Grievance Procedures

Faculty and staff appointments, reappointments, and promotions normally proceed in a straightforward manner. However, a faculty or staff member may believe they have been ill served by a University decision relating to reappointment, promotion, or some other aspect of employment. In this case, a grievance may be filed relating to that decision.

Purdue has several policies covering grievances filed by members of the faculty (including graduate student employees), administrative/professional staff, and clerical/service employees. Faculty Grievances (I.B1), describes the procedures for hearing a faculty member, lecturer, or graduate student employee grievance. It is important for department heads to acquaint themselves with the grounds upon which a grievance can be heard and the procedures which should be followed in hearing grievances. Faculty members may seek a department head’s assistance or advice in filing a grievance about a University decision, and it is incumbent upon the department head to give accurate information about University procedures or to inform the faculty member where he or she may obtain such information. It is also possible that a faculty member may wish to file a grievance about a decision made by a department head, so the department head should be familiar with University procedures to protect his or her own interests.

Administrative/professional staff and clerical/service staff may file work-related grievances using a process administered by Human Resource Services described in University Policy VI.D.1 “Dispute Resolution for Administrative/Professional and Clerical/Service Staff Members.” Grievances filed by Postdoctoral Researchers, Graduate Student Personnel, Clinical Residents, and Clinical Interns are covered in University Policy VI.D.2. Staff in the employee relations section of HR are available to answer questions from department heads about their policies.