The commission must set appeal and grievance procedures for disciplinary actions and employment-related grievances within the department, and the department must report annually on grievance use.
Sec. 411.0072. EMPLOYMENT-RELATED GRIEVANCES AND APPEALS OF DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT. (a) In this section: (1) "Disciplinary action" means discharge, suspension, or demotion. (2) "Employment-related grievance" means an employment-related issue, other than a disciplinary action, in regard to which an employee wishes to express dissatisfaction, including promotions, leave requests, performance evaluations, transfers, benefits, working environment, shift or duty assignments, harassment, retaliation, and relationships with supervisors or other employees or any other issue the commission determines by rule. (b) The commission shall establish procedures and practices governing the appeal of a disciplinary action within the department. (c) The commission shall establish procedures and practices through which the department will address an employment-related grievance that include: (1) a form on which an employee may state an employment-related grievance and request a specific corrective action; (2) time limits for submitting a grievance and for management to respond to a grievance; (3) a multilevel process in which an employee's grievance is submitted to the lowest appropriate level of management, with each subsequent appeal submitted to a higher level in the chain of command; (4) an assurance that confidentiality of all parties involved will be maintained, except to the extent that information is subject to disclosure under Section 411.00755 and Chapter 552, and that retaliation against an employee who files a grievance is prohibited; and (5) a program to advertise and explain the grievance procedure to all employees. (d) The department shall submit annually to the commission, and as part of its biennial report to the legislature required under Section 411.004, a report on the department's use of the employment-related grievance process under Subsection (c). The report must include: (1) the number of grievances filed; (2) a brief description of the subject of each grievance filed; and (3) the final disposition of each grievance. Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1189, Sec. 7, eff. Sept. 1, 1999. Amended by: Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 35 (S.B. 740), Sec. 2, eff. May 4, 2007.