45 C.F.R. § 1211.1-10 Informal grievance procedure.
Title 45 - Public Welfare
(a) Initiation of grievance. A volunteer may initiate a grievance within 15 calendar days after the event giving rise to the grievance occurs, or within 15 calendar days after becoming aware of the event. A grievance arising out of a continuing condition or practice that individually affects the volunteer may be brought at any time. A volunteer initiates a grievance by presenting it in writing to the chief executive officer of the sponsor, or the representative designated to receive grievances from volunteers. The designated representative may not be the immediate supervisor of volunteers assigned to the sponsor. The chief executive officer of the sponsor or the designated representative shall respond in writing to the grievance within five (5) working days after receipt. The chief executive officer or designee may not refuse to respond to a complaint on the basis that it is not a grievance as defined in §1211.1–3(b), or that it is excluded from coverage under §1211.1–5, but may, in the written response, refuse to grant the relief requested on either of these grounds. If the grievance involves a matter over which the sponsor has no control, or if the chief executive officer is the immediate supervisor of the volunteer, the procedures described in this section may be omitted, and the volunteer may present the grievance in writing directly to the State Director or designee as described in paragraph (b) of this section within the time limits specified in this paragraph (a). (b) Consideration by ACTION State Director or designee. If the matter is not resolved to the volunteer's satisfaction by the sponsor's chief executive officer, the volunteer may submit the grievance in writing to the ACTION State Director or designee within five (5) working days after receipt of the decision of the sponsor's chief executive officer. The State Director or designee may not refuse to receive a complaint, even if he or she believes it does not constitute a grievance, and shall respond to it in writing within five (5) working days after receipt. The response may indicate that the matter is not grievable. If the State Director or designee fails to meet the time limit for response, the volunteer may initiate a formal grievance. (c) Discussion. All parties to the informal grievance procedure must be prepared to participate in full discussion of the grievance, and to permit the participation of others who may have knowledge of the circumstances of the grievance in the discussion. State Program Officers and other ACTION employees may participate in discussions and provide guidance with respect to ACTION policies and procedures, at the request of any party, even prior to submission of a grievance to them. (d) Sponsor grievance procedure. A sponsor may substitute its own grievance procedure for the procedure described in paragraph (a) of this section. Any such procedure must provide the volunteer with an opportunity to present a grievance at least as comprehensive as that contained in this section, must meet the time limits of this section, and must be provided in writing to all volunteers. In order to utilize its own grievance procedures, the sponsor must obtain approval of the procedure from the ACTION State Director and file a copy of this approved procedure with the State Office.
Title 45: Public Welfare
PART 1211—VOLUNTEER GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES
§ 1211.1-10 Informal grievance procedure.
