[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 45, Volume 4]
[Revised as of October 1, 2007]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 45CFR1211.1-11]

[Page 40-41]
 
                        TITLE 45--PUBLIC WELFARE
 
       CHAPTER XII--CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE
 
PART 1211_VOLUNTEER GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES--Table of Contents
 
Sec.  1211.1-11  Initiation of formal grievance procedure.

    (a) Submission of grievance to Regional Director. If a volunteer is 
dissatisfied with the response of the State Director or designee 
required by Sec.  1211.1-10(b), he or she may present the grievance in 
writing to the Regional Director. To be eligible for the formal 
grievance procedure, the volunteer must have completed action under the 
informal procedure contained in Sec.  1211.1-10 or have alleged that the 
State Director or designee exceeded the time specified for response.
    (b) Contents of grievance. The volunteer's grievance must be in 
writing, contain sufficient detail to identify the subject matter of the 
grievance, specify the relief requested, and be signed by the volunteer 
or a person designated in writing by the volunteer to be the 
representative for the purpose of the grievance.
    (c) Time limit. The volunteer must submit the grievance to the 
Regional Director or designee no later than 15 calendar days after 
receipt of the informal response by the State Director or designee. If 
no response is received by the volunteer 15 calendar days after the 
grievance is received by the State Director or designee, the volunteer 
may submit the grievance directly to the Regional Director or designee 
for consideration.
    (d) Within ten (10) working days of the receipt of the grievance, 
the Regional Director or designee shall, in whole or in part, either 
decide it on its merits or reject the grievance. A grievance may be 
rejected, in whole or in part, for the following reasons:
    (1) It was not filed within the time limit specified in paragraph 
(c) of this section, or
    (2) The grievance consists of matters not contained within the 
definition of a grievance.
    (e) Rejection of a grievance by the Regional Director or designee 
may be appealed by the volunteer within ten (10) days of receipt of the 
notice to the Office of General Counsel. The Office shall immediately 
request the grievance file from the Regional Director and, within five 
(5) working days of receipt of it, determine the appropriateness of the 
rejection. If the grievance was properly rejected by the Regional 
Director, the Office shall so notify the volunteer of its opinion and 
the reasons supporting it, and that such rejection is the final Agency 
decision in the matter. If the Office determines that the grievance was 
improperly rejected, it shall return the grievance to the Regional 
Director for a determination on its merits by the Regional Director. 
Within ten (10) working days of such notification and receipt of the 
grievance file, the Regional Director or designee shall notify the 
volunteer in writing of the decision on the merits and specify the 
grounds

[[Page 41]]

for the decision and of the volunteer's right to appeal.
    (f) Time Limit. If a volunteer is dissatisfied with the decision of 
the Regional Director or designee on the merits of the grievance, he or 
she shall notify the Regional Director within five (5) calendar days 
from receipt of the decision and request the appointment of an Examiner. 
If the volunteer receives no response from the Regional Director or 
Office of General Counsel as required by paragraphs (d) and (e) of this 
section within five (5) calendar days after the prescribed time limits, 
the volunteer may request in writing that the Regional Director appoint 
a Grievance Examiner. Upon receipt of this request, the Regional 
Director or designee shall appoint within five (5) calendar days an 
Examiner who shall possess the qualifications specified in Appendix A to 
this part.