EC SHAMROCKS
“IT’S ALL ABOUT THE KIDS”
Grievance Procedure
I.
Purpose:
To establish a procedure for parents/guardians and coaches to bring
issues/concerns to the Shamrock Board of Directors. This procedure is to be used
when issues/concerns cannot be resolved through other means.
II.
Procedure
A. Open communication is encouraged between parents/guardians, players, and
coaches to resolve disagreements before they become formal grievances. It is
hoped that at any step of this outlined procedure all communications will be
respectful and confined, as much as possible, to only those parties directly
involved.
B.
If a party has an issue with another party, arrangements should be made to
speak to the other party at a mutually agreeable time and place to try to
resolve the issue.
1.
Issues should not be brought up at practices or games.
2.
Conversations to set up a meeting to discuss an issue should also not
occur at practices or games.
3.
Contact information (including e-mail addresses and telephone
numbers) for parents/guardians and coaches should be made
available at the start of the season, so that contact can be made
outside of practices and games.
4.
If contact information is not available to a party wishing to set up a
meeting, that party can contact a board member to obtain the
necessary contact information.
C.
If the parties cannot reach a mutual agreement to resolve the issue, then
a formal grievance can be filed with the president of the organization.
1.
Any formal grievance shall be in writing and set forth the nature of the
dispute and what resolution is sought.
a.
For purposes of this or any other section in this policy, e-mail is
an acceptable and preferred means of written
communication.
2.
The president of the organization shall then present the grievance to
the other board members and a determination will be made by a
majority of the board as to whether it is an issue that is appropriate for
the board to take action on.
a.
The president may present the grievance to the other board
members at a regularly scheduled board meeting or informally
by other means of communication.
3.
If a majority of the board members determine that it is not appropriate
for the board to take action on a particular grievance, the president
shall notify the parties of that decision in writing as soon as possible.
4.
If a majority of the board members determine that it is an appropriate
matter for the board to take action on, then the board president shall
notify all involved parties in writing as soon as possible.
5.
Unless the circumstances dictate that a meeting must be held sooner,
interested parties shall have notice of a board meeting to consider the
grievance no less than seven days in advance of the meeting.
a.
Involved parties may submit a written statement of their
positions to the president of the organization prior to the
meeting.
b.
The president, if possible, shall provide board members with
copies of any written statements prior to the scheduled
meeting.
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6.
No meeting to consider a formal grievance shall be held unless at
least seven board members are present.
7.
At a meeting in which a grievance is considered, the party that filed
the grievance shall have the opportunity to speak first.
8.
The party responding to the grievance shall have the opportunity to
speak second. However, if there is more than one party responding to
a grievance and the parties cannot decide for themselves, the board
can determine the order in which they speak.
9.
All other involved parties shall also have the opportunity to speak,
however, the board may, in its discretion, choose to limit any repetitive
arguments on either side of the dispute.
10.
Once all parties have had the chance to speak, the board shall make
a decision by a vote of the board members in attendance. The
majority vote shall be the final decision of the board. The president will
communicate the decision in writing to all involved parties.
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