Employee Grievances
UNC-Chapel Hill is committed to providing a prompt, fair and orderly process to resolve disputes regarding employment matters. Please read below to learn more about what types of matters are grievable and how to file a grievance.
Questions regarding employment status and what types of actions or events are grievable should be directed to the Grievance Coordinator at grievance@unc.edu.
Please note: Policies are subject to UNC System policy modifications. Visit the UNC Policy Manual and Code page of the UNC System website for more information.
SHRA Employees
SHRA employees must submit an SHRA Grievance Form within 15 calendar days of an eligible action or event.
The Grievance Coordinator will then assess eligibility and will communicate eligibility with the employee. If eligible, the Grievance Coordinator will answer questions and assist the employee in coordinating the next steps in the process.
For additional questions about the process, please refer to the SHRA Grievance Policy. Questions regarding employment status and what types of actions or events are grievable should be directed to the Grievance Coordinator at grievance@unc.edu.
- Disciplinary action without just cause including:
- Dismissal
- Demotion
- Suspension without pay
- Involuntary non-disciplinary separation due to unavailability
- Unlawful discrimination and/or harassment including:
- Age
- Disability
- Color
- Genetic information
- National origin
- Political affiliation
- Race
- Religion
- Sex (including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and pregnancy)
- Retaliation based on:
- Protesting (objecting to or supporting another person’s objection to) unlawful discrimination or harassment
- Reporting unlawful government activity (“whistle blowing”)
- Denial of reemployment of hiring due to denial of reduction-in-force priority
- Denial of promotional opportunity due to failure to give priority consideration for promotion to a Career State employee
- Denial of hiring or promotional opportunity due to failure to post position (unless hiring opportunity is not required to be posted by law)
- Denial of veteran’s preference as provided by law
- Overall performance rating of less than Meets expectations
- Denial of request to remove inaccurate and misleading information from personnel or applicant file
- Items covered in the University’s Policy Statement on Non-Discrimination that promote inclusion and diversity, but not within the definition of unlawful discrimination, harassment, and retaliation
- Denial of National Guard Preference
To file a grievance
You have two ways to file grievance:
- Submit the Online Grievance Form. You are able to save changes to the online form for up to seven days; after that time, the form will expire, and you will need to use this same form link to begin a new form. Once you submit the online form, you will receive a confirmation email to the email address/es you entered on the form.
- Fill out and return the SHRA Grievance PDF Form to the Grievance Coordinator using the contact information given below.
OR
You do NOT need to submit both the online and pdf versions of the SHRA Grievance Form.
To accept or proceed a grievance outcome OR to withdraw a grievance
Fill out and return the completed form to the Grievance Coordinator using the contact information given below.
Grievance Coordinator Contact Information
Send completed pdf forms to the Grievance Coordinator by one of the following methods:
grievance@unc.edu
Office of Human Resources Main Reception
Suite 1500
Administrative Office Building (AOB)
104 Airport Drive, Chapel Hill
Please note: If using an envelope, clearly write “Attention: Grievance Coordinator” on outside of envelope.
For additional questions about the process, please refer to the SHRA Grievance Policy.
EHRA Non-Faculty Employees
EHRA Non-Faculty employees must submit a grievance within 30 calendar days of a grievable action or event. If there are multiple related actions in dispute, the grievance must be filed no later than 30 days following the last or most recent action; the policy does allow for extension of the 30-day submission deadline under specific circumstances. Extension information can be found under section 7 b. Late Filing.
The Grievance Coordinator will confirm receipt of your grievance, inform you of next steps in the process and answer any questions you may have.
For additional questions about the process, please refer to the EHRA Non-Faculty Grievance Policy. For an illustrated outline of the steps in the grievance process, please see this EHRA Non-Faculty Grievance Flowchart (pdf).
Questions regarding employment status and what types of actions or events are grievable should be directed to the Grievance Coordinator at grievance@unc.edu.
- Contested discharge for cause.
- Alleged violations of the employee’s rights guaranteed by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution or Article I of the North Carolina Constitution (subject to any limitations on political activity as established under North Carolina law and relevant UNC Board of Governors and University Board of Trustees policies).
- Harassment or discrimination as set forth in the University’s Policy on Prohibited Harassment, Discrimination and Related Misconduct.
- Discontinuation without appropriate notice or without temporary extension of appointment in the absence of such notice as provided for in the EPA non-faculty Employment Policies.
- Any other decision or action by a University official that adversely and materially affected the Covered Employee’s terms and conditions of employment and that is alleged to have violated a specific university rule, regulation, or policy or violated a state or federal law pertaining to the employment relationship between the Complainant and the University.
- Retaliation as defined in section 3 of the EHRA-NF Grievance Policy.
To file a grievance
You have two ways to file grievance:
- Submit the Online Grievance Form. You are able to save changes to the online form for up to seven days; after that time, the form will expire, and you will need to use this same form link to begin a new form. Once you submit the online form, you will receive a confirmation email to the email address/es you entered on the form.
- Fill out and return the EHRA-NF Grievance PDF Form to the Grievance Coordinator using the contact information given below.
OR
You do NOT need to submit both the online and pdf versions of the EHRA-NF Grievance Form.
For complainants
To accept or appeal a grievance outcome OR to withdraw a grievance: Fill out and return the completed form to the Grievance Coordinator using the contact information given below.
For respondents
To respond to an initial grievance (Step 1) or a Panel Recommendation (Step 2): Fill out and return the completed form to the Grievance Coordinator using the contact information given below.
Grievance Coordinator Contact Information
Send completed pdf forms to the Grievance Coordinator by one of the following methods:
grievance@unc.edu
Office of Human Resources Main Reception
Suite 1500
Administrative Office Building (AOB)
104 Airport Drive, Chapel Hill.
Please note: If using an envelope, clearly write “Attention: Grievance Coordinator” on outside of envelope.
For additional questions about the process, please refer to the EHRA-NF Grievance Policy.
Faculty Members
Please visit the Office of Faculty Governance to learn more information about faculty grievance processes.
Harassment/Discrimination Complaints
Employees who believe they have experienced prohibited discrimination and/or harassment at the University are encouraged to file a complaint with the Equal Opportunity and Compliance (EOC) Office at any time; however, for an employee to preserve their ability to grieve/appeal the outcome of the EOC investigation, the employee must file the initial report within the grievance deadlines stated above.
Employees also have the right to file a complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) before, at the same time as, or after filing with the University EOC Office.
Contact
Grievance Coordinator
Email: grievance@unc.edu