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ceipt of a grievance. If a grievant officer selected a summary opinion, the matter will follow the same course described above for a determination. If, however, the officer selected arbitration, then within 60 days of receipt of the CR file, the Lodge must no- tify the City of its intent to proceed to arbitration.
Once arbitration is demanded, Lodge 7 and the City endeavor to select an arbitrator from a panel of five full-time arbitrators whom the parties use regularly, to preside over the matter and conduct a hearing on the merits. As with summary opinion, the decision of the arbitrator is final and binding upon the City, the Lodge and the grievant officer. If the Lodge declines to proceed to arbitration, the grievant officer has 10 working days to notify the Department that he or she will elect a police board review of the recommended suspension. If the grievant officer fails to request a police board review in a timely manner, the discipline will be deemed accepted.
Suspensions with a recommendation for a 31- to 365-day sus- pension proceed under a similar process. The grievant officer must file a written grievance within 10 working days of election if the officer seeks to submit the matter to full arbitration (if not, the officer can accept the discipline or chose to submit the mat- ter to the police board).
As the grievance works its way through the process, it may be resolved to the grievant’s satisfaction. This can occur either at the District level or through an informal mediation process. In either event, the grievant is encouraged to participate in any and all efforts to resolve the grievance. If not resolved, the grievance is scheduled for a full arbitration hearing. Although the Lodge has made great strides in clearing some of the case docket, it might take over a year to schedule a grievance for hearing. Often times, the parties are able to settle a grievance, short of arbitra-
tion, to everyone’s satisfaction. This provides the grievant with some remedy which might not exist if the grievance is denied by an arbitrator. It also resolves the matter much sooner. Even after the matter is set for hearing, it might take another six to nine months to ultimately obtain a decision.
Currently, the Lodge and the City endeavor to schedule four or five arbitrations each month (which include discipline, med- ical and contract interpretation grievances). Obviously, we try to select older grievances first. If a discipline grievance is not settled and it proceeds to hearing, the City bears the burden of proof and must first present whatever evidence it has to the ar- bitrator, in an attempt to establish it had “just cause” to issue the discipline at the time it made the decision. The Lodge will have the ability to present its own evidence to rebut the proof. After the arbitrator conducts the hearing and the parties are allowed to present all of their evidence (which usually takes one day but on occasion can take longer), both sides will file a post-hearing brief. The parties’ attorneys will incorporate the facts elicited during the hearing and combine them with legal support as to why the grievance should be sustained. Think of post-hearing briefs as closing arguments, where each side gets to summa- rize its position one last time. Citations to the official record are made and case law is cited to support a given theory. Arbitrators typically (although not always) issue a decision within 30 to 60 days after the briefs are filed. Once issued, a decision generally is final and binding on the parties.
No process is perfect. Not all outcomes are favorable. How- ever, knowing your rights (and obligations) will go a long way in securing a fair and impartial hearing.
Be safe and enjoy the fast-approaching fall weather!
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