- 7.1 Attendance at Meetings
County nurses who are official Nurse Representatives of CNA shall be given reasonable time off with pay to meet and confer or consult with management representatives or to be present at hearings where matters within the scope of representation are being considered. Use of official time for this purpose shall be reasonable and shall not interfere with the performance of County services as determined by the County. Such representatives shall submit written requests for absences to Employee Relations at least two (2) working days prior to the scheduled meeting whenever possible. Except by agreement with Employee Relations the number of nurses excused for such purposes shall not exceed three (3) at any one time for meet and confers. If any employee’s request for excused absence is not approved, such disapproval shall be subject to appeal to the County Executive whose decision shall be final.
- 7.2 Contract Negotiations
For formal contract negotiations, the number of nurses excused with pay for such purposes shall not exceed six (6) nurses in accordance with the following classifications:
One (1) Public Health Nurse or Senior Public Health Nurse
One (1) Community Mental Health Nurse
One (1) Nurse Practitioner
Three (3) from among nurses in the Staff Nurse series, as defined in Section 8.2 of this MOU, Clinical Nurses or Charge Nurses.
The County will also excuse up to two (2) additional nurses from duty without pay for formal contract negotiations.
If any employee’s request for excused absence is not approved, such disapproval shall be subject to appeal to the County Executive whose decision shall be final.
CNA shall be allowed a total of twenty-four (24) hours of unpaid leave time per contract year for County nurses who are official nurse representatives to conduct internal Association business.
- 7.3 Handling of Grievances
CNA shall designate a reasonable number of Nurse Representatives to assist in resolving grievances and notify Employee Relations in writing of the designated individuals. The designation will depend on such circumstances as geographical locations, hours of employment, and departmental organizational structure. Alternates may be designated to perform Nurse Representative functions during the absence or unavailability of Nurse Representatives. Nurse Representatives may be relieved from their assigned work duties by their supervisor to investigate and process grievances initiated by nurses within the same work area or representation unit. Requests for release time shall not be denied unreasonably. Nurse Representatives shall promptly report to CNA any grievances which may arise and cannot be adjusted on the job. Supervisory nurses shall not represent non-supervisory nurses in a grievance procedure where such activity might result in a conflict of interest. Neither a Nurse Representative nor CNA shall order any changes, and no change shall be made except with the consent of the appropriate department heads.
Whenever a nurse is required to meet with a supervisor and the nurse reasonably anticipates that such meeting will involve questioning leading to disciplinary action, they shall be entitled to have a Nurse Representative present if they so request. It is not the intention of this provision to allow the presence of a Nurse Representative during the initial discussion(s) of a nurse’s performance evaluation.
- 7.4 New Employee Orientation
The Association shall be allowed a reasonable period of time not to exceed thirty (30) minutes at a time determined by the County at each New Nurse Orientation session for Health System to speak to employees in classifications represented by the Association.
The County will provide the Association Representative with the dates, times and locations for New Nurse Orientation sessions on an annual basis, subject to change, and updates as they occur. The Association will coordinate with the County regarding the Association representative or designee who will attend each session.