Employee Relations

Mason practices a progressive approach to discipline. The supervisor and the employee should work together to improve unacceptable behavior and performance.

Supervisor information regarding Classified Staff

Discipline refers to actions taken towards an employee who has exemplified poor work performance or unacceptable conduct in the workplace.

Ongoing conversations and feedback between supervisor and employee throughout an employee's tenure can minimize the need for formal discipline. To this end, coaching by the supervisor or an employee relations specialist can be useful in helping an employee be successful on the job.

Informal Discipline

If coaching is not a viable solution, a supervisor can decide to put a disciplinary action in writing through a counseling session and/or memo:

• • Sample Counseling Session Outline
  • Counseling Memo If you anticipate the need to use a Counseling Memo, please reach out to Employee Relations at emprel@gmu.edu or 703-993-3878.

While the discipline may be documented at this point, it is kept only in the supervisor's file. If conditions do not improve, a supervisor can give an employee notice of substandard performance which includes an improvement plan. This document is necessary if the employee will be receiving an unsatisfactory performance appraisal.

• • Notice of Substandard Performance (Please contact Employee Relations for template)
  • Performance Improvement Plan (PIP)

Formal Discipline - retained in employee's personnel file

Supervisors must provide employees with a due process notification if they plan to take any formal disciplinary action which results in a written notice. A due process meeting with the employee is also required. The due process meeting is the employee's opportunity to present the facts as he/she sees them and to correct any misinformation. It is important to note that discipline is a progressive process. The goal is to be fair, appropriate and consistent, but specific circumstances of each case must be considered to determine the most suitable disciplinary action. Therefore, sometimes it is necessary to bypass informal discipline and move directly to formal discipline, e.g., a written notice.

Supervisors must first contact Employee Relations before providing due process notification for a written notice. Please call Employee Relations at 3-3878 or send a confidential e-mail to emprel@gmu.edu.

• • Sample Due Process Notification

There are three levels of written notices depending upon the severity of an offense: Group I, II, or III. Below is a link to an abbreviated version of the Standards of Conduct to aid in decision making regarding discipline:

• • Standards of Conduct Cheat Sheet

For supervisor information regarding Administrative, Professional or Instructional Faculty please refer to the respective handbook. Please contact Employee Relations at 3-3878 or emprel@gmu.edu for assistance.

Please review the Violence Prevention page for more information.

There are many informal methods to resolve workplace issues as referenced on other pages of this site. If those are not successful, there are formal processes available. A grievance is a formal complaint about a workplace issue that has a direct adverse impact on a Mason faculty or staff member. The goal of a grievance is to raise the issue or concern to the attention of the appropriate level of management so the issue can be addressed. Specific grievance procedures are outlined in the various faculty and staff handbooks. More detailed information can be found below. If you are considering filing a grievance, you can contact the Employee Relations Team at 3-3878 / emprel@gmu.edu for more specific information and guidance on how to complete the appropriate paperwork.

Administrative Professional, Instructional, and Research Faculty

Please contact the Employee Relations Team at 3-3878 / emprel@gmu.edu for faculty grievance procedures. More information is also available in the respective faculty handbooks:

Administrative/Professional Faculty

Faculty Handbook (Research and Instructional Faculty)

Classified Employees

The state grievance process is available to all classified employees that have successfully completed their probationary period. Types of issues that are grieved may include, but are not limited to; formal discipline, termination and performance evaluation ratings.

The grievance process involves review of the complaint by up to three respondents within the employee's management chain. The respondents are different depending upon the employee's department:

• • For classified employees in academic units, the normal respondents are:
    • First Step - supervisor
    • Second Step - Dean/Director
    • Third Step - Provost or designee
  • For classified employees in non-academic units, the normal respondents are:
    • First Step - supervisor
    • Second Step - Associate or Assistant Vice President
    • Third Step - Senior Vice President
  • For classified employees in Facilities Management, the normal respondents are:
    • First Step - supervisor
    • Second Step - Director
    • Third Step - Vice President

The Grievance Process at a Glance

Employees must initiate their grievance by presenting a completed Grievance Form A to management within 30 calendar days of the event being grieved. The completed Form A should include a description of the issue(s) that is being grieved, the facts supporting your point of view, and a description of what you would like management to do to resolve the issue(s).

• • Normally a grievance is initiated by giving the completed Form A and supporting documentation to the employee's immediate supervisor (the First Step Respondent).
  • The First Step Respondent then has five workdays to respond in writing to the issues of the grievance and the relief requested.
  • The employee then has five workdays to decide whether to conclude the grievance and return the paperwork to Human Resources or give the grievance to the Second Step Respondent.
  • If the grievant chooses to advance to the next step, the Second Step Respondent will schedule and conduct a fact-finding meeting with the employee within 5 workdays of receiving the Completed Form A, including the written response from the First Step Respondent.
  • Within five workdays of the meeting, the Second Step Respondent responds to the grievance in writing.
  • Again, the employee has five workdays to conclude the grievance and return the grievance paperwork to Human Resources or advance it to the next step.
  • If the grievant chooses to advance the grievance, The Third Step Respondent will review the grievance and respond to it in writing within five workdays.
  • If the grievant is still not satisfied with the result, the grievance may be qualified for a formal hearing conducted by a Hearing Officer appointed by the Department of Employment Dispute Resolution. Not all issues qualify for a hearing. The Employee Relations office is available to help you navigate this process.

Special circumstances may arise which require that the above process be modified. Please contact the Employee Relations team for a more detailed account of how the grievance process will work in your particular set of circumstances. The complete Grievance Procedure Manual is available in the following link: Grievance Procedure Manual (Dept. of Employment Dispute Resolution)

Conflict resolution is an essential part of interacting in the workforce. Resolving workplace tensions can bring better understanding of the issue, group cohesion, and self understanding.

The Employee Relations Team has access to a large number of resources to help faculty and staff effectively address problems in the workplace. We can help you resolve disagreements in a number of ways through methods like mediation, problem-solving, and coaching. There are solutions to everyday disputes, don't let problems get out of hand. Please contact the Employee Relations Team at 3-3878 / emprel@gmu.edu for assistance.

Mindtools

Mindtools

This article discusses the various ways to approach a conflict, lists tips on what to do when engaged in conflict, and a step by step process on how to resolve conflict.

Conflict Resolution Quotient

Some individuals are more resilient to conflict than others. Before you approach a conflict, examine your Conflict Resilience Quotient. Cinnie Noble from www.cinergycoaching.com in the December 2008 Conflict Mastery Newsletter created the following tool to test how open individuals are to conflict.

Add up the "Trues" and if you marked:

 10 "Trues" - you are definitely conflict resilient

7-9 "Trues" - you are fairly conflict resilient and may want to explore the areas that are not true for you

4-6 "Trues" - your conflict resilience quotient is low and conflict coaching is in order

0-4 "Trues" - you are not conflict resilient, in case you didn't already know that