Officer concludes that the grievance is not an equal opportunity grievance or is lacking in merit, the EO officer will not pursue it, and will inform the employee of this in writing. If the employee disagrees with this conclusion, he or she may initiate Step 6.
Step 5: Policy Issue: If the Equal Opportunity Officer concludes, in consultation with the Equal Opportunity Advisory Committee, that the grievance is an equal opportunity grievance, may have merit, and involves a policy issue, the EO Officer will consult further with the Equal Opportunity Advisory Committee and with appropriate administrators, and will recommend in writing to the President a procedure to deal with the issue. The Procedure will provide for review of the policy, consideration of solutions, and written recommendation to the President. The President will then proceed with Step 7.
Step 5: Individual Grievance: If the Equal Opportunity Officer concludes that the grievance is an equal opportunity grievance, may have merit, and is an individual case, the EO Officer, with the employee's permission, may discuss the grievance with the employee's supervisors. The EO Officer may also consult with others (except the President) and may arrange a meeting involving the employee, the Equal Opportunity Officer, and others (except the President) in attempts to resolve the grievance. If the grievance is not resolved, the Equal Opportunity Officer will, in writing, state a conclusion about the merit of the grievance, and send a copy to the employee. If still not satisfied, the employee may initiate Step 6.
Step 6: If the grievance is not resolved, the employee may request an ad hoc grievance committee. The Equal Opportunity Officer will coordinate the establishment of the committee. The committee will be composed of three members of the College community not previously consulted in Steps 1-5. One will be chosen by the employee. One will be chosen by the most senior administrator who has been consulted in Steps 1-5. The third will be chosen jointly by the employee's representative and the administration's representative; this third committee member will serve as Chairperson of the committee. The EO Officer will be available to the committee for consultation about procedures. The employee should submit the grievance to the committee in writing (with the EO Officer's assistance, if requested). The committee may consult with anyone it chooses (except the President) in its attempts to resolve the complaint. All of the committee's deliberations will be confidential. The committee will give its recommendation to the President, in writing.
Step 7: The President may order a legal review of a recommendation resulting from Step 5 - Policy Issue or Step 6. The President will then accept the recommendation or will consult with those making the recommendation on modifying it. The President will inform the employee in writing of the final decision.
Step 8: If the employee is not satisfied with the final decision regarding
the grievance and wishes to pursue the matter further, he or she may
request assistance from the Equal Opportunity Officer in identifying
appropriate state or federal agencies.