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Labor Relations <br />Communication <br />The city encourages open communication throughout the organization to share <br />information and ideas, to raise concerns, and to provide suggestions for improvement. To <br />foster communication and improve responsiveness, the city employs an <br />administration/management structure (chain of command) with a defined span of control <br />intended to enhance communication and accessibility to supervisors, managers, and <br />department directors. <br />Employees shall first direct all communication to their immediate supervisor. Supervisors <br />shall respond to all inquiries, concerns, or suggestions in a timely manner. Violations of <br />policies, including this policy shall be filed in accordance with the City Grievance <br />Procedure. <br />In the event the employee's inquiries, concerns, or suggestions are not addressed in a <br />timely manner, or s/he anticipates negative repercussions from communication with the <br />immediate supervisor, the employee may direct the communication to the immediate <br />supervisor's supervisor. Concerns and suggestions shall be advanced to each step <br />including department director, human resources, and city administrator if closure does <br />not occur at the earliest possible level of communication. <br />Bypassing a step in the administration/management structure does not constitute <br />insubordination. Insubordination in the workplace refers to an employee's intentional <br />refusal to obey an employer's lawful and reasonable orders. Such a refusal would <br />undermine a supervisor's level of respect and ability to manage and, therefore, is often a <br />reason for disciplinary action, up to and including termination. <br />Elected and appointed officials, including mayor, council members, and commissioners <br />frequently solicit employee feedback to better understand operations, improve policy, and <br />t,e,-ensure quality service. Suggestions, grievances, and concerns shall only be addressed <br />with policymakers following the exhaustion of resolution through the <br />administration/management structure. <br />Notwithstanding the previous paragraph, a disagreement between employee and <br />supervisor shall not be a reason to bypass the administration/management structure and <br />bring issues to elected or appointed officials. <br />Directors, managers, and supervisors shall respect the administration/management <br />structure of other departments and divisions by coordinating work direction through the <br />respective department director. <br />Retribution or retaliation by supervisory staff for the expression of ideas is not tolerated. A <br />supervisor's decision to not act on or accept an employee's suggestion or <br />Page 56187 <br />Page 127 of 447 <br />