The Association may file grievances on its own behalf, on behalf of its members, and if requested,
on behalf of non-members; any grievant may be represented at all stages of the Grievance
Procedure by himself/herself and by a representative selected and approved by the Association,
if the grievant desires.
SECTION B - GRIEVANCES AGAINST THE ASSOCIATION AND/OR MEMBER
The Commission, or its designate, will have the right to file grievances against the Association
and/or a member thereof. The grievance will be presented in writing to the Association and the
member, if applicable, within ten (10) calendar days of its occurrence, or when knowledge was
obtained that a grievance existed.
The Association will reply within thirty (30) working days after the grievance is presented. Failing
a settlement between the Commission or its designates and the Association, the grievance may
be presented to the American Arbitration Association, Public Employee Labor Relations Board,
or Hillsborough County Superior Court within sixty (60) working days after the reply.
SECTION C - GENERAL PROVISIONS
A. Each grievance will be separately processed under the Grievance Procedure.
B. Expenses incurred under STEP 5 will be shared equally by the Commission and the
Association.
C. No party acting under STEP 5 will have any power to award any monetary damages (other
than back wages), make any changes in, modification or alteration of, addition to, or
subtraction from, any of the terms of this Agreement.
D. The parties recognize that after STEP 3 of the grievance procedure, additional time may
be required by both parties to process the grievance. Notwithstanding the provisions of
STEP 3, the parties may agree in writing to extend any of the time limits set forth in STEPS
4 and § of the grievance procedure.
1. In all other circumstances, management's failure to respond within the established
time limits shall automatically advance the grievance to the next step.
2. The Association's failure to respond within established time limits, the grievance
shall be considered settled on the basis of management's last answer.
ARTICLE 9: SENIORITY
For purposes of this Agreement, seniority is defined as follows: “Established first by virtue of
rank and secondly by the aggregate time served in rank. Where conflict occurs because of
identical time of service or date of appointment, the member of the department with the longest
aggregate time served in the next lower rank is deemed to hold seniority."
