35.4
1
Grievance Policy
Louisiana Department of Health (LDH)
Policy Number
35.4
Content
Provides policy and procedures for determining
the cause of a grievance and guidelines for
resolving the problem or complaint
Effective Date
October 26, 2020
Inquiries to
Office of Management and Finance
Division of Human Resources, Training & Staff
Development
P.O. Box 4818
Baton Rouge, LA 70821-4818
(225) 342-6477 FAX (225) 342-6892
LDH is committed to fostering, cultivating and preserving a culture of equity, diversity and
inclusion. Our human capital is the most valuable asset we have. The collective sum of the
individual differences, life experiences, knowledge, inventiveness, innovation, self-expression,
unique capabilities and talent that our employees invest in their work represents a significant
part of not only our culture, but our Department’s reputation and achievement as well.
If there is a discrepancy between an LDH Policy and a Program Office or facility policy, the LDH
policy shall govern/overrule/supersede the conflicting section within the Program Office or
facility policy.
I. POLICY STATEMENT
It is the policy of The Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) to resolve problems at the lowest
possible supervisory level and at the earliest possible opportunity. All classified LDH employees
shall have access to this grievance policy for resolving problems.
Appointing Authorities may implement procedures for the processing of grievances within the
parameters provided by this policy. Appointing Authorities are officers or employees
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authorized by statute or by lawfully delegated authority to make appointments to positions in
the State Service.
Any employee who retaliates against another employee for filing a grievance may be subject to
disciplinary action up to and including dismissal.
Any employee who uses their position to coerce, attempt to coerce or improperly influence any
person involved in the grievance process shall be subject to disciplinary action up to and
including dismissal.
This policy is established in accordance with the Louisiana State Constitution, Article X, Section
10, Paragraph (A) (1), as well as State Civil Service Rule 3.1 (m).
II. PURPOSE
The purpose of this grievance policy is to provide a method for determining the best way to
resolve problems or complaints. This procedure is intended for use when a problem or
complaint arises and the resolution is within the jurisdiction of LDH.
III. APPLICABILITY
This policy applies to all Offices of LDH.
IV. IMPLEMENTATION
The effective date of this revised policy is October 26, 2020.
V. RESPONSIBILITIES
A. Assistant Secretaries, the Deputy Secretary, the Undersecretary and the Medicaid
Director/Medicaid Executive Director are responsible for assuring that managers and
supervisors within their organizational authority comply with the provisions and the
intent of this policy.
B. The LDH-HRTSD Human Resources Director is responsible for administering grievance
procedures to be utilized by all LDH offices/facilities and ensuring that all employees are
made aware of the grievance policy and have access to it.
C. Human Resources professionals in LDH are responsible for providing guidance and
counsel to Assistant Secretaries, the Deputy Secretary, the Undersecretary, the MVA
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Director, managers, supervisors and employees in grievance-related matters and for
monitoring and coordinating grievance activities as outlined in this policy.
D. Employees are responsible for including all facts pertinent to the grievance in their
original grievance statement and advancing the grievance through the process as
described in Section IX of this policy (Processing the Grievance) as appropriate.
VI. EXCEPTIONS
Any exceptions to this policy must be approved by the LDH Secretary.
VII. GENERAL PROVISIONS
A. Choosing the right process
It is extremely important that employees know what situations should be handled
through an agency grievance as opposed to a State Civil Service appeal because there
are respective time limits to file either a grievance or an appeal. If an employee chooses
the wrong process, the employee may find that the time limit for the correct process
has expired by the time the mistake is discovered.
A grievance is handled entirely within the agency and is not appealable to the State Civil
Service Director or to the State Civil Service Commission.
1. Issues appealable to the State Civil Service Director include:
a. An allocation or reallocation decision (Civil Service Rule 5.3);
b. The rejection of an application (Civil Service Rule 22.5);
c. A determination that an applicant lacks the minimum qualifications (Civil Service
Rule 22.5);
d. A Reviewer’s decision concerning a PES rating given to a permanent employee
(Civil Service Rule 10.14).
2. Issues appealable to the State Civil Service Commission include:
a. A suspension without pay, reduction in pay, involuntary demotion, or dismissal
of a permanent employee;
b. A non-disciplinary removal of a permanent employee;
c. A layoff of a permanent employee;
d. An employment action/decision that discriminates against an employee because
of their political or religious beliefs, sex or race;
e. An employment action that violates a State Civil Service Rule or the State Civil
Service Article (Article X, Part 1 of the State Constitution).
3. Issues grievable to the agency include, but are not limited to, health and safety
concerns, disputes between supervisors and subordinates or among workers,
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perceived unfair treatment that does not rise to the level of discrimination, changes
in work location or hours, and the denial of a request for an Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA) accommodation .
4. Other issues – Matters within the jurisdiction of the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC) cannot be adjudicated through this grievance resolution
procedure. Improvement Letters, Letters of Warning, Reprimand or Counseling and
Supervisory Plans are handled by written response and not through the grievance
process (Civil Service Rule 12.9). PES reviews are handled through State Civil Service
Chapter 10 rules and not through the grievance process.
B. Prior to filing a written grievance, employees are encouraged to try to resolve any
disagreement through discussion with the appropriate supervisor.
C. An employee filing a written grievance:
1. Must ensure that working on the grievance does not interfere with their
responsibility to do the job assigned by the agency.
2. Must exercise care to include all facts pertinent to the grievance under
consideration, as the employee shall not be permitted by the respondents to
enlarge their original written statement and/or relief sought to include additional
information that goes beyond the scope and context of the original grievance.
3. Shall have the right to be represented at any meeting on the grievance by a co-
worker of their choice or, if they are a union member, by the steward, local
representative or facility union representative. The same representative shall
represent the employee through all applicable steps. The employee’s representative
shall be granted reasonable time off (up to twelve hours per month) during their
working hours to represent the grievant without loss of pay and without charge to
annual or compensatory leave credits. Before leaving their duty station an
employee representative (union or non-union) shall obtain approval from their
immediate supervisor and shall not leave their duty station without their
supervisor’s approval.
4. Neither the grievant nor the respondent shall have legal counsel present in any part
of the grievance process.
D. Grievances may be consolidated if an employee files multiple grievance related to the
same issue(s) or if separate grievances filed by two or more employees involve the same
issue(s).
VIII. REASONS FOR DISMISSAL
A respondent may summarily dismiss the grievance at their step for any of the following
reasons:
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A. The issue grieved is outside the jurisdiction of this process (See Section VII.A of this
policy).
B. The grievant is not employed by LDH.
C. The grievant transfers to another Program Office within the Department.
D. The person against whom the grievance is filed does not work for LDH.
E. The grievance has not been made in the required manner or within the prescribed time
period for filing at the initial or succeeding steps.
F. The grievance duplicates a previous grievance submitted by the same employee(s)
provided the previous grievance was processed in accordance with this policy.
G. The employee has failed to appear at the scheduled time and place for any meeting
regarding their grievance.
When a respondent dismisses a written grievance, they shall notify, in writing, the grievant, any
previous respondents, and the Human Resources Office.
IX. PROCESSING THE GRIEVANCE
A. The grievance procedure consists of four formal steps and a grievance may be settled at any
step. If an employee is not aware of who is the appropriate respondent at a given step, they
should contact the Human Resources Office for guidance. Human Resources Directors and
their staffs are located at the following offices and facilities:
• Louisiana Department of Health, Office of Management and Finance/Division of
Human Resources, Training and Staff Development (HRTSD)
• Pinecrest Supports and Services Center (PSSC)
• Central Louisiana Supports and Services Center (CLSS)
• Eastern Louisiana Mental Health Systems (ELMHS)
• Central Louisiana State Hospital (CLSH)
• Villa Feliciana Medical Complex (VFMC)
STEP I – The Step I respondent is the employee’s immediate supervisor.
All grievances shall be presented within 14 working days from the date the employee
first became aware of, or should have become aware of, the reason(s) for their
grievance.
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The grievance shall be in writing on the appropriate form and submitted to the
employee’s immediate supervisor (the employee should keep a copy of their grievance
at each step-in case any respondent does not return it to them).
The supervisor shall provide a copy of the grievance form to their respective Human
Resources Office within one working day of the receipt of the grievance. The supervisor
must furnish the employee a written statement of their decision within 7 working days.
If the employee is not satisfied with the supervisor’s decision, or they do not receive a
response within the prescribed timeframe, they shall check the appropriate box on the
form and within 7 working days present their grievance in writing to the Step II
respondent.
STEP II - The Step II respondent is usually a delegated Appointing Authority in the
employee’s chain of command such as a Facility Administrator in a 24-hour facility; a
Regional Manager within a region of LDH; or a Section Head, Division Director or Bureau
Director within LDH Headquarters.
The Step II respondent shall provide a copy of the grievance form to the Human
Resources Office within one working day of receipt of the grievance.
The Step II respondent must:
• Conduct an investigation (including a meeting or telephone conversation with
the grievant and, if applicable, the person or persons who are the subject of the
employee’s grievance) OR
• Review the first step decision.
The Step II respondent must furnish the employee a written statement of their decision
within 14 working days of the receipt of the written grievance.
In the event that the employee is not satisfied with the decision of the Step II
respondent, or they do not receive a response within the prescribed timeframe, they
shall check the appropriate box on the form and present their grievance to the Step III
respondent within 7 working days.
STEP III – The Step III respondent is usually an Assistant Secretary or equivalent position
depending upon the employee’s chain of command.
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The Step III respondent shall provide a copy of the grievance form to the Human
Resources Office within one working day of receipt of the grievance.
The Step III respondent must:
• Conduct an investigation (including a meeting or telephone conversation with
the grievant and, if applicable, the person or persons who are the subject of the
employee’s grievance) OR
• Review the first and second step responses.
The Step III respondent must furnish the employee a written statement of their
decision within 21 working days of receipt of the grievance.
In the event that the employee is not satisfied with the decision of the Step III
respondent, or they do not receive a response within the prescribed timeframe, they
shall check the appropriate box on the form and present their grievance to the Step IV
respondent within 7 working days.
STEP IV – The Step IV respondent for employees of the Office of the Secretary is the LDH
Secretary or Designee. The Step IV respondent for the Office of Management and Finance
and Medical Vendor Administration is the LDH Undersecretary. The Step IV respondent for
all other employees of LDH is the LDH Deputy Secretary. The decision of the Step IV
respondent shall be final.
The Step IV respondent shall provide a copy of the grievance from to the Human
Resources Office within one working day of receipt of the grievance.
The Step IV respondent shall take appropriate steps to:
1. Review all information in prior steps OR investigate the grievance, which may
include discussion with the grievant and, if applicable, the person or persons who
are the subject of the employee’s grievance.
2. Furnish the employee with a written statement of their decision within 21 working
days of the receipt of the grievance.
3. Provide a copy of the Step IV decision, the grievance form and all related
documentation to the Human Resources Office.
B. MODIFICATION OF STEPS
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1. An individual office may modify the steps to fit its organizational structure.
Grievances across office/division lines may be filed directly with the first level
manager with jurisdiction over both parties.
2. If an employee’s grievance is against anyone in the employee’s chain of command,
the employee may skip the grievance step that would directly involve that individual
and proceed to the next step. Skipping a step does not increase the number of steps
available to the employee.
3. An employee filing a grievance due to the denial of their request for an
accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) may elevate their
grievance directly to Step 3; they shall not include any confidential health
information in their grievance.
C. GRIEVANT AND RESPONDENT PROCESSING RESPONSIBILITIES
1. The grievant bears the responsibility of advancing the grievance and being at every
scheduled meeting.
2. If at any time during the processing of the grievance a respondent does not have the
authority to resolve the grievance; they shall indicate so in the response section of
the grievance form and immediately return the form to the grievant.
D. EXTENSION OF TIME REQUIREMENTS
The time requirements at each step of a grievance may be extended by the respondent
if circumstances beyond the control of the grievant or the respondent prevent their
meeting the required timeframes.
E. FORMS
The most current Louisiana Department of Health Grievance Form (HR 35) shall be the
official grievance procedure form and may be obtained online or from the employee’s
Human Resources Office. Continuation sheets may be attached if additional space is
needed.
The official form shall be used for recording the employee’s grievance and the decisions
made by respondents at appropriate steps of the grievance procedure. At each step of
the grievance the grievant and respondent shall sign and date the form and the
respondent shall return the original copy of the grievance response to the employee for
their personal use.
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X. GRIEVANCE MAINTENANCE AND DISPOSITION
A. Human Resources offices and respondents shall maintain copies of all grievance forms
and related documents for grievances filed at their level for a minimum of 3 years.
B. The Human Resources office shall keep track of the number and nature of grievances to help
define and address internal problems and complaints.
C. Grievances shall not be retained in an employee’s personnel file or performance
appraisal activity file.
XI. REVISION HISTORY
Date
October 14, 1977
April 15, 1987
December 5, 1997
June 13, 2011
January 23, 2013
May 24, 2017
May 28, 2019
October 26, 2020
September 7, 2023