ARTICLE XIII

SECTION B

DEFINITIONS

  1. GRIEVANCE
    A grievance is a dispute or difference of opinion raised by an employee, a group of employees (with respect to a single common issue), or the Union covered by this Agreement involving the meaning, interpretation or application of the provisions of this Agreement.

  2. IMMEDIATE SUPERVISOR
    Immediate supervisor is defined as the employee's closest superior whose position has been designated a supervisory management or management by the City.

  3. TIME LIMIT FOR FILING
    No grievance shall be considered and/or processed unless it is submitted within fifteen (15) working days after the employee concerned has become aware or should have become aware, through the use of reasonable diligence, of the occurrence of the event giving rise to the alleged grievance. If a grievance is not presented within the time limits set forth above, it shall be considered waived. If a grievance is not appealed to the next step within the specified time limit or any mutually agreed extension thereof, it shall be considered settled on the basis of the Department's last answer. If the Department does not answer a grievance or an appeal thereof within the specified time limits, the Union and/or the employee may elect to treat the grievance as denied at that step and immediately appeal to the next step of the grievance procedure. The time limit(s) in each step may be extended by mutual written agreement of the City and the Union representative and/or the employee involved in each step. The term working days as used in this Article shall mean the days Mondays through Fridays inclusive and excludes Saturdays, Sundays, holidays and/or other days on which City Hall is closed.