MEDICAL GRIEVANCES

Section 9.4 - Psychological Review.

Grievances concerning involuntary removal from active duty due to psychological or psychiatric reasons will comply with the following procedures:

Step One: An officer who wants to challenge the Employer’s decision to place him/her involuntarily on the medical roll will file a grievance with the Medical Services Section within ten (10) calendar days of being placed on the medical roll, or if the member was on full authorized furlough during his/her involuntary placement, within thirty-five (35) calendar days of being placed on the medical roll.

If the Employer’s psychiatrist/psychologist recommends that the officer is fit for full duty and also was fit when he/she was involuntarily placed on the medical roll due to psychological or psychiatric reasons, the officer shall have any paid medical time used during such period of being involuntarily placed on the medical roll restored and will be made whole for lost pay and other benefits to which he/she is entitled.

Step Two: For a member who has filed a timely grievance at Step One, and/or when the Employer’s psychiatrist/psychologist recommends that the officer is unfit for full duty and was also unfit when he/she was involuntarily placed on the medical roll due to psychological or psychiatric reasons, then upon written request made by the Lodge within ten (10) calendar days of notice to the member that he/she is unfit for duty, the Lodge may file a grievance at Step Two and may request review of that decision by a three-member psychological review panel. The officer shall, as promptly as feasible, be evaluated by a panel of three psychiatrists or psychologists, one appointed by the Lodge, one appointed by the Employer and a third appointed by mutual agreement of the Employer’s and the Lodge’s psychiatrist or psychologist knowledgeable about police duties. This panel shall have the authority to examine and evaluate the officer, and recommend whether or not the officer is fit for duty. In making its recommendations, the primary considerations of the panel shall be the protection and safety of, and need for effective service to, the public. These considerations shall prevail over all others in any case of conflict of interests between the officer and the Employer.

If the panel recommends that the officer is fit for duty, and was also fit when he/she was placed involuntarily on the medical roll due to psychological or psychiatric reasons, then the officer shall have any paid medical time used during such involuntary period on the medical roll restored, and will be made whole for lost pay and other benefits to which he/she is entitled.

If the panel determines that the member was unfit for duty at the time he/she was involuntarily placed on the medical roll, but became fit for duty sometime thereafter, the panel shall identify the point at which the member was fit for duty and the member will be made whole for lost pay and benefits from the date that the panel determined he/she was fit for duty.

Each party shall bear the full cost of the panel member appointed by it, with the cost of the mutually-appointed panel member to be split equally between the parties. The recommendations of the panel shall be binding upon the Employer, the Lodge and the officer.

The Lodge and the Employer acknowledge that procedural disputes which prevent the Psychological Review Panel from going forward with the review process set forth above may arise. The Lodge and the Employer acknowledge that it is in the best interests of all persons involved in the Psychological Review process to have these procedural disputes resolved as promptly and as fairly as possible. Once such a procedural dispute arises, the parties will have seven (7) working days to resolve the dispute. If they cannot resolve the dispute, either party may initiate the Summary Arbitration Process if the dispute involves the timeliness of the grievance or the period of time which the review panel is to consider when determining when the officer became fit. Any other procedural dispute may be submitted to the Summary Arbitration process only by mutual agreement of the parties. The Lodge and the Employer will maintain a group of three (3) arbitrators for the Summary Arbitration Process. One arbitrator will be selected from this group to decide the dispute. The parties will share equally the cost of the arbitrator. At the earliest possible time, representatives of the Lodge and the Employer will appear before the arbitrator. Either party may call witnesses, provided notice is given to the other party before the hearing date is selected. No written briefs will be permitted. No court reporter will be allowed. The arbitrator will issue a decision within ten (10) working days following the hearing. The decision of the arbitrator will be binding on the Lodge, the Employer, and the members of the review panel. The decision will not set a binding precedent on subsequent procedural disputes.

Section 9.5 — Medical Grievances.

Grievances concerning medical issues (excluding issues covered under Section 9.4) shall follow the procedure below. Medical issues are defined as grievances involving medical issues, including but not limited to the nonpayment of I.O.D. bills; removal of an officer from duty for medical reasons; refusal to return an officer to duty from medical roll; classification of an injury as non-I.O.D. and the Benefits Management Office’s denial of payment of medical and hospital bills of an officer or his/her covered dependent under the Employer’s self-funded health care plan.

Step One: Initiating a Medical Grievance. Grievances concerning the Benefits Management Office’s denial of payment of medical and hospital bills will be filed with the Management and Labor Affairs Section within ten (10) working days following the events or circumstances giving rise to the grievance or where first known by the grievant, but in no event later than thirty-five (35) calendar days following the events or circumstances giving rise to the grievance.

All other grievances concerning medical issues will be filed with the Medical Services Section within ten (10) working days following the events or circumstances giving rise to the grievance or where first known by the grievant, but in no event later than thirty-five (35) calendar days following the events or circumstances giving rise to the grievance. If the determination at Step One is not satisfactory, the Lodge may bywritten request made within fifteen (15) days of the Step One response, or the expiration of the period for said response submit the matter for mediation.

Step Two: Mediation of MedicalGrievances. At mediation, representatives of the Lodge, the Police Department, the Benefits Management Office and the Finance Committee of the City Council, shall participate, as needed. Any settlements reached in the mediation proceedings shall be binding upon the parties. Medical mediation sessions shall occur each thirty (30) days. The parties shall split evenly the cost of the Mediator’s fees and expenses.

The grievant shall be provided with the relevant medical records within the possession of the Medical Section, the Committee on Finance, Benefits Management Office and Management & Labor Affairs Section. A release shall be required for production of medical records. The relevant medical records shall include the Medical Services Section’s determination of the grievant’s status and the response to the grievance. The above records shall be submitted to the Lodge by the Department within forty-five (45) days of the Department’s receipt of the Lodge’s releases and mediation agenda, setting forth the grievants’ names. Relevant records from the Medical Section, the Committee on Finance, the Benefits Management Office and Management and Labor Affairs Section shall be provided as stated above and throughout the grievance process until the grievance is fully resolved.

Relevant documents to be produced by the Benefits Management Office in mediation are limited to medical records, claim forms, medical bills, explanation of benefits, and recommendation to and decision of the Benefits Committee regarding the claim. This definition of relevant records to be produced by the Benefits Management Office does not preclude the Lodge from subpoenaing additional relevant documentation in response to the scheduling of an arbitration of a grievance.

Step Three: Arbitration. If the grievance is not resolved at Step Two, the Lodge upon written request within thirty (30) days of the date of mediation, may demand arbitration. The Mediator shall not be selected as the Arbitrator for the same case. The arbitration hearing shall be scheduled to commence within thirty (30) days of the selection of the Arbitrator unless the parties agree otherwise. Within ten (10) days of the Lodge’s demand for arbitration, the Employer and Lodge shall attempt to mutually agree upon an Arbitrator. If they fail to agree, a list of seven qualified neutrals shall be requested from the American Arbitration Association. Within five (5) days after receipt of the list, the parties shall select an Arbitrator. Both the Employer and the Lodge shall alternately strike names from the list. The remaining person shall be the Arbitrator.