Grievances are formal complaints or accusations of a violation of workplace contract terms or labor policy, filed by an employee or group of employees who feel negatively impacted by the employer. A grievance may be related to issues such as working conditions, pay, benefits, or treatment by supervisors or colleagues. Grievances can be filed for contract violations or for violations of the collective bargaining agreement among other policy violations.
The grievance procedure is a set of rules and methods for documenting, presenting, and resolving disputes in the workplace. It is usually defined in the contract between union and management, and may involve steps such as negotiation, mediation, or arbitration.
- In unionized workplaces, there is usually a strict procedure for filing grievances, which is tracked by the labor union and a grievance representative.
- In non-union workplaces, there may also be formal grievance procedures in place.
The purpose of grievance procedures is to help management identify problems within the organization and provide employees with a communication channel to management, while also avoiding adversarial relationships between management and employees. Grievance procedures are also governed by case law, including landmark court case Alexander v. Gardner-Denver Co. (1974), which established that employers have a duty to provide employees with a fair and effective grievance procedure.
For more on filing see this article on grievance filing and SHRM.org.
[Last updated in January of 2023 by the Wex Definitions Team]
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