COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT

BETWEEN

THE LEGAL AID SOCIETY OF COLUMBUS

AND

AFSCME OHIO COUNCIL 8

JULY 1, 2018 THROUGH JUNE 30, 2020

AGREEMENT

ARTICLE

ARTICLE 1. INTENT AND PURPOSE...............................................................................7

ARTICLE 2. RECOGNITION OF BARGAINING UNIT....................................................7

ARTICLE 3. DEFINITIONS.................................................................................................8

ARTICLE 4. MANAGEMENT RIGHTS..............................................................................8

ARTICLE 5. NO STRIKE – NO LOCKOUT.......................................................................9

A. NO STRIKES...........................................................................................................9B. NO LOCKOUTS......................................................................................................9

ARTICLE 6. UNION SECURITY.........................................................................................9

A. UNION MEMBERSHIP..........................................................................................9B. AGENCY SHOP......................................................................................................9C. CHECKOFF...........................................................................................................10D. MEMBERS NOT IN GOOD STANDING............................................................10E. INDEMNITY.........................................................................................................10

ARTICLE 7. VISITS BY UNION REPRESENTATIVES.................................................11

ARTICLE 8. LABOR – MANAGEMENT MEETINGS....................................................11

ARTICLE 9. UNION STEWARDS.....................................................................................11

ARTICLE 10. PLEDGE AGAINST DISCRIMINATION..................................................12

ARTICLE 11. GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE......................................................................12

A. GRIEVANCE DEFINED.......................................................................................121. STEP 1: Initial Grievance........................................................................................122. STEP 2: Grievance Appeal......................................................................................123. STEP 3: Arbitration.................................................................................................13B. LEGAL STAFF QUALITY OF PERFORMANCE & PROFESSIONAL

COMPETENCE GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE.....................................................131. STEP 1: Notification of Employee..........................................................................132. STEP 2: Grievance Filed.........................................................................................133. STEP 3: Special Committee.....................................................................................14

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4. STEP 4: Mediation and Arbitration.........................................................................14C. AUTHORITY OF THE ARBITRATOR...............................................................15D. ATTENDANCE AT ARBITRATION HEARING................................................15E. EFFECT OF TIME LIMITS..................................................................................15F. GROUP GRIEVANCE..........................................................................................15G. EXPENSES............................................................................................................16H. RESOLUTION OUTSIDE GRIEVANCE PROCESS..........................................16

ARTICLE 12. DISCIPLINE PROCEDURE.......................................................................16

A. GENERAL PROVISIONS.....................................................................................16B. WILLFUL MISCONDUCT OR GROSS DERELICTION OF DUTY.................17C. CONFIDENTIALITY............................................................................................17D. GRIEVANCE FROM DISCIPLINARY ACTION................................................17

ARTICLE 13. HOURS OF WORK AND OVERTIME......................................................17

A. SUPPORT STAFF..................................................................................................17B. HOURS OF WORK FOR LEGAL STAFF...........................................................19C. PAY PERIOD.........................................................................................................20

ARTICLE 14. LEAVE.........................................................................................................20

A. SICK LEAVE.........................................................................................................20B. INJURY PAY ADVANCEMENT.........................................................................22C. LEAVE OF ABSENCE WITHOUT PAY.............................................................23D. MILITARY LEAVE..............................................................................................24E. PARENTAL LEAVE.............................................................................................24F. FAMILY DEATH LEAVE....................................................................................24G. UNION LEAVE.....................................................................................................25H. COURT LEAVE....................................................................................................25I. VACATION LEAVE.............................................................................................25J. EDUCATIONAL LEAVE.....................................................................................26K. ELECTION DAY LEAVE.....................................................................................26L. FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE......................................................................26M. INCLEMENT WEATHER LEAVE......................................................................27

ARTICLE 15. HOLIDAYS..................................................................................................27

ARTICLE 16. SENIORITY.................................................................................................27

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A. SENIORITY...........................................................................................................27B. SENIORITY LISTS...............................................................................................28C. PROBATIONARY PERIOD.................................................................................28D. TERMINATION OF SENIORITY........................................................................28

ARTICLE 17. JOB DESCRIPTION AND POSTING........................................................29

A. JOB POSTING.......................................................................................................29B. JOB DESCRIPTION..............................................................................................29C. LEGAL STAFF POSTING....................................................................................30D. AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EXCEPTION..............................................................30E. PROMOTION IN PLACE.....................................................................................30

ARTICLE 18. LAYOFF-RECALL......................................................................................31

A. LAYOFF DECISION.............................................................................................31B. THE LAYOFF........................................................................................................32C. RECALL.................................................................................................................32D. UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION..............................................................33

ARTICLE 19. WORKING OUT OF CLASSIFICATION..................................................33

ARTICLE 20. WAGES........................................................................................................33

A. STARTING RATES OF PAY................................................................................34B. SALARY CAPS.....................................................................................................34C. NEW HIRES; PROMOTIONS; TRANSFERS......................................................35

ARTICLE 21. INSURANCE...............................................................................................35

A. HEALTH INSURANCE........................................................................................35B. COMPARABLE COVERAGE..............................................................................36C. PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY INSURANCE......................................................37D. DENTAL/VISION INSURANCE..........................................................................37

ARTICLE 22. PENSION PLAN..........................................................................................37

ARTICLE 23. BENEFITS PLAN........................................................................................38

A. FLEXIBLE BENEFITS PLAN..............................................................................38B. QUALIFIED TRANSPORTATION FRINGE.......................................................38

ARTICLE 24. GENERAL PROVISIONS...........................................................................38

A. BULLETIN BOARD..............................................................................................38

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B. UNION SOLICITATION AND DISTRIBUTION................................................39C. LIST OF NEW HIRES...........................................................................................39D. SEVERANCE PAY................................................................................................39E. RESPONSIBILITY FOR CURRENT ADDRESS................................................39F. CODE OF PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY................................................39G. PART-TIME EMPLOYEES..................................................................................40H. EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENT...........................................................................40I. REPORT IN PAY...................................................................................................41J. MEMBERSHIP FEES............................................................................................41K. SUPERVISORY PERSONNEL PERFORMING BARGAINING UNIT WORK41L. SAVINGS CLAUSE..............................................................................................41M. TRAINING.............................................................................................................41N. LEAVE BALANCE...............................................................................................42O. SUBCONTRACTING............................................................................................42P. WORK RULES......................................................................................................42Q. EVALUATIONS....................................................................................................42R. PERSONNEL FILE................................................................................................43

ARTICLE 25. PEOPLE CHECK-OFF................................................................................44

A. VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS.....................................................................44B. CERTIFICATION..................................................................................................44C. REVOCATION......................................................................................................44D. INDEMNITY.........................................................................................................44

ARTICLE 26. OPERATING JOB CLASSIFICATIONS....................................................45

ARTICLE 27. DURATION.................................................................................................45

APPENDIX A - JOB DESCRIPTIONS................................................................................47

SUPPORT STAFF I.......................................................................................................47SUPPORT STAFF II.....................................................................................................48BUILDING MAINTENANCE WORKER:..................................................................50COMMUNITY RELATIONS ASSISTANT.................................................................50ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES ASSISTANT...........................................................51ASSISTANT BOOKKEEPER:.....................................................................................52INFORMATION SYSTEMS COORDINATOR..........................................................53LARP COORDINATOR...............................................................................................55

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LEGAL STAFF.............................................................................................................55PARALEGAL I.............................................................................................................55PARALEGAL II............................................................................................................57PRO BONO COORDINATOR.....................................................................................58GRADUATE LAW CLERK.........................................................................................60ATTORNEY I................................................................................................................60ATTORNEY II -- Casehandlers....................................................................................62ATTORNEY II – Non-Casehandlers.............................................................................63ATTORNEY III -- Casehandler.....................................................................................64ATTORNEY III – Non-Casehandler.............................................................................66

APPENDIX B.......................................................................................................................68

PROMOTION CRITERIA FOR SUPPORT STAFF II................................................68APPENDIX B.......................................................................................................................69

PROMOTION CRITERIA FOR SUPPORT STAFF II................................................69PROMOTION CRITERIA FOR PARALEGAL II.......................................................70PROMOTION CRITERIA FOR ATTORNEY II.........................................................72PROMOTION CRITERIA FOR ATTORNEY III........................................................73

APPENDIX C - EXPERIENCE CREDITS..........................................................................75

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AGREEMENT

This agreement is between The Legal Aid Society of Columbus, Ohio, hereinafter referred to as the Employer and Ohio Council 8, of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO and its Local 797, hereinafter referred to collectively as the Union.

ARTICLE 1. INTENT AND PURPOSE

The Employer and the Union each represents that the purpose and intent of this Agreement is to promote cooperation and harmony in the provision of high-quality legal services to the poor, to recognize mutual interest, to promote a channel through which information and problems may be transmitted from one to the other, to provide an orderly and peaceful means of conducting negotiations and resolving any misunderstandings, to formulate rules to govern the relationship between the Union, the employees, and the Employer, to promote efficiency and service, and to set forth herein the basic and full agreement between the parties covering rates of pay, hours of work and other terms and conditions of employment. The parties acknowledge that during the negotiations which resulted in this Agreement, each had the unlimited right and opportunity to make demands and proposals with respect to any subject or matter.

Therefore, the Employer and the Union each agrees that the other shall not be obligated to bargain on any other subject during the life of this Agreement, unless otherwise provided herein.

ARTICLE 2. RECOGNITION OF BARGAINING UNIT

The Employer recognizes the Union as the sole exclusive bargaining agent for purposes of collective bargaining with respect to wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment, for all employees in the bargaining unit. The bargaining unit is all legal staff and support staff employees as defined in this Agreement, employed by the Employer including attorneys, graduate law clerks, paralegals, social workers, office clerical employees, and building custodial/maintenance personnel, but excluding all temporary employees, student law clerks, the comptroller, the secretary of the executive director, and supervising attorneys and all other supervisors as defined in the Act.

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ARTICLE 3. DEFINITIONS

1. The term “employee(s),” unless specified otherwise in this Agreement, shall refer to bargaining unit employees.

2. Local or Local Union – refers to Local 797 of the Ohio Council 8, of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO.

3. All benefits provided herein and contract provisions shall be applicable and available to all unit employees unless specifically indicated otherwise.

4. Legal staff refers to attorneys, paralegals, graduate law clerks, and social workers employed by the Employer.

5. Support staff refers to employees other than legal staff in the bargaining unit, but excludes “temporary employees” as defined below.

6. Experience Credit, as used in Appendix C, refers to prior experience in the same or similar position with some other agency or at The Legal Aid Society of Columbus where the employee had the requisite qualifications while performing such duties. This definition applies to all new employees hired after January 1, 1994.

7. “Temporary Employees” are employees hired for a specific project or grant not to exceed 24 months.

ARTICLE 4. MANAGEMENT RIGHTS

Except as otherwise specifically provided by express terms of this Agreement, the Employer has the right to manage the agency and the direction of the working force, including: the right to plan, direct and control service and operations; to hire, to suspend, discipline, or discharge for just cause; to assign jobs, to transfer employees within the agency; to establish ethical, quality and economic standards of the legal services supplied by the agency; to relieve employees from duty because of lack of work, lack of funds or other legitimate reasons; to study or introduce new and improved methods or facilities; and to establish and maintain reasonable work rules and regulations governing the operation of the Employer, the violation of which shall be among the causes for discharge. All of these rights are vested exclusively in the Employer; provided, however, that such rights will not be used for the purpose of discrimination against any employee.

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ARTICLE 5. NO STRIKE – NO LOCKOUT

A. NO STRIKES

During the life of this Agreement, there shall be no slowdown, work stoppage, suspension of work, picketing or strike by the Union or any employees for any reason or cause whatsoever. The Union agrees that it will not assist employees participating in and will take steps to end any unauthorized work stoppage, strike, slowdown, suspension of work, or picketing and shall notify its members to return to work.

B. NO LOCKOUTS

During the life of this Agreement, the Employer will not lockout its employees. This shall not be construed to limit or restrict the Employer in curtailing or ceasing services due to business reasons or funding.

ARTICLE 6. UNION SECURITY

A. UNION MEMBERSHIP

All employees covered by this Agreement who voluntarily are, or voluntarily become, members of the Union in good standing on the date of the signing of this Agreement or the beginning of their employment, whichever is the later date, shall, as a condition of their employment remain members of the Union in good standing during the term of this Agreement. This provision shall not apply to any employee who, within thirty (30) days preceding the ending of this Agreement, shall withdraw from the Union by sending a signed withdrawal letter pursuant to the conditions set forth in "Authorization Card" (Appendix D).

B. AGENCY SHOP

Unless in compliance with the terms described below, all bargaining unit employees who are not members in good standing of the Union shall be required to pay a fair share fee to the Union as a condition of continued employment. All bargaining unit employees who do not become members in good standing of the Union shall be required to pay a fair share fee to the Union effective sixty-one (61) days from the employee's date of hire or the date of execution of this agreement, whichever is later, as a condition of employment. The above requirement does not apply to a nonunion member who certifies to the Union in the form of an affidavit that s/he has a bona fide philosophical opposition to the concept of trade unionism. As a condition of employment, such employee(s) shall make monthly

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contributions which shall be equal to the fair share fee, to a nonreligious, non-labor-related charitable fund or organization exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of Title 26, United States Code, of the employee's choice. As proof of such contributions having been made, the employee shall provide an official receipt from said charity to the Treasurer of Local 797, upon request.

C. CHECKOFF

1. CHECKOFF PROCEDURE. The Employer agrees that during the life of this Agreement, whenever an employee of the Employer has authorized, in writing, on the agreed form of check off card set forth hereafter, the Employer will deduct from the employee’s wages the regular monthly membership dues and/or initiation fees, or fair share fees of the Union. Normal dues deductions shall be in equal installments from each pay and shall be for the next period’s dues and/or initiation fees, or fair share fees, except in the case of new hires. Full deductions shall be made from the wages or pay of new hires after they have filed with the employer a written authorization to do so. Amounts deducted shall be remitted by the Employer to the Union within ten (10) days of the date the deduction is made along with a list showing each employee for whom deductions were made and the type and amount deducted.

2. CHECKOFF CARD. The appropriate checkoff authorization shall be in the form of Appendix D attached hereto and made a part hereof.

D. MEMBERS NOT IN GOOD STANDING

If any employee fails to become a member in good standing of the Union or pay a required fair share fee within the time prescribed in Section B, the Employer, upon written request by the Union, shall discharge the employee within thirty (30) days of receipt of such request. No employee shall be discharged unless the Union has first notified the employee by letter explaining that the employee is delinquent in not tendering dues or fair share fees, specifying the current amount of such delinquency, and warning the employee that unless such fees and dues are tendered within fourteen (14) calendar days, the employee will be reported to the Employer for termination; and second, the Union has furnished the Employer with written certification that the above procedure has been followed and that the employee has failed to tender the dues or fees.

For the purposes of this provision, "good standing" means the tender of the periodic dues or initiation fees uniformly required as a condition of acquiring or maintaining membership, or the fair share fees required by Section B.

If an employee pays the requisite dues or fees within two (2) weeks of receiving notice of termination pursuant to this Section, the termination request shall be rescinded.

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E. INDEMNITY

The Union shall indemnify, defend, and save the Employer harmless against any and all claims, demands, suits or other forms of liability that may arise out of or by reasons of action taken in reliance upon employee payroll deduction authorization cards submitted by the Union to the Employer.

ARTICLE 7. VISITS BY UNION REPRESENTATIVES

Authorized representatives of the Union shall be permitted to enter the Employer's premises for the purpose of satisfying themselves that the terms of this Agreement are being complied with. Such visit must be prearranged with the director or branch office supervisor. Such Union representatives shall not interfere with the normal work duties of the employees or the operations of the Employer. The Employer may designate a person to accompany such representative.

ARTICLE 8. LABOR – MANAGEMENT MEETINGS

At least once each calendar quarter, defined as the months of January, April, July, and October, during regular working hours, the director and/or other members of management selected by the director, and members selected by the Union shall meet to discuss matters to promote a more harmonious relationship between the union and the employer. The union members attending this meeting shall suffer no loss of pay. Special labor – management meetings may be held by mutual agreement of the director and the local union president. Whenever possible, ten days prior to such meeting, each party shall present to the other in writing an agenda of items for discussion. No person not employed by the Employer or the trustees shall be permitted to attend such meetings if the discussion concerns clients or confidential client information.

ARTICLE 9. UNION STEWARDS

The Union will be permitted one steward in each office location other than the Columbus office. At the Columbus office, the Union shall have a steward for legal staff and a steward for all support staff. In addition, the Union shall be permitted a chief steward at the Columbus office. Local union president may serve as chief steward in the absence of the chief steward. The Union shall furnish the Employer with the name of each steward. In no event shall union activities of stewards interfere with normal work duties of other employees. A steward, the chief steward, or local union president shall be permitted

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reasonable time to investigate and process any grievance without loss of pay. Local union representatives will notify their supervisors of the necessity of using this provision.

ARTICLE 10. PLEDGE AGAINST DISCRIMINATION

Neither the Employer nor Union shall discriminate against employees because of race, color, sex, sexual preference or orientation, religion, national origin, age, marital status, disabilities, political affiliation, veteran status, union activity or affiliation, or any other consideration prohibited by law.

ARTICLE 11. GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

A. GRIEVANCE DEFINED

"Grievance," as used in this Agreement, is limited to a complaint, dispute or controversy by an employee or employees involving the interpretation, or application or compliance with the provisions of this Agreement. Grievances shall be processed as follows, unless specific provision is made in this Agreement for a different procedure. At no time during the Grievance or Arbitration process will the grievant or grievant(s) be allowed Third Party representation outside the Local Union representative or AFSCME Ohio Council 8 representative.

1. STEP 1: Initial GrievanceWithin ten (10) working days after the occurrence or date the employee knew or

reasonably should have known of the occurrence which constitutes the basis for the grievance, a grievance may be filed in writing together with facts constituting a grievance with the employee's immediate supervisor. The supervisor shall answer the grievance in writing within ten (10) working days after the grievance is submitted. A copy of this answer shall be served on the employee and the Union.

2. STEP 2: Grievance AppealIf an agreeable settlement is not reached at Step l, the grievance may be appealed, in

writing, to the director. This appeal must be made within ten (10) working days of receipt of the supervisor's Step 1 answer.

The Union or employee may request a hearing before the director during Step 2. The Union or employee request shall be made in writing to the director simultaneously with the filing of the grievance at the second step of the grievance procedure. If the director or designee decides to hold such a hearing, s/he shall notify the Union and employee within

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five (5) working days of the filing of the grievance at the second step of the grievance procedure. The Employer can also decide to hold a hearing without a request from the employee or Union. If a hearing is to be held, the director or his/her designee shall hold the hearing within seven (7) working days of the request. Both parties may call witnesses having relevant and material information. The director or his/her designee shall respond in writing within ten (10) working days of the date the hearing is held.

3. STEP 3: ArbitrationIf a grievance or grievances Step 2 answer(s) are unsatisfactory, the Union may,

within twenty (20) working days after receipt of the Step 2 response(s) from the Employer, refer the grievance(s) to binding arbitration. Within ten (10) working days of receipt of the grievance being referred to arbitration, either the Employer or the Union may request grievance mediation with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS). The mediation request must be mutually agreed to by both parties, the Employer and the Union. The parties agree to follow the procedure outlined by the mediator assigned by FMCS. Upon completion of mediation, if the parties cannot agree to a mutual resolution of the grievance(s), the parties agree to move forward with the arbitration. The arbitration proceedings shall be conducted by an arbitrator selected by the parties. In the event the parties are unable to agree upon a mutually acceptable arbitrator within fifteen (15) working days after the Union appeals the grievance to arbitration, or ten (10) working days after the parties have agreed upon and completed mediation without a mutually agreed to resolution to the grievance, the parties shall jointly request the FMCS to provide a panel of seven (7) qualified arbitrators. The Employer and Union shall select a single arbitrator from such panel. The first strike shall be on a rotating basis. After each party makes three (3) strikes, the remaining person on the list shall be the arbitrator to hear the grievance(s).

B. LEGAL STAFF QUALITY OF PERFORMANCE & PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

If the behavior or actions of a legal staff employee for which discipline is or may be issued involves or relates to quality of job performance or professional competence, the following grievance procedure shall be followed:

1. STEP 1: Notification of EmployeeThe employee shall be notified, in writing, of disciplinary action to be taken or the

discipline imposed and the reasons therefor. The notice shall specifically note that this Section B is invoked.

2. STEP 2: Grievance FiledWithin ten (10) working days of receipt of such notice, a written grievance may be

filed with the director. The director may conduct an investigation. If the employee involved is called for an interview, the Union shall be notified and shall be afforded an opportunity to have a representative present. The Union representative present shall be an employee of the Employer. The director shall issue a written report. Documents relied

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upon by the director shall be indexed as an attachment to the report. Subject to the confidentiality provisions set forth in Article 11, Section B(3)(c), a copy of this report shall be served upon the Union and employee. The director's decision shall be issued within twenty (20) working days of the date the second step appeal is filed.

3. STEP 3: Special Committeea. The director’s decision may be appealed to a special labor – management committee within ten (10) working days of receipt of the director’s decision. Service of this appeal shall be upon the director. This committee shall be composed of the local union president, chief steward, unless either is the subject of the grievance in which event the union may select another employee – attorney, and a third employee attorney chosen by the local union and two supervisory attorneys selected by the director and one member of the Board of Trustees selected by the President of the Board. The director or his/her designee may be present during all deliberations of the committee.

b. Within fifteen (15) working days, this committee shall meet and review the documentary evidence, hear testimony from witnesses, the affected employee, supervisor(s), and/or director or his/her designee. It shall review the decision of the director. Within fifteen (15) working days of the appeal, the committee shall issue a written decision affirming, modifying or reversing the director’s decision. The committee may reverse the director’s decision only if it finds that the director or his/her designee abused his/her discretion in making his/her decision.

c. ASSURANCE OF CONFIDENTIALITYUpon certification by the Employer that information protected by the attorney-client privilege is necessary to a decision on the appeal or upon a refusal by the Employer to provide information to the Union by reason of the attorney-client privilege, the committee (excluding the Board member but including the director) shall determine whether or not the appeal may be adequately resolved without the receipt of the confidential information. If the conclusion is that the dispute may be adequately resolved without the confidential information, the dispute shall be submitted to the full committee. If the conclusion is that the dispute cannot be adequately resolved without the confidential information, the Director shall select a third attorney employed by the Employer to replace the Board member on the committee.

4. STEP 4: Mediation and ArbitrationIf the action of the special committee is not satisfactory and the confidentiality

provisions have not been invoked, the Union or employer may, within twenty (20) working days after receipt of the Step 3 decision, refer the matter to binding arbitration. Within the ten (10) working days of receipt of the grievance being referred to arbitration, either the employer or the Union may request grievance mediation with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS). The mediation request must be mutually agreed to by both parties, the Employer and the Union. The parties agree to follow the procedure outlined by the mediator assigned by FMCS. Upon completion of mediation, if the parties cannot agree to a mutual resolution of the grievance(s), the parties agree to move forward with the

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arbitration. The arbitration proceedings shall be conducted by an arbitrator selected by the parties. In the event the parties are unable to agree on a mutually acceptable arbitrator within fifteen (15) working days after the Union appeals the grievance to arbitration, or ten (10) working days after the parties have agreed upon and completed mediation without a mutually agreed upon resolution to the grievance, the parties shall jointly request the FMCS to provide a panel of seven (7) arbitrators who shall all be attorneys. The Employer and Union shall select a single arbitrator from such panel. The first strike shall be on a rotating basis. After each party makes three (3) strikes, the remaining attorney on the list shall be the arbitrator to hear the grievance.

If the action of the special committee is not satisfactory and the confidentiality provisions have been invoked, barring consideration by an arbitrator, the parties shall be released from commitments of Article 5 of this Agreement.

C. AUTHORITY OF THE ARBITRATOR

The decision of the arbitrator shall be final and binding upon the Employer, the Union and the employee or employees involved. The arbitrator shall have jurisdiction and authority only to interpret, apply or determine compliance with the provisions of this Agreement. The arbitrator shall have no authority whatsoever to alter or vary the terms of this Agreement. In the case of suspension, discharge, or disciplinary layoff, the arbitrator shall have the power to remove, reduce or uphold the proposed action with or without back pay. Any award of back pay by an arbitrator shall be limited to the amount of wages the employee would otherwise have earned at the proper rate from his/her employment with the Employer during the period involved, less interim earnings and unemployment compensation. It is understood that unemployment compensation shall not be both refunded and deducted.

D. ATTENDANCE AT ARBITRATION HEARING

All employee witnesses, the grievant if still employed, and the steward or local president shall be granted time off without loss of pay to attend arbitration proceedings.

E. EFFECT OF TIME LIMITS

The right to further process any grievance shall be forfeited by the Union if the grievance is not submitted at any step of the procedure within the foregoing time limits. The failure of the Employer to answer any step of the procedure within the foregoing time limits shall award the settlement in favor of the grievant(s). All mutually agreed extensions of time or waivers of the contract grievance procedure shall be in writing. If the grievance or response is mailed, the date of deposit in the mail, if sent by certified mail return receipt requested, shall be considered the date of filing or response.

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F. GROUP GRIEVANCE

A grievance involving more than one person and based on the same alleged facts and involving persons under the jurisdiction of more than one immediate supervisor may be initiated at Step 2 of the grievance procedure.

G. EXPENSES

The compensation and expenses of the arbitrator shall be borne equally by the Employer and the Union. Any costs associated with mutually agreed to mediation shall also be borne equally by the Employer and the Union.

H. RESOLUTION OUTSIDE GRIEVANCE PROCESS

Nothing in this grievance procedure shall preclude employees from discussing and resolving day-to-day problems with supervision. However, no agreements may be made which vary the terms and conditions of this contract.

ARTICLE 12. DISCIPLINE PROCEDURE

A. GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. The Employer may discharge or otherwise discipline an employee only for just cause. It is expected that most cases will be disposed of with an informal oral warning without formal disciplinary action. Such warning will not become a part of the employee’s personnel file.

2. For purposes of this Section, discipline refers to a written warning or written reprimand, denial of step increase, suspension without pay, demotion, or dismissal.

3. In cases other than discharge or suspension for willful misconduct, or gross dereliction of professional responsibility, the following procedures shall apply:

a. When the Employer believes that just cause exists to discipline an employee, the Employer shall first issue a written notice to the employee specifying the conduct complained of. The notice shall indicate that the employee is entitled to a conference to discuss the allegations. The conference shall be held at a time and place mutually agreed upon by the parties and shall, in all events, be held no sooner than three (3) work days nor later than ten (10) work days following the employee’s receipt of the notice. The employee may have a union representative present at the meeting. Accompanying the notice, the Employer shall provide a written statement of rights to the employee, including how to exercise these rights if s/he so chooses. During the meeting, the employer shall make note in the record that said written statement of rights has been received by the employee.

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b. The employee shall be notified in writing within five (5) work days after the conference of the disposition of the matter.

c. If some or all of the conduct described in the above written notice continues, the Employer may take additional disciplinary action against the employee, following the same procedures outlined above.

d. If the employee is not the subject of further disciplinary action regarding such conduct within two (2) years of the previous action, any record of such discipline shall be removed from the employee’s personnel file and will not be referred to or raised in any subsequent disciplinary action.

e. No disciplinary document will be placed in an employee’s file without first being initialed by that employee or, if the employee refuses to initial the document, after the Employer advises the employee that the document will be placed in the file without the employee’s signed initials.

B. WILLFUL MISCONDUCT OR GROSS DERELICTION OF DUTY

The Employer may suspend from work or discharge an employee guilty of willful misconduct or gross dereliction of professional responsibilities without taking the prior disciplinary actions provided for in Section A. In such cases, the employee shall be provided a written statement setting forth the reasons for their suspension or discharge at the time of their suspension or discharge, or as soon thereafter as possible.

C. CONFIDENTIALITY

If client confidentiality is involved in or related to the incident under investigation or for which discipline is to be invoked, any meeting held shall be limited to the employee being investigated or disciplined, the employee's immediate supervisor, witnesses during their testimony, and attorneys employed by the Employer.

D. GRIEVANCE FROM DISCIPLINARY ACTION

Any grievance resulting from a disciplinary action shall be initiated at Step 2 of the grievance procedure. Written warnings/reprimands are not subject to the Arbitration step contained in Article 11, Grievance Procedure. However; at no time during the Disciplinary process will an Employee be allowed Third Party representation outside the Local Union representative or AFSCME Ohio Council 8 representative.

ARTICLE 13. HOURS OF WORK AND OVERTIME

A. SUPPORT STAFF

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1. WORK DAY WORK WEEKThe regular work week for payroll purposes shall commence on Sunday and end on

Saturday. The regular work schedule shall consist of five (5) consecutive seven and one-half (7 1/2) hour days with one (1) unpaid lunch break of one (1) hour. An employee may take two 15-minute breaks, one in the mid-morning and one in the mid-afternoon. An employee late for work or otherwise absent from work during the work day up to two (2) hours shall be allowed to make up lost time during the pay period in which the tardiness or absence occurred. If the employee chooses not to make up the time, the tardiness or absence period shall be charged to compensatory or vacation time, if available. The foregoing sentence does not recognize such tardiness or absence as a standard and the Employer reserves the right to discipline appropriately for tardiness or absence, or recurring tardiness or absence.

In the event the Employer establishes regular evening or weekend office hours, the Employer will notify the Union ten (10) working days in advance of the date the change is to go into effect, and shall meet with the Union to discuss the change. In the event the Employer otherwise needs non-legal employees to work evening or weekend hours or irregular hours, the work schedules of non-legal employees may be adjusted as provided in the following section. The Employer shall provide as much advance notice as is reasonably possible of the assignment of nonlegal staff to work evening or weekend or irregular hours. The Employer shall take all reasonable measures to prevent unauthorized entry and to accompany members of the public through the office building during any non-office hours when the front doors are unlocked.

2. FLEX-TIMENon-legal employees may designate their regular work arrival time at any time

between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. An employee's regular departure time will be eight and one-half (8 1/2) hours after the regular arrival time. If an insufficient number of non-legal employees choose to work when needed for the efficient operation of a unit or office, the Employer may assign non-legal employees to work certain hours by classification and by unit or by office based upon reverse order of seniority with the least senior non-legal employee being assigned first.

In the event the Employer establishes evening or weekend office hours, or otherwise needs non-legal employees to work evening, weekend or irregular hours, the Employer may assign nonlegal employees to work evening, weekend or irregular hours. Should Saturday operations become necessary, the non-legal employees who work the Saturday schedule will receive a shift premium of twenty-five cents ($.25) for the Saturday hours worked. Voluntary sign-ups for evening, weekend or irregular schedules will be offered first by office, classification and seniority. If less than the required number of non-legal employees fills the schedule, assignment shall be made by office, classification and reverse order of seniority. During the week a non-legal employee selects or has been selected to work an evening, weekend or irregular schedule, the employee's work hours for the week may be adjusted, subject to the Employer's approval.

3. OVERTIME WORK

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a. All work in excess of thirty-seven and one-half (37 ½) hours per week through the fortieth (40th) hour per week shall be compensated by compensatory time at the rate of one (1) hour of work for one (1) hour of compensatory time. All work in excess of forty (40) hours per week shall be paid at the rate of time and one-half (1 ½) of the employee’s regular rate of pay.

b. All hours worked on Sunday or holidays shall be credited at the rate of one and one-half (1 ½) hours for each hour worked. Holidays which fall during the employee’s regularly scheduled work week shall be calculated as seven and one-half (7 ½) hours work for purposes of the overtime under the provisions of this Article.

c. Overtime hours worked shall be entered on forms provided by the Employer, signed by the employee, and approved by the employee’s immediate supervisor.

4. COMPENSATORY TIME OFFCompensatory time use shall be by mutual agreement by the employee and

Employer. Compensatory time request shall be made in writing and directed to the employee's immediate supervisor for approval. Approval of compensatory time use shall not be unreasonably withheld.

5. CALL IN PAYA non-legal employee requested to report back to work not contiguous to the

beginning or end of the regular work day, shall be guaranteed a minimum of four (4) hours pay at the appropriate rate.

6. OVERTIME ROTATIONThe parties recognize that providing legal services to clients requires from time to

time work in addition to the normal work schedule. As a result thereof, support staff may be required to work additional hours. It is the policy of the Employer to attempt to rotate overtime among the employees on the support staff when such a rotation is practical without destroying the flow of work commencing prior to the end of the regular work shift for an employee. The parties recognize that many times an employee working on a document or a project at the end of the working day which must be completed should continue to do that project rather than rotating it to a new person. Where it is practical to assign a new person to overtime work, the Employer shall maintain a roster in the order of seniority of support personnel and will attempt to rotate overtime assignments that may be made in accordance with this Section. The rotation shall be subject to the employee's present ability to perform the work offered.

B. HOURS OF WORK FOR LEGAL STAFF

1. NORMAL WORK WEEKThe normal work week for legal staff employees shall generally consist of five (5)

consecutive eight (8) hour days. However, legal staff employees may establish their own schedules. These schedules shall not interfere with their normal expected duties or

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other work, and the legal staff shall not abuse this right to establish schedules. Hours worked shall be entered on forms provided by the Employer and signed by the employee and the employee’s immediate supervisor.

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2. HOLIDAY COURT COMPENSATORY TIMEIf a legal staff employee makes a court or administrative hearing appearance on an

agency holiday, the employee shall receive in compensatory time the actual time required at the hearing as well as the actual time spent preparing for and completing tasks directly related to the appearance immediately before and after the hearing, but in no event less than four (4) hours compensatory time.

C. PAY PERIOD

Employees will be paid on a biweekly basis with a one (1) week hold back in pay.

ARTICLE 14. LEAVE

A. SICK LEAVE

1. ACCRUAL: Employees shall accumulate sick leave, from the date of employment, at the rate of one and one-fourth (1 ¼) days per month. Leave accumulates on the last day of the month during which it was earned. There is no limit to the amount of sick leave an employee may accrue.

2. USAGE: Sick leave with pay shall be allowed for employees in the following situations:

a. Illness of, or injury to, the employee serious enough to keep the employee from work;

b. Physical, dental or mental consultation or treatment of the employee;c. Sickness or medical need of a spouse, child or other family member who is

dependent for his/her health and well-being on the employee;d. The employee is needed to care for a member of the employee’s immediate

family with a serious health condition, as these terms are defined in the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, except that immediate family shall include the following:

i. Immediate family shall include spouse, spousal equivalent/significant other, father, mother, brother, sister, son, daughter, grandparent, grandchild, aunt and uncle. All of the terms used in this paragraph include step, half, adopted, or in-law, as appropriate.

3. CONVERSION: Annually an employee may convert up to three (3) work days of sick leave to personal leave which may be used at the employee’s discretion.

4. SICK LEAVE RECORD: All sick leave used must be entered on a sick leave form and approved by the employee’s immediate supervisor.

5. REPORTING: Employees shall provide as much advance notice of sick leave usage as practicable. An employee unable to report to work due to medical reasons shall inform his/her immediate supervisor within one (1) hour of the start of his/her regular work day unless circumstances do not permit notification, in which event the

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employee shall give notice as soon as possible. This reporting shall not be necessary once the probable duration of absence has been given to the Employer.

A doctor’s statement shall be required in situations of an employee’s long-term illness or injury. The employer may require that an employee’s request for leave of more than five (5) work days to care for a member of the immediate family with a serious health condition be supported by a medical certification of the family member’s serious health condition, and the need for the employee’s care, or that the employee’s presence would be beneficial or desirable for the care of the family member. A doctor’s statement may be required by the employer when usage suggests abuse or excessive use of sick leave. In such case, the employee shall be given notice that a doctor’s statement will be required in the future when requesting sick leave. This provision is not intended to limit the Employer’s ability to discipline or to deny sick leave in clear cases of abuse or excessive use.

6. EXHAUSTION: When a non-probationary employee on sick leave exhausts his/her sick leave, at the option of the employee, up to five (5) days shall be advanced, to be repaid to the employer at the accepted sick leave accrual rate of one and one-quarter (1 ¼) days per month worked. Any additional leave shall be automatically charged to compensatory time and then annual leave unless otherwise indicated by the employee. A doctor’s statement shall be required to receive advanced sick leave. If advanced sick leave is not fully paid back at the time of separation, then the balance of the advanced days shall be deducted one-for-one from the last pay check due from the employer.

7. SICK LEAVE CASH OUT: Employees may elect to sell back to the employer up to five health leave days per calendar year at 100% value in December. Each person electing this option may do so only to the extent that s/he will have 60 hours of health leave remaining after such election. Cash payouts shall be included in the payroll immediately preceding Christmas.

8. CATASTROPHIC SICK LEAVE DONATIONS: a catastrophic sick leave donation program is established to assist employees who are placed on a leave of absence due to an accident or long-term illness not job related and who will exhaust all other paid leave. This program neither supersedes nor replaces other disability programs.The catastrophic sick leave donation can be utilized only if all of the following conditions are met:

a. The Executive Director determines that the injury or long-term illness is catastrophic. An injury or long-term illness is catastrophic if the employee will be unable to perform his/her duties for at least thirty (30) consecutive calendar days due to a physical or mental impairment.

b. Medical documentation verifying the impairment and its duration shall be provided to the Employer.

c. The employee receiving catastrophic sick leave donations must have worked for the Employer for at least one (1) year.

d. Prior to receiving sick leave donation, the employee must have exhausted all paid time off, including sick leave, compensatory time and vacation time.

e. All sick leave donation is voluntary.

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f. Unless otherwise approved by the Executive Director, up to twenty-four (24) total hours of sick leave per donating employee can be donated per year.

g. Donated sick leave shall not count against the donating employee’s Sick Leave Cash Out.

h. The donating employee must have worked for the Employer for at least one (1) year, and may only donate sick leave accumulated by the employee in excess of two hundred and forty (240) hours.

i. Donating employees shall make their sick leave donations annually at the same time that the Sick Leave Cash Out decisions are made.

j. Once sick leave is donated, it will not be returned to the donating employee and shall remain available for use by any employee who qualifies to receive catastrophic sick leave under this provision.

k. The recipient employee may receive up to a maximum of sixty-six (66) donated sick leave days once every five (5) years.

A request for sick leave from the catastrophic sick leave donation pool shall be submitted in writing to the Executive Director, who shall determine the eligibility of the requesting employee pursuant to the factors listed above. The request may be submitted by the employee or by a personal representative who applies on the employee’s behalf because the employee is not capable due to a physical or mental impairment.

B. INJURY PAY ADVANCEMENT

When an employee is injured or becomes disabled as a result of the performance of his or her duties for the employer and, within two (2) weeks thereafter, applies for Workers’ Compensation benefits by filing a claim which the Employer certifies as valid, the Employer upon the employee's written election shall advance wages to the employee in the amount of 75% of the employee's average weekly wages calculated using the method utilized by the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, up to but not exceeding the maximum temporary total payment provided by law, for the term of disability, up to a maximum of six (6) months. In consideration of this, the employee shall reimburse the Employer for said advancements using the full amounts awarded by the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation for temporary total, permanent partial and/or permanent total disability, without any deduction for attorney fees. No reimbursement shall come from sick or annual leave except as expressly provided for in this section. Excluded from refund to the Employer are any amounts received by the employee as medical payments. As further consideration, the employee shall agree not to make an assignment of workers’ compensation to an attorney, and when initiating his or her initial claim for benefits, the employee shall direct the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation to mail the first twelve (12) weeks of benefits directly to the Employer's care as provided in Ohio Admin. Code Section 4123-5 20 (C), using the form approved by the Bureau for this purpose.

In no event shall the period of advancement exceed the period of temporary total disability or six (6) months from the date of injury, whichever is less.

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Prior to a decision by the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation on the employee's claim, the employee may elect to receive injury pay advances or draw accumulated leave, but not both. Should the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation deny any claim, injury pay advances shall cease. Furthermore, should the Bureau deny a claim or fail to compensate for any portion of the period of disability for which advances were made, injury pay will be charged to sick leave and if exhausted, to vacation leave, until full reimbursement is accomplished. If upon return from injury leave the employee has exhausted all sick and vacation leave, injury pay will be charged to future accumulating sick and vacation leave at half the amount of leave the employee accumulates each month until full reimbursement is accomplished.

Should the employee terminate employment without having fully reimbursed an injury pay advancement, the Employer shall seek reimbursement of the amount still owing by deduction from the employee's severance pay.

The Employer may at his option assign an injured employee jobs the injured employee can perform, in order to reduce the period of disability.

There shall be no accumulation of sick or vacation leave while receiving injury pay advancements under this section.

C. LEAVE OF ABSENCE WITHOUT PAY

1. PERSONAL LEAVE OF ABSENCE WITHOUT PAYA personal leave of absence up to six (6) months at the request of the employee may

be granted upon approval of the Employer. The leave may be for educational, medical, or any other purpose. If for medical reasons, the leave may be approved only upon the exhaustion of sick leave benefits or temporary Workers’ Compensation payments. A personal leave of absence may be extended an additional six (6) months if for medical reasons.

2. SABBATICAL LEAVE WITHOUT PAYAn employee shall be entitled to take sabbatical leave without pay after seven (7)

years of continuous service, and once every (7) years thereafter. Sabbatical leave shall be a minimum of six (6) months, up to one (1) year. An employee shall give the Employer at least sixty (60) days advance notice of a sabbatical leave request. If another employee in the same category is scheduled for a sabbatical leave at the same time a second employee in that category is requesting sabbatical leave, the Employer reserves the right to limit the number of employees in the same category on sabbatical at the same time to assure orderly operations of a unit, an office and the agency. The Employer also reserves the right to subcontract work to maintain service levels or, as a final option, to transfer employees between offices if an office is understaffed due to sabbatical leave, and will exhaust these options before denying any employee sabbatical leave.

3. BENEFITS DURING LEAVE WITHOUT PAY

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All benefits not specifically provided for otherwise, herein cease during such leave; provided, however, the Employer shall continue to carry the employee on payroll for purposes of insurance coverage only if the employee pays the Employer the cost of the premium payment in advance of the premium due date.

4. RIGHT TO RETURN TO SAME POSITIONAn employee taking a leave of absence or sabbatical leave without pay under this

section shall be entitled to return to the same position after the leave, subject to Article 18, (LayoffRecall).

D. MILITARY LEAVE

Employees shall be granted military leave in accordance with state and federal law, including the applicable provisions regarding military leave and re-employment provided by the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act of 1994 and all amendments thereto.

E. PARENTAL LEAVE

Parents shall be entitled to use their available paid parental leave and sick leave, in addition to unpaid parental leave, for each pregnancy or adoption. The total paid and unpaid leave shall not exceed one hundred and twenty (120) calendar days for each pregnancy or adoption. Additional parental leave, upon request, may be granted by the Employer. No parent shall be forced to take sick or parental leave whose physician certifies his or her ability to perform his or her job. Each parent shall give the Employer the expected date of delivery or adoption and, in the case of returning to work, at least two (2) weeks advance notice of his or her return date. Employees on such sick or parental leave shall be returned to their former positions of employment upon termination of their leave. Any employee may at his or her option take accrued compensatory and/or vacation time during the unpaid portion of the parental leave period.

Further, at the time of the birth of the child, or at the time of the permanent acquisition of a child under three years of age or any child who suffers from a physical or mental disability, by an employee, or an employee’s spouse, an employee shall be entitled to a maximum of eight paid Parental Leave days. In special circumstances, leave may be allowed at the acquisition of a child over the age of three years.

F. FAMILY DEATH LEAVE

Upon request, an employee who suffers a death in the immediate family will be given five (5) days off with full pay, up to a total maximum of ten (10) days every twelve (12) months for family death leave, with no loss of accrued Sick Leave or accrued Annual leave. Any time in addition to the five (5) days or to the ten (10) day maximum must be approved by the Executive Director and such additional time will be charged to accrued

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Annual Leave, Compensatory Time, Sick Leave or Leave Without Pay in that order as appropriate.

Immediate family shall include spouse, spousal equivalent/significant other, mother, father, brother, sister, son, daughter, grandparent, grandchild, aunt and uncle. All of the terms include step, half, adopted, or in-law, as appropriate.

G. UNION LEAVE

1. The employer shall grant unpaid leave of absence to those Union members elected or appointed as delegates to official functions of the Union or AFSCME, AFL-CIO or the AFL-CIO. Said leave is not to exceed seven (7) days total leave time per year for the entire bargaining unit. The Employer shall be notified of the use of said leave fourteen (14) days prior to its commencement.

2. The Employer shall grant three (3) hours each month at no loss of pay to one (1) union member from each satellite office to attend union membership meetings.

H. COURT LEAVE

An employee appearing in any Court as a witness or juror, shall be compensated for the difference between their witness or jury duty pay and regular pay at their then current rate for the number of scheduled hours of work they miss.

I. VACATION LEAVE

1. All employees shall be granted vacation days at their regular rate of pay in accordance with the following schedule:

YEARS OF SERVICE VACATIONDuring the first 20 years 20 days per yearAfter 20 years of service 25 days per year

2. A holiday that occurs during an employee’s vacation shall not be charged to the employee’s vacation time.

3. The month of March each year shall be set aside for employees to schedule vacation by seniority. Thereafter, scheduling preference will be in order of request. While the agency will attempt to accommodate each employee’s request, the agency reserves the right to limit the number of employees in any job classification within a unit when necessary to assure orderly operations of the unit and agency. An employee while in pay status may accumulate all or part of the vacation time to a maximum of forty-five (45) days. Leave accumulates on the last day of the month during which it was earned. All accumulation in excess of forty-five (45) days will be lost at each anniversary date, unless the employee was prevented from taking vacation by Employer under this Section. In the event employee was so prevented

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from using vacation by the Employer, the employee shall be paid for that vacation time in excess of forty-five (45) days accumulation.

4. Employees using vacations in segments of one (1) week or more shall receive their vacation pay no later than three (3) days prior to the start of the employee’s vacation period, if they have notified the employer two (2) weeks in advance. Normally, two (2) weeks advanced notice shall be given for all vacation leave. Vacation leave may not be taken prior to approval, except in situations subject to Article 14, Section A (6).

5. An employee who goes on inactive pay status shall be paid all or part of his available vacation leave, at the employee’s option. This provision is subject to Article 24, Section D, Severance Pay.

J. EDUCATIONAL LEAVE

Upon request, employees may be granted paid time to attend school, including but not limited to college, university, trade, or technical school. The paid time shall not exceed ten (10) hours per week. The courses taken must be related to the employee’s job or Employer's needs. Evening sessions of the courses authorized must be unavailable. This leave must be applied for each quarter, semester, or term. An employee seeking educational leave must supply documents showing acceptance in the course and satisfactory progress.

K. ELECTION DAY LEAVE

Each employee shall be, upon request, allowed one (1) hour paid time to vote each official Election Day. The employee must designate whether this time off is at the start or end of the shift.

L. FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE

The employer shall provide family and medical leave in accordance with the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) and any subsequent amendments.

An eligible employee is entitled to take up to twelve (12) weeks of FMLA in any 12-month period. The employer shall measure the 12-month period rolling backward from the first date FMLA leave is used.

The employer reserves its rights under the FMLA to be notified by the employee of the purpose of any paid or unpaid leave request except for personal leave, to determine whether the leave request qualifies under the FMLA, and to designate the leave as FMLA leave and count it against the employee's total FMLA leave entitlement. This section is not intended to provide any leave benefits in addition to that provided in any other section of the contract except as necessary to comply with the FMLA.

The employer may request medical certification as provided under the act. 27

M. INCLEMENT WEATHER LEAVE

1. Employees shall not be required to report to work at times when they have a good faith belief that hazardous road conditions make it unreasonable to get to the office. An employee who chooses not to travel or whose travel is delayed due to hazardous road conditions must call his/her office before 10:00 a.m. In cases where the employee’s office is closed, the employee must call the Administrative Office (Columbus) to report as mentioned above. Employees are expected to exercise good faith in this matter and to report to work as soon as practical.

2. Under the above-mentioned conditions, employees have three options:a. Make up lost time at a time approved by the Managing Attorney and within

the current or next pay period;b. Use annual leave (counted as “with prior approval”) to cover the time

missed;c. Take the time as unpaid leave.

3. For any time that the Executive Director closes the office, or that a legal authority within the county where the office is located or where the employee lives has declared a Level III emergency, employees will receive full pay and benefits.

ARTICLE 15. HOLIDAYS

If a holiday occurs on a Saturday, the preceding Friday shall be observed as the holiday and if a holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday shall be observed as the holiday. In the event Friday or Monday is a day courts are in session, then a substitute day shall be determined by agreement between the Employer and the Union.

All employees shall be entitled to the following paid holidays.

New Years Day Thanksgiving DayMartin Luther King Day Day After Thanksgiving DayPresident’s Day Christmas EveMemorial Day Christmas DayU.S. Independence Day Labor DayColumbus Day Veteran’s Day

ARTICLE 16. SENIORITY

A. SENIORITY

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Seniority date of each employee shall be his or her original date of placement in the bargaining unit and seniority as used herein shall be defined as the tenure of an individual’s employment from their original date of placement in the bargaining unit with the exception of bargaining unit individuals who take positions in the agency that are outside the bargaining unit. Such employees shall not accrue bargaining unit seniority during the time that they are outside of the bargaining unit. If an employee who leaves the bargaining unit should subsequently come back into the bargaining unit, the employee will retain their seniority from the previous time in the bargaining unit and they will begin to accrue seniority effective with the date of their return. Unless specifically indicated otherwise, all references to seniority in this contract shall be as defined in the first sentence in this section. Except as set forth in this article, seniority shall be broken when an employee loses employment status. If more than one person started to work on the same day, they will be placed on the seniority list in alphabetical order. Temporary employees as defined in this Agreement will begin to accrue seniority starting on the date that they become bargaining unit employees with the Employer.

B. SENIORITY LISTS

The Employer shall, every three (3) months supply the local union president with an up-to-date seniority list. This list shall be broken down by work location, classification and date of hire seniority. The first list shall be a mutually agreed to list. The home address and telephone number of each new name appearing on said list shall be set forth after the name or supplied separately.

C. PROBATIONARY PERIOD

Newly hired non-legal staff employees will serve a probationary period of ninety (90) calendar days during which time they may be terminated by the Employer without showing cause or without recourse to the grievance procedure. Newly hired legal staff employees will serve a probationary period of one hundred fifty (150) calendar days during which they may be terminated by the agency without showing cause or without recourse to the grievance procedure. If retained beyond the probationary period, their seniority will date back to the date they last started to work for the Employer.

Current employees internally promoted or transferred to another job classification will also serve the relevant probationary period set forth above. During or at the end of the probationary period, the Employer has the following options:

1. To retain the employee in the position to which the employee was transferred,2. To return the employee to the employee’s former position,3. To transfer the employee to another position for which the employee is qualified, or 4. To terminate the employee for cause.

If, under this provision, the Employer transfers the employee to a position in a pay classification lower than that of the employee's former position, the employee shall be paid at the level the employee would receive if returned to the employee's former position.

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D. TERMINATION OF SENIORITY

Seniority of an employee will be terminated for:1. Voluntarily resigning;2. Discharge for cause;3. Overstaying a leave of absence without just cause or without receiving an extension

of time from the Employer;4. Failure to report to work (without just cause, or notice to the Employer or without

receiving an extension of time from the Employer) the first day following a vacation, recovery from illness or accident;

5. Retirement from active service with the Employer;6. Exhaustion of recall rights.

ARTICLE 17. JOB DESCRIPTION AND POSTING

A. JOB POSTING

The Employer agrees to post all non-legal staff bargaining unit job openings. The local union president shall receive a copy of all postings. The postings shall state the job title, rate of pay, the office location, and the qualifications of the job. Employees having seniority shall have ten (10) work days after posting to submit a bid to the Director. The most senior employee having the qualifications for the position and bidding on the position shall be awarded the position. The local union president shall receive a list of all employees bidding on the position. The local union president shall also be notified in writing of the person selected for the position. A notice setting forth the successful bidder shall be posted in each office. Grievances filed concerning this selection process shall be submitted to Step 2 of the grievance procedure. All job postings shall be designated by type, i.e., full-time or part-time. Nothing in this section limits the time period for when the Employer can post or advertise the position externally.

B. JOB DESCRIPTION

All job classifications shall have a description of duties and qualifications. When a new classification is created, or a bargaining unit position is modified, the Employer shall notify the Union at least fifteen (15) days in advance of the date the classification is to go into effect. The Employer shall supply the Union with the proposed classifications title, duties, qualifications, whether the position is to be included in the bargaining unit, and, if so, rate of pay at the time of notification required above. The Employer shall bargain concerning the pay rate for the new classification.

In the event of impasse regarding pay or inclusion of the position in the bargaining unit, the parties will attempt to mediate a settlement. In the event that a settlement is not forthcoming, the parties will take the issue to binding arbitration.

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C. LEGAL STAFF POSTING

Legal staff job openings shall be posted by the Employer. Employees having seniority shall have ten (10) work days after posting to submit a bid to the director. The Employer shall have the right to make assignments to such a job opening at its option. Nothing in this section limits the time period for when the Employer can post or advertise the position externally.

D. AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EXCEPTION

The bidding provisions and layoff and recall provisions of this Article and Article 18 as far as based on seniority, shall be subject to exceptions necessary to comply with the affirmative action plan of the Employer.

E. PROMOTION IN PLACE

A workgroup will be established to negotiate a modification of Article (17E) creating periodic evaluations of employees’ performance of job duties in II and III categories including notice to the employee of deficiencies, access to the grievance procedure and demotion in a reasonable time if deficiencies continue

This Section applies to employees who promote in place from Attorney I to Attorney II, from Attorney II to Attorney III, from Paralegal I to Paralegal II and from Support I to Support II. Vacant positions will be filled in a manner consistent with Sections A – D, above.

1. APPLICATION PROCESSAttorneys, paralegals and support staff are encouraged to work toward advancement into the next level of their respective job. Any employee may apply for a promotion to the next level of his/her respective job if s/he meets the requirements for the position.

a. Application Review. Employees who wish to apply for a promotion in place shall apply in writing to the appropriate Department Director and the Executive Director. Applications will be considered by a Review Committee composed of the Executive Director, the Department Director and another supervisory employee. Decisions on all applications will be made within sixty (60) days of the application. An applicant who meets the minimum Promotion Criteria required for promotion in place shall be promoted within the above sixty (60) day time period.

b. Contents of Application . In deciding whether an applicant will be promoted, the Review Committee will consider the requirements for the position, the application submitted by the applicant and the applicant’s presented work that supports the applicable Promotion Criteria for the position. Applications shall

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contain details and supporting documentation of the Promotion Criteria over the last three (3) to five (5) year period.

c. Written Explanation of Rejection of Application . If an application is rejected, the Review Committee will provide a written explanation to the applicant regarding the reasons for the rejection and guidelines for additional and/or amended documentation needed for approval of the application. The Review Committee will also identify documentation that has been accepted as meeting the promotion criteria that does not need to be submitted on re-application.

d. Re-Application . If an application is rejected, an applicant may re-apply for promotion to the Review Committee within one (1) year by submitting the additional and/or amended documents identified as necessary for promotion. A decision on a re-application will be made within thirty (30) days of re-application.

e. Grievance Procedure . A rejection of a re-application for promotion in place will be subject to the Grievance Procedure contained in Article 11 as follows:

i. The applicant must file a written grievance directly at Step 2 within ten (10) working days of the rejection of the re-application.

ii. If the grievance is denied at Step 2, the applicant may submit the grievance to Step 3 within ten (10) working days.

iii. A grievance on a rejection of a promotion in place re-application shall be subject to the mediation provisions contained in Step 3. The parties may mutually request that the mediator submit an advisory opinion on the grievance.

iv. The grievance shall only be subject to the arbitration provisions of Step 3 if the parties mutually agree to submit the grievance to arbitration.

2. PROMOTION REQUIREMENTS a. Attorneys: An Attorney I may apply for promotion to Attorney II after three

(3) years of experience as an Attorney I. An Attorney II may apply for promotion to Attorney III after three (3) years of experience as an Attorney II.

b. Paralegals: A Paralegal I may apply for promotion to Paralegal II after three (3) years of experience as a Paralegal I.

c. Support Staff: A Support Staff I may apply for promotion to Support Staff II after three (3) years of experience as a Support Staff I.

3. PROMOTION CRITERIA. Promotion Criteria that may be cited on an application for promotion include, but are not limited to, the Promotion Criteria contained in Appendix B for the applicable job classification.

4. The process for promotion in place may be amended or modified with mutual agreement following a Labor-Management Committee meeting.

ARTICLE 18. LAYOFF-RECALL

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A. LAYOFF DECISION

In the event of layoff, the following procedure shall be followed:1. The Employer shall notify the Union, in writing, of the proposed layoff at least

fifteen (15) work days prior to the effective date of layoff. The Employer shall advise the Union as to the number of employees to be laid off, their work locations, present classification, employment status, and seniority date.

2. Upon request, the Employer shall meet with the Union within three (3) calendar days of such request and shall discuss the reason for the anticipated layoff.

B. THE LAYOFF

No employee shall be laid off with less than ten (10) work days notice. The layoff shall be by classification, seniority, and office. The layoff at a given office shall be by classification based upon seniority with the least senior employee(s) being laid off first. In this layoff procedure, no full-time employee shall be required to assume a part-time employee's position. No part-time employee shall fill a full-time position.

Any newly hired individual, employed to perform legal and/or non-legal work pursuant to a grant, fellowship or other funding either characterized by the funding agency as interim or time-limited in nature or subject to other constraints such that the Employer does not have a reasonable expectation of the grant, fellowship or other funding continuing indefinitely for the employees involved, shall not be subject to layoff until such time as they have been employed for fifteen (15) months.

The employee(s) who cannot hold a position in their classification and/or office based upon their seniority shall then be given an opportunity to bump employees in a classification in the same or lower pay range, provided the bumping employee has the present ability to perform the work of a classification and/or office into which s/he is bumping, including but not limited to: bilingual capabilities, if relevant; and present ability to complete any other grant or compliance requirements of the position so that such bump does not jeopardize such grant, fellowship or compliance requirements.

All employees displaced by bumping shall have the same right to bump as set forth in the prior sentence. Attorneys are not permitted to bump paralegals or support staff. Paralegals cannot bump support staff. Non-bargaining unit employees shall not bump bargaining unit employees.

C. RECALL

Laid-off employees shall be placed on a recall list in the inverse order of seniority. An employee's name shall remain on a recall list for a time equal to the length of service from last date of hire with the Employer, to a maximum of thirty-six (36) months. If the Employer decides to increase the work force in a classification, recalls shall be as follows: the recalled employee must have the present ability (as more fully explained in Section B, above) to perform the work of the position to which recalled. No full-time employee

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recalled shall be required to take a part-time position. No laid off part-time Employee shall be recalled to fill a full-time position. No laid off employee when recalled shall be required to assume a position in an office other than the one in which s/he worked at the time of layoff. No employee's name shall be removed from the layoff list merely for declining to accept a position under an option granted to the employee in this Section. All laid off employees on the recall list shall be given the opportunity to return to work before new employees are hired within a layoff classification. An employee shall respond to the Employer's notification of recall within ten (10) days of the date of receipt. Notice shall be sent both by certified mail, return receipt requested, and by regular mail. The certified mail return receipt shall be evidence of the date of receipt. Should the certified mail receipt return unsigned, the ten (10) day response period shall begin on the date the unsigned certified mail receipt is returned to the Employer. Employees failing to respond within such time shall be deemed to have declined recall and their name shall be removed from the recall list.

D. UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION

All elections by an employee to take a layoff or decline recall rather than displace another employee shall be considered to be a proper election under Ohio Revised Code, Section 4141.29 (D)(2)(a)(ii). The Employer shall not protest the Unemployment Compensation of any employee who makes an election under this Article.

ARTICLE 19. WORKING OUT OF CLASSIFICATION

The Employer may temporarily assign employees to work out of their regular classification. For the balance of this Article a temporary assignment under this Article is of four (4) weeks or less. The employee shall be notified in writing of this temporary assignment and a copy of said notice shall be given to the local union president. This notice shall indicate the expected duration of said temporary assignment.

When an employee is temporarily assigned to a classification in a higher pay range, for a period in excess of four (4) weeks, the employee shall receive the higher rate retroactive to the date the employee was placed on the job. Successive temporary assignments for the same vacancy or position shall not be used. When an employee is temporarily assigned to a lower classification, s/he shall receive his/her then current regular rate, i.e. higher rate.

Employees qualified to perform the job duties of a temporarily vacant position shall be offered the position by seniority commencing with the most senior. If no qualified employee will assume the temporarily vacant position, the Employer shall assign the position to the least senior employee qualified to perform the work. No employee shall be required to fill a temporary vacancy in an office other than the one in which s/he is employed.

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Nothing in this Article shall prohibit assignments out of classification without regard to the seniority provisions when an emergency occurs and assistance is needed, nor to cover lunches or unexpected absences. Expected absence of five (5) days or less need not be posted.

ARTICLE 20. WAGES

All Bargaining Unit attorneys who have not reached the salary cap will receive a raise of four thousand five hundred dollars ($4,500.00) with part-time Attorneys pro-rated on hours worked.

Effective July 1, 2019 all Bargaining Unit attorneys who have not reached the salary cap will receive a raise of four thousand dollars ($4,000.00) with part-time Attorneys pro-rated on hours worked.

All Paralegals who have not reached the salary cap will receive a raise of three thousand five hundred dollars ($3,500.00) and Support Staff who have not reached the salary cap will receive a raise of three thousand five hundred dollars ($3,500.00) with part-time people pro-rated based on hours worked.

Effective July 1, 2019 all Paralegals who have not reached the salary cap will receive a raise of three thousand dollars ($3,000.00) and Support Staff who have not reached the salary cap will receive a raise of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500.00) with part-time people pro-rated based on hours worked.

A. STARTING RATES OF PAY

1. Support I; Building Maintenance Worker $28,000.00$30,000 effective July 1, 2019

2. Support II; Administrative Services Assistant; Community Relations Assistant

Shall receive $1,300.00 more than would a Support I3. Assistant Bookkeeper $23,825.004. Information Systems $26,700.005. Paralegal I; LARP Coordinator $32,000.00

$34,000 effective July 1, 20196. Paralegal II Shall receive $1,550.00 more than would a Paralegal I7. Social Worker (MSW) $28,250.008. Graduate Law Clerk $37,800.009. Attorney I $49,000.00

$51,000 effective July 1, 201910. Attorney II Shall receive $2,000.00 more than would an Attorney I11. Attorney III Shall receive $4,000.00 more than would an Attorney I

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Any employee hired after January 1, 2018 will receive the increase to the starting salary, but will not receive the additional salary increase effective July 1, 2018. Any new employees hired after January 1, 2019 will receive the increase to the starting salary effective July 1, 2019, but will not receive the additional salary increase effective July 1, 2019.

B. SALARY CAPS

Any attorney who has reached the wage cap will receive an increase of two percent (2%) of the cap effective July 1, 2018 and July 1, 2019.

Paralegal II’s and Support Staff who have reached the wage cap will receive an increase of two percent (2%) of the cap effective July 1, 2018 and July 1, 2019. Any employee who would exceed the cap with the raise will be given the amount needed to reach the cap, and will be given an additional two percent (2%) of the cap. This is not to exceed the raise given for their respective category.

a. Attorney I $64,000.00b. Attorney II $86,000.00c. Attorney III $96,000.00d. Paralegal I $38,000.00e. Paralegal II $58,000.00f. Support I $33,000.00g. Support II $52,000.00

C. NEW HIRES; PROMOTIONS; TRANSFERS

A new employee shall be placed at the starting step for the relevant position, unless that employee has prior experience in a similar position and said employee had the requisite qualifications while performing such duties. If the new employee has such experience, the Employer shall start the employee at a higher rate in accordance with the Experience Credit guidelines and Wage Schedules set forth in Appendix C. If the new employee is a former employee of The Legal Aid Society of Columbus, said employee shall be placed at the longevity level that reflects all prior service with the Employer.

The Experience Credit guidelines and Wage Schedules set forth in Appendix C shall also apply to internal promotions in establishing the promoted employee's pay level, but in no event shall the promoted employee's annual pay rate be reduced.

The Experience Credit guidelines and Wage Schedules shall also apply to internal transfers to a lower pay classification. Bidding, bumping, or voluntarily transferring into a lower pay classification is not a promotion, and does not preserve the transferring employee's then current annual pay rate.

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ARTICLE 21. INSURANCE

A. HEALTH INSURANCE

Health Insurance coverage starts on the first day of the month after the first day of employment and ends on the last of the month of the last day worked in the office. The Legal Aid Society of Columbus’s health insurance is not available to Fellows who receive insurance through their Fellowships. Health insurance contributions are $2,400 annually for family coverage, $1,900 annually for an employee with a spouse or child on the plan, and $1,400 annually for single coverage. Contributions will be deducted from payroll and spread over 24 pays through the year.

The Employer will offer the United Health Care 70H. The Employer shall pay 100% of the premium amount (minus the contributions described in the previous paragraph). The Employer will fund the HRA with $2700 (two thousand seven hundred) for an individual or $5400 (five thousand four hundred) for non-single coverage. for non-single coverage. The HRA funds not used in the current year will not rollover to future years starting July 1, 2014. HRA balances accrued before July 1, 2014 will be available for a three year period, ending July 1, 2017.

Single employees shall be provided single coverage. Employees with children will be provided coverage for themselves and their children. Employees with spouses will be provided coverage for themselves. They will also be provided spousal coverage only if the spouse does not have access to credible coverage through another employer or employer coverage would cost $250 or more a month. Spouses of employees who were on the plan as of July 1, 2014 may return to the plan regardless of the cost of other employer sponsored coverage. Employees with families and with family insurance coverage through the spouse’s employment may choose to do one of the following:

1. Retain family coverage through the spouse and be provided single coverage through the Employer;

2. Choose family coverage through the Employer and drop family coverage through the spouse’s employer. However, coverage for the spouse will only be provides if the spouse does not have access to credible coverage through another employer or employer coverage would cost them more than $250 a month. Otherwise, the employee must pay the difference employee must pay the difference between employee and child coverage and family coverage. This requirement will be effective on July 1, 2015, or on the first effective open enrollment period, whichever comes first; or

3. Retain family coverage through the spouse, and pay the difference between single and family coverage in order to maintain or obtain family coverage through the Employer also. The Employer will pay up to the amount of single coverage.

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Anyone currently on the LASC non-single coverage who does not meet the criteria under Article 21 (i.e. domestic partners are not covered), will continue to receive coverage until June 30, 2015.

B. COMPARABLE COVERAGE

In the event the Employer is able to secure insurance coverage comparable to, but at a lower cost than current insurance coverage provided under this Article, the Employer may secure such lower cost coverage to replace the coverage then being provided to eligible employees. The Employer shall notify the Union of the proposed change in coverage and will endeavor to secure the agreement of the Union to the lower cost coverage. If the Union believes the lower cost coverage is not comparable, a grievance may be initiated at Step 2 of the grievance procedure no later than five (5) working days after the Employer notifies the Union of the proposed change. Such grievance shall be limited to the issue of whether the replacement insurance coverage is comparable to the coverage replaced. If no grievance is filed within five (5) working days of notice to the Union, the Employer may replace the then current insurance coverage with the lower cost coverage. If a grievance is filed, the Employer shall not replace the then current insurance coverage with the lower cost coverage until and unless the grievance is decided in the Employer's favor.

C. PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY INSURANCE

The Employer shall continue to provide professional liability coverage for legal staff.

D. DENTAL/VISION INSURANCE

Beginning July 1, 2017, LASC will purchase Met Life Dental Insurance for all LASC employees. Employees who wish to have coverage for a spouse or family are responsible for the full additional cost of coverage. Vision coverage will be the same as before.

ARTICLE 22. PENSION PLAN

The Employer agrees to contribute the following percentages of each employee’s salary on behalf of all bargaining unit employees working twenty (20) hours or more per week to a tax sheltered annuity plan selected by the Employer and/or the Union, provided that the selection of an additional or substitute plan or plans will not result in significant financial or administrative burdens to the Employer.

The pension contribution shall be 3% in the first year of employment, 4% in the second year of employment, 5% in the third year of employment, and 6% in the fourth year

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of employment, and thereafter. These contributions will vest when the employee has remained employed for three years. If the employee leaves before three years have expired, all contributions made will revert to the Employer.

The Employer will not be liable, and will be held harmless, for any losses incurred by an employee as the result of the employee’s investment of funds in a tax sheltered annuity.

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ARTICLE 23. BENEFITS PLAN

A. FLEXIBLE BENEFITS PLAN

The Employer has the bona fide intention to continue the Flexible Benefits Plan indefinitely. However, the Employer reserves the power to modify or amend in whole or in part any or all of the provisions of the plan, or to terminate the Plan, for either or both of the following reasons: 1) in order to conform with governmental rules, regulations or other policies, and 2) in order to protect the Employer’s financial position from adverse changes in governmental rules, regulations or other policies. The Employer shall immediately notify the Union of any proposed changes in the Flexible Benefits Plan. The Union shall have ten (10) working days after receiving notice to comment on the proposed changes. The Employer will consider the Union's comments before making any changes.

B. QUALIFIED TRANSPORTATION FRINGE

The Employer has the bona fide intention to enact a Qualified Transportation Fringe in accordance with IRS Code § 132(A). However, the Employer reserves the power to modify or amend in whole or in part any or all of the provisions of the plan, or to terminate the Plan, for either or both of the following reasons: 1) in order to conform with governmental rules, regulations or other policies, and 2) in order to protect the Employer’s financial position from adverse changes in governmental rules, regulations or other policies. The Employer shall immediately notify the Union of any proposed changes in the Qualified Transportation Fringe. The Union shall have ten (10) working days after receiving notice to comment on the proposed changes. The Employer will consider the Union's comments before making any changes.

ARTICLE 24. GENERAL PROVISIONS

A. BULLETIN BOARD

The Employer and the Union will agree upon the placement of a Union-owned bulletin board in a location that is easily accessible to employees but is not generally open to public view.

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B. UNION SOLICITATION AND DISTRIBUTION

Employees shall not distribute literature on Employer time or in work areas, unless the Executive Director or designee grants permission. Employees shall not solicit on behalf of the Union on Employer time.

C. LIST OF NEW HIRES

The Employer shall furnish the Union, on a bi-weekly basis, a list of all new employees indicating the starting date of employment, the classification, work location, address, and telephone number. This list shall be furnished with the bi-weekly dues deduction list.

D. SEVERANCE PAY

1. VOLUNTARY TERMINATION Upon voluntary termination of employment, other than layoff, an employee shall

receive payment for all accrued vacation leave (up to forty-five (45) days maximum). The employee shall also receive payment for all accrued compensatory time. Additionally, the employee shall receive payment for all accrued sick leave up to a maximum of two (2) weeks. If an employee gives less than two (2) weeks advance notice of voluntary termination, up to two (2) weeks pay shall be deducted from the employee’s severance pay.

2. LAYOFF An employee who has been laid off can:

a. Opt to receive severance pay as described above at the time of lay-off.b. Opt to leave their accrued leave in their bank for future use.

If the employee opts to proceed under subsection (b) above and the lay-off period exceeds one (1) year, the Employer shall pay the laid off employee severance pay as described above. However, the laid off employee may receive these benefits upon request without giving up their right of recall under Article 18, Section C.

E. RESPONSIBILITY FOR CURRENT ADDRESS

Employees covered by this Agreement should notify the Employer of any change of address and the Employer shall be entitled to rely upon the last address shown upon his records for all purposes.

F. CODE OF PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY

It is understood and agreed the primary function of the agency is providing quality legal representation and services to clients. In so doing, each employee of this agency is

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bound to uphold the ethical standards of the legal profession, including but not limited to rules concerning confidentiality of client's communications and files. In accordance with Canon 4, no information protected by the attorney-client privilege shall be revealed to any person outside the employ of the Employer including the Union or its representatives.

G. PART-TIME EMPLOYEES

Any bargaining unit employee may request part-time status, and permission to do so may not be unreasonably refused, incorporating by reference the terms and conditions now found in Article VI.G. of the Employer's personnel policies.

All FLSA non-exempt part-time employees shall be paid by the hour. The hourly rate for such employees shall be determined by dividing the annual salary of the position by 1,950 hours. All FLSA exempt employees shall be paid by salary. The salary for part-time FLSA exempt employees shall be pro-rated based on the percentage of a full time forty (40) hour week that they are scheduled to work.

Part-time employees shall enjoy all the rights and privileges of a full-time employee under this contract, provided that part-time employees shall accrue sick leave, vacation leave, holiday leave, death leave, and health, dental and vision benefits in proportion to the percentage of a full-time week (forty (40) hours for exempt and thirty-seven and one half (37.5) hours for non-exempt) that they are normally scheduled to work. Changes in employee benefits that may result from amendments to the language of this Section G. shall not be retroactive and shall be implemented no earlier than the first day of the month following the approval of any such changes by both the Union body and the Legal Aid Society of Columbus.

H. EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENT

The Employer shall reimburse employees for actual and reasonable expenses incurred in performance of their duties, except in instances where an employee’s automobile is used. Employees using their automobile in performance of their duties shall be reimbursed at the rate per mile established by the IRS.

If it is necessary for an employee to incur a transportation expense enumerated below in the performance of his/her job duties, the Employer shall reimburse the employee for transportation costs in the following manner, based on a twenty (20) work day month. Employees will not be reimbursed for transportation expenses, including parking, related to traveling to and from work, except as specified.

1. If the employee has a parking pass, s/he would be reimbursed the proportional cost for the pass for the day that said employee used his/her vehicle for business out of the office.

2. If the employee has a bus pass, s/he will be reimbursed the proportionate cost for the pass for the day in which the pass is used for work out of the office.

3. If a cab is used for work out of the office, the cab fare for said business trip will be paid.

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4. If the employee does not have a bus pass or parking pass and utilizes the bus or car for CLAS work out of the office, then the individual will be reimbursed for the transportation, car or bus for said day.

The Employer shall secure a non-owned vehicle rider to its liability insurance policy.

I. REPORT IN PAY

All employees scheduled to work, who report for work as scheduled but are denied work by the Employer shall be paid for at least four (4) hours of work whether the employee works or not at the applicable appropriate pay rate. Report for work shall mean performance at the work location building. Each employee shall be obligated to advise the Employer of his/her current telephone number. Any employee who has a telephone who the Employer attempts to contact but is unable to reach because the employee has not given the Employer his/her current telephone number will be denied call in pay.

J. MEMBERSHIP FEES

The Employer shall pay, upon request, the cost of membership fees to the local bar association for all employees admitted to practice law and for paralegals. The Employer shall pay, upon request, the cost of Ohio State Supreme Court registration fees for all employees admitted to practice law in Ohio.

K. SUPERVISORY PERSONNEL PERFORMING BARGAINING UNIT WORK

Supervisory personnel may continue to perform duties similar to other employees, provided that the number of supervisory personnel shall not be increased for the purposes of displacing the employee work force.

L. SAVINGS CLAUSE

Any provision of the Agreement, which may be in violation of State or Federal acts, statutes, regulations or orders, or revisions thereof now effective or which may become effective during the term of this Agreement, shall be considered void. In the event that any provision of this Agreement becomes void pursuant to the previous sentence, the balance of the Agreement and its provisions shall remain in effect for the term of the Agreement. Either party will, at the request of the other, negotiate with respect to the subject matter of such voided provisions, but such negotiations shall not include other terms of provisions of the Agreement.

M. TRAINING

Employer shall continue its present policy of budgeting for and making available training opportunities for legal and support staff to attend at no loss of pay.

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N. LEAVE BALANCE

The Employer agrees to provide monthly notice of sick leave and vacation leave accumulations with paychecks.

O. SUBCONTRACTING

The Employer shall not subcontract work that is being performed by bargaining unit employees to the extent that it would displace positions. This prohibition does not apply to work performed pursuant to Private Attorney Involvement requirements.

P. WORK RULES

1. The Employer agrees to continue the practice of providing each employee with written copies of all existing work rules. Upon promulgation of any additional work rules, the Employer shall provide each employee with written copies of same.

2. At least ten (10) days prior to the implementation of any new rule(s) and or changes in existing rule(s), the Employer shall meet with the Union to discuss such rule(s).

3. Two (2) days prior to implementation, the Employer agrees to post such rule(s) in conspicuous places on bulletin boards (at least one (1) copy on each floor of the main office and at least one (1) copy in each satellite office) throughout the Agency.

4. The Union recognizes the Employer’s right to promulgate reasonable work rules; however, no such rules shall violate any terms of this Agreement.

Q. EVALUATIONS

Management will perform employee evaluations as per the process endorsed as part of the negotiation process. The evaluation process will be based upon the mutual interests of labor and management. These interests include:

1. Fair evaluations2. Objective evaluations3. Evaluations that promote professional growth4. Accurate evaluations5. Reducing the influence of fear in the process6. Validation of individuals’ value and worth to the CLAS7. Developing a high performance culture.

The evaluation process will be tiered. Years 1 and 2 consist of an abbreviated evaluation. As a part of this abbreviated evaluation, both the staff person and the manager will review the job classification requirements for the job description the staff person currently holds. Both should list any areas where the person exceeds expectations or where performance is inconsistent or not meeting expectations. For each area that is inconsistent or not meeting expectations, a plan for what would bring the person up to “meeting

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expectations” should be created and included in the evaluation. For areas of concern, the manager and employee should discuss plans for alleviating those concerns and those plans should be included in the evaluation. It should be clear that failure to address the concerns could lead to a demotion and the timing for when that could occur. The timeline for how long an individual has to meet expectations will vary depending on in what area they are not meeting expectations. However, the length of time for doing so should be clearly defined. If the staff attorney disagrees with the evaluation, those disagreements should be raised at that time with upper management.

In year 3, the staff person will do a self-evaluation which focuses on how they are meeting each of the core competencies, general tasks and general qualifications in their current job description. The manager will do a similar written review and will meet with staff person to discuss any differences between the two reviews, to give praise and share concerns. As a part of the three-year review, the manager will determine whether the individual continues to meet the requirements of their job classification.

If the manager believes that the staff person no longer meets the qualifications for their job description, in consultation with upper management, they can recommend demotion to a lower job classification. Demotion would include being placed in a lower job classification and also losing the promotion in place salary increase the person had previously received. If demotion is recommended, staff have access to the grievance process as outlined in Article 11, steps 1, 2 and the mediation option in step 3 only.

R. PERSONNEL FILE

1. Employees’ official personnel files are to be kept in a locked file cabinet or office under the Executive Director’s or designee’s supervision. This restriction does not preclude accounting records of expense vouchers, timesheets, leave records, etc. The employee’s official personnel file may contain only the following documents:

a. Personnel data form and resume;b. Personnel actions and job performance;c. Benefit forms;d. Job description;e. Confidential references;f. Applications to fill vacancies and related documents;g. Requests for re-assignments or promotion and related documents;h. Records of staff training;i. Other information agreed to by the Employer and Union;j. Evaluation recordsk. Disciplinary actions and grievances;l. E-mail correspondence with employee;m. Payroll related documents such as: W-4’s; garnishments; Doctor excuses;

etc.;n. Back ground checks.

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2. An employee shall be permitted to view the contents of their personnel file by providing advanced written notice to the Director of such desire.

ARTICLE 25. PEOPLE CHECK-OFF

A. VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS

The Employer will deduct voluntary contributions to the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees International Union’s Public Employees Organization to Promote a Legislative Equality (PEOPLE) Committee from the pay of an employee upon receipt from the Union of an individual written authorization card voluntarily executed by the employee.

B. CERTIFICATION

The contribution amount will be certified to the Employer by the Union. Monies deducted shall be remitted to the union within five (5) to fifteen (15) days of the date they are deducted. Payment shall be made to the treasurer of PEOPLE and transmitted to AFSCME, AFL-CIO, P.O. Box 65334, Washington, D.C. 20035. The payment will be accompanied by an alphabetical list of names of those employees for whom a deduction was made and the amount of the deduction.

C. REVOCATION

An employee shall have the right to revoke such authorization by giving written notice to the Employer and Union at any time.

The Employer’s obligation to make deductions shall terminate automatically upon receipt of revocation of authorization, upon termination of employment, or upon transfer to a classification outside the bargaining unit.

All PEOPLE contributions shall be made as a deduction separate from dues deductions and fair share fee deductions.

D. INDEMNITY

The Union shall indemnify, defend, and save the Employer harmless against any and all claims, demands, suits or other forms of liability that may arise out of, or by reason of, action taken in reliance upon employee payroll deduction certification submitted by the Union to the Employer in accordance with this Article.

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ARTICLE 26. OPERATING JOB CLASSIFICATIONS

Support I Graduate Law ClerkSupport II Attorney IBuilding Maintenance Worker Attorney IICommunity Services Assistant Attorney IIIAdministrative Services Assistant Assistant Bookkeeper Information Systems Coordinator LARP Coordinator Paralegal I Paralegal II Social Worker (MSW)

ARTICLE 27. DURATION

This Agreement shall be effective as of July 1, 2017, and shall remain in full force and effect through the 30th day of June, 2020, and thereafter from year to year unless either party gives notice in writing to the other party at least sixty (60) days prior to the annual expiration date of a desire to terminate, amend or modify this Agreement.

However, the parties agree that if either party gives notice in writing to the other party at least (60) days prior to July 1, 2018 for the second (2nd) year of the agreement and July 1, 2019 for the third (3rd) year of the agreement, the contract will be reopened for the purpose of Article 14 – Leave Time, Article 17 – Job Description and Posting, Article 20 – Wages, and Article 21 – Insurance.

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The remaining Articles are unchanged and remain in effect until June 30, 2020

THE LEGAL AID SOCIETY OF COLUMBUS

_______________________________________Date

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OHIO COUNCIL 8, AMERICAN FEDERATION OF STATE, COUNTY, AND MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES, AFL-CIO

_______________________________________Date

LOCAL 797, AMERICAN FEDERATION OF STATE, COUNTY, AND MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES, AFL-CIO

_______________________________________Date

_______________________________________Date

_______________________________________Date

_______________________________________Date

_______________________________________Date

_______________________________________Date

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APPENDIX A - JOB DESCRIPTIONS

SUPPORT STAFF I

Immediate Supervisor: Managing Attorney 

All Support Staff I must have a graduate certificate from an accredited high school or its equivalent (unless hired before 2005). They must also have a pleasant telephone manner, exhibit a good attitude with the public and the staff, and display common sense and maturity. Under the general direction of the immediate supervisor, a Support Staff I is responsible for becoming proficient in at least two of the areas listed under General Responsibilities below and must work with other Support Staff and team members to keep the office running smoothly. A Support Staff I must be working with the manager to achieve all of the criteria under “Work Quality and Attitude.”

1. General Responsibilities:

The Support Staff I is responsible for telephone and/or reception duties, client intake interviews, preparing documents for funders (Title XX), file preparation and maintenance, typing, making appropriate referrals, and operating office machines. A Support Staff I should receive appropriate training before being assigned new duties.

2. General tasks may include but are not limited to the following:

a. Transcribes material from dictation or notes into correspondence, pleadings, minutes and reports.

b. Compose and type correspondence and pleadings and other documents upon request.

c. Takes telephone messages, and when appropriate, makes referrals and answers inquiries.

d. Operates office machines to complete assignments, learns to operate all new and updated machines, and uses the most efficient equipment available in the office to complete work assignments in a timely manner.

e. Conducts initial intake interviews.f. Works with PAI cases, including but not limited to typing, filing, making

referrals, and doing interviews.g. Handles walk-ins.h. Greets clients and makes appointments.i. Sorts, opens and distributes all incoming mail, stamps and posts all outgoing

mail.j. Keeps calendars.k. Opens and closes cases.l. Checks for conflicts of interest.m. Photocopies, faxes, and e-mails papers and documents.

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n. Receives money from client trust account, and makes sure that the Client, Attorney, and Finance Department obtain the proper receipts.

p. Other reasonable duties to support the functioning of the office as assigned by the supervisor.

3. Work Quality and Attitude:

All Support Staff I should steadily work toward meeting all of the criteria below.1. Completes work in a timely manner.2. Completes work with a minimum of errors.3. Manages time well and works hard.4. Anticipates the needs of the team (and other teams as appropriate) and prepares

for deadlines, upcoming leave, and other changes.5. Maintains a pleasant attitude toward co-workers and contributes to a pleasant

work environment.6. Thinks about and implements ways to improve the efficiency of his/her own

work and that of the team.7. Is flexible and responds positively to new tasks and responsibilities.

These are some of the general tasks and responsibilities for Support Staff I to master with proper training. It is understood that new tasks and responsibilities will be added as technology and the needs of the teams and the agency change. Support Staff I are encouraged to take on more responsibilities and learn new tasks in response to team and program needs, and to do so in a way which involves other staff. 

SUPPORT STAFF II

Immediate Supervisor: Managing Attorney All Support Staff II must have a graduate certificate from an accredited high school

or its equivalent (unless hired before 2005).  They must also have a pleasant telephone manner, exhibit a good attitude with the public and the staff, and display common sense and maturity.  Under the general direction of the immediate supervisor, a Support Staff II is responsible for being proficient in at least three of the areas listed under General Responsibilities below and must work with other Support Staff and team members to keep the office running smoothly. A Support Staff II must also fully meet all of the criteria under “Work Quality and Attitude.”

An employee must have at least three years of experience as a Support Staff I before an application for promotion can be submitted.

1. General Responsibilities:

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The Support Staff II is responsible for telephone and/or reception duties, client intake interviews, preparing documents for funders (Title XX), file preparation and maintenance, typing, data entry, making appropriate referrals, and operating office machines. A Support Staff II should receive appropriate training before being assigned new duties.

2. General tasks may include but are not limited to the following:

a. Transcribes material from dictation or notes into correspondence, pleadings, minutes and reports.

b. Compose and type correspondence and pleadings and other documents upon request.

c. Takes telephone messages, and when appropriate, makes referrals and answers inquiries.

d. Operates office machines to complete assignments, learns to operate all new and updated machines, and uses the most efficient equipment available in the office to complete work assignments in a timely manner.

e. Conducts initial intake interviews.f. Works with PAI cases, including but not limited to typing, filing, making

referrals, and doing interviews.g. Handles walk-ins.h. Greets clients and makes appointments.i. Sorts, opens and distributes all incoming mail, stamps and posts all outgoing

mail.j. Keeps calendars.k. Opens and closes cases.l. Checks for conflicts of interest.m. Photocopies, faxes, and emails papers and documents.n. Receives money from client trust account, and makes sure that the Client,

Attorney, and Finance Department obtain the proper receipts.p. Other reasonable duties to support the functioning of the office as assigned

by the supervisor.q. Organizes and carries out complex projects and initiates projects that are of

service to the Agency and/or clients.

3. Work Quality and Attitude:The Support Staff II must meet all of the following criteria.a. Completes work in a timely manner.b. Completes work with a minimum of errors.c. Manages time well and works hard.d. Anticipates the needs of the team (and other teams as appropriate) and prepares

for deadlines, upcoming leave, and other changes.e. Maintains a pleasant attitude toward co-workers and contributes to a pleasant

work environment.f. Thinks about and implements ways to improve the efficiency of his/her own

work and that of the team.51

g. Is flexible and responds positively to new tasks and responsibilities.

These are some of the general tasks and responsibilities for Support Staff II to master with proper training. It is understood that new tasks and responsibilities will be added as technology and the needs of the teams and the agency change. Support Staff II are encouraged to take on more responsibilities and learn new tasks in response to team and program needs, and to train and mentor other staff, including paralegals and attorneys. It is understood that one of the differences between a Support Staff I and a Support Staff II is the initiative and leadership provided by the Support Staff II and the creativeness and complexity of projects developed by Support Staff II.

BUILDING MAINTENANCE WORKER:

The Building Maintenance Worker shall perform the following duties as directed by his/her supervisor:

1. Perform general custodial duties including, but not limited to:a. Vacuuming carpets.b. Emptying waste receptacles.c. Cleaning, sanitizing and supply restrooms.d. Dust mopping resilient floors and stairs.e. Cleaning windows.f. Dusting furniture.g. Spot cleaning as directed.h. Maintain boiler for proper pressure and good working order and induce

chemicals, take 1 pint sample and send to lab for analysis, along with computer test, blow down low water, cutoff valves.

i. Check thermostats/time.j. Change all filters in equipment.k. Check sprinkler system for proper pressure.l. Maintain all exit lights and other lighting.m. Periodically check all equipment for working order n. Seasonal maintenance of alley and sidewalks.o. Notify supervisor of building and equipment problems.p. Make minor repairs as needed throughout the building. q. Move supplies/furniture as required.r. Assist in obtaining general contractors and licensed workers when required.s. Observe the work of general contractors and license workers.t. Work with Building Inspectors.u. Other related duties for which qualified, as assigned by the supervisor

The building maintenance worker need not be a licensed electrician, plumber, etc. S/he should have the ability to lift 70 pounds.

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COMMUNITY RELATIONS ASSISTANT

1. General Responsibilities: The Community Relations Assistant assists in the overall work of the Agency, with the ultimate goal of enhancing the program’s profile in the community and increasing its ability to compete for funds to address client needs.

2. General Tasks May Include But Are Not Limited To The Following:a. Assists in establishing communication and relationships with community-

based organizations, social service agencies, and the media.b. Assists in coordinating community education activities, such as speaking

engagements and representation at meetings and events of community organizations; coordinates recognition activities, including receptions, dinners, etc.

c. Represents CLAS directly before the general public. May serve as a speaker and as the program’s representative at community meetings/events/forums as assigned, including in the evening and on weekends as needed.

d. Assists in client story development for use in reports, newsletters, funding applications, etc.

e. Assists in the design, writing, and distribution of press releases, newsletters, brochures, holiday cards, and other promotional materials. May research data, create ideas, write copy, and lay out artwork.

f. Assists in recruiting and assigning volunteers to help with our public relations activities.

g. Possesses a general knowledge of all Employer programs, policies, procedures, and attends board meetings as requested.

h. Compiles statistical and informational data on Agency activities for use in reports.

i. Maintains mailing list and contact list for public relations purposes.j. Provides reception, switchboard and intake screening relief, as needed.k. Performs any other duties for which qualified, as assigned by the supervisor.

Relationships:1. Responsible to the Development Director 2. Maintains a good working relationship with all members of the staff.3. Establishes and maintains a good working relationship with community-based

organizations, social service agencies, funding sources, the media and other individuals and groups, as appropriate.

Qualifications: Has a demonstrated interest in marketing and participating in public relations

efforts. Competent organizational skills and effective interpersonal skills. Proven communications and writing skills. Has or is willing to acquire computer presentation software and word processing

skills.

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ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES ASSISTANT

1. General Responsibilities:The Administrative Services Assistant works under the direction of the Administrative Services Director. The Administrative Services Assistant shall be responsible for assisting all members of the Administrative Services Division in carrying out the operations of the Division.

2. General Tasks May Include But Are Not Limited To The Following:a. Provides back-up as systems administrator for computerized voice mail,

telephone system and computer networks. Includes daily and weekly back-up of agency computers.

b. Performs office equipment problem assessment and trouble-shooting as qualified.

c. Assists in training staff in proper equipment maintenance, back-up, operations and other necessary procedures for the proper and efficient use of office equipment and information systems.

d. Performs data entry of all types of information; assists in training staff in performing data entry.

e. Prepares or assists with preparation of statistical and financial reports using the computer, as required by funding sources or for internal purposes.

f. Assists in maintaining Title XX records; prepares Title XX reports and invoices; conducts reviews of Title XX eligibility determinations.

g. Maintains the centralized closed file system; facilitates the storage and retrieval of off-site records.

h. May assist in making bank deposits.i. Assists in maintaining time and leave records and personnel files; maintains

confidentiality of personnel records.j. Assists in conducting furniture and equipment inventories.k. Performs other duties for which qualified, as assigned by the supervisor.

Qualifications: Experience in using the various software packages being used by the agency, able to

perform database functions, spreadsheet functions, and work processing. Working knowledge of computer network systems management and maintenance,

or capable of acquiring this knowledge quickly. High precision and accuracy with numbers.

ASSISTANT BOOKKEEPER:

The Assistant Bookkeeper shall perform duties as directed by his/her supervisor.

1. General responsibilities include but are not limited to:a. Opens Finance Department mail. Checks and codes invoices for entry into

computerized accounting system.b. Prepares payroll data for entry into computerized accounting system.

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c. Enters cash receipts, general and payroll expenses into computerized accounts payable and general ledger modules.

d. Enters general journal and adjusting journal entries into computerized accounting system as prepared by the Chief Financial Officer.

e. Uses computer to prepare checks in payment of routine invoices in a timely manner. When necessary, prepares manual checks and enters necessary information into computer to record transaction.

f. Maintains all Client Trust Account and Flexible Benefits Account records and writes checks as necessary and when requested. This includes making appropriate entries in cash receipts and cash disbursements journals and balancing at the end of each month, until such a time that this is a computerized function.

g. Reconciles bank statements for general operating, Client Trust Account, Payroll Imprest Account, and Flexible Benefits Account, both manually and on the computer.

h. Generates necessary computer reports and checks them for accuracy.i. Reconciles, with Executive Secretary, cash bank deposit slips with cash

receipts log.j. When necessary, assists with preparation of payroll for transmittal to the

company providing payroll services for the agency. k. Makes bank deposits as required for all accounts.l. Enters time information from casehandlers daily time logs onto client cards

in order to facilitate completion of funding source reports, until such a time that this is a computerized function.

m. Assists with preparation of periodic reports to funding sources, as necessary.n. Assists with the ongoing transfer of all manual financial records to

computer.o. Maintains confidential personnel files and leave records, and assists staff

with respect to compliance with Agency leave provisions.p. When necessary, performs other personnel functions.q. Conducts inventory periodically and maintains inventory records.r. When needed, may perform Title XX eligibility screening and paperwork,

and audit Title XX eligibility for accuracy. This should occur only under special circumstances.

s. Assists Chief Financial Officer in performing other fiscal and personnel functions as needed.

Qualifications: Previous experience in bookkeeping and accounting. Ability to use computerized accounting software and spreadsheets. High precision and accuracy with numbers. Degree in accounting, or equivalent experience.

INFORMATION SYSTEMS COORDINATOR

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The Information Systems Coordinator works under the direction of the Administrative Services Director.

1. General Responsibilities:The Information Systems Coordinator shall be responsible for the installation and maintenance of all agency computer systems, telephone and voice mail systems, and any other information systems CLAS may acquire. The Information Systems Coordinator will be experienced in using the various software packages being used by the agency, will keep up-to-date on computer hardware and software products available, will be able to perform database functions and word processing, and will have a working knowledge of systems management and maintenance.

2. General Tasks May Include But Are Not Limited To The Following:a. General computer systems maintenance and management, including but not

limited to daily and weekly back-ups of the agency computers; training and assisting others in performing necessary computer maintenance procedures.

b. Systems administrator for computerized voice mail, telephone system, and computer networks.

c. Assisting management with budgeting and purchase planning for technology expenditure (including hardware and software), and evaluating products available for potential purchase; assisting with the acquisition, installation and management of any new technology that the agency may acquire in the future.

d. Performing problem assessment and trouble-shooting as qualified; identifying and carefully defining situations needing outside assistance; liaison with hardware and software technicians and consultants.

e. Training of staff in proper maintenance, back-up, operations, and other necessary procedures for the proper and efficient use of information systems.

f. Liaison with other legal services and social services providers to assist in planning and implementing any joint technology projects and/or joint funding applications.

g. Overseeing hard-copy filing system of computer data.h. Preparing or assisting with the preparation of statistical and financial reports

using the computer, as required by funding sources or for internal purposes.i. Programming to fulfill agency needs, as qualified.j. Back-up data entry, as needed.k. Other duties for which qualified, as assigned by the supervisor.

Qualifications: Must be experienced in using the various software packages in office use, and in

performing basic database programming and other functions, or have the education to learn this quickly.

Must have a working knowledge of systems management and maintenance, including basic hardware maintenance.

Must have basic knowledge of computer networks, relational databases, and approaches to integrating databases.

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Must have basic knowledge regarding design of management information and reporting.

Must have an Associates Degree in computer science technology, or the equivalent on-the-job training and coursework.

LARP COORDINATOR

The Coordinator to The Legal Aid Referral Project (LARP) works under the direction of the Director of Intake and Brief Services, and is responsible for organization and overall operation of LARP. The specific responsibilities of the Coordinator include, but are not limited to the following:

1. Assists in recruiting and maintaining panel of referral attorneys for LARP.2. Conducts interviews with individuals requesting legal assistance for potential

referral to LARP attorneys, and determines, in accordance with established guidelines, whether a referral shall be on a pro bono, reduced fee or other basis.

3. Makes referrals to panel attorneys on a rotating basis.4. Prepares statistics and records of LARP as required by LSC and by the supervisor or

Executive Director for internal use.5. Consults with CLAS staff attorneys, where necessary, on whether a referral can be

made.6. Assists with reception, switchboard and intake screening when necessary.7. Responsible for day to day operation of LARP, including maintenance of LARP

files and referral follow-up.8. Acts as liaison between CLAS and private bar for referral purposes.9. Other related duties, which the Coordinator is qualified to perform, which are

assigned by the supervisor.

LEGAL STAFF

Graduate law clerks must be graduates of accredited law schools and be registered to take the next Bar examination. A graduate law clerk is hired to assume an open attorney position upon passing the Ohio Bar Exam. Graduate law clerks cannot remain as graduate law clerks for more than 18 months. If a graduate law clerk has been employed by the Employer as a graduate law clerk for 18 months but has not passed the Bar examination, he/she shall be terminated. While 18 months is the longest the graduate law clerk may be employed without becoming admitted to practice law in Ohio, the Employer reserves the right to terminate employment during that time period after the failure of the Bar Exam. Termination for failure to pass the Ohio Bar Exam or become otherwise admitted to the practice of law in Ohio constitutes just cause for discharge under this agreement.

Graduate law clerks, shall perform duties as directed by their supervisors. The Employer specifically retains the right to assign any of the various job duties required in its operation to legal staff, if the employee is qualified to do the work.

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PARALEGAL I

Immediate Supervisor: Director of the Legal Department, Director of Intake and Brief Services or Manager of the Marion Office.

Under general direction of the immediate supervisor (to the extent permitted by the laws of the State of Ohio or the United States), the Paralegal I is responsible for becoming proficient in at least one area of law, filing court papers, copying court papers and various other materials, reviewing and reporting on the contents of court files as requested, handling routine administrative case work or investigative case work, being involved in the community in a way that promotes the Employer, and working with others on case work, community and team activities.

1. General Responsibilities:Under the supervision of a Director/Manager or Attorney, Paralegal I renders services to all eligible clients in his/her areas of expertise.

2. General Tasks May Include But Are Not Limited To The Following:a. Interviews, meets with and represents eligible clients on civil matters.b. Assists eligible client groups, utilizing his/her knowledge and expertise as well

as the assistance of other staff to aid community organizations and groups in planning goals, tactics, and strategies for self-advocacy.

c. Develops law-related educational programs directed to the client community or agencies regarding rights and responsibilities in his/her special area of expertise.

d. Composes and types correspondence, pleadings and other documents.e. Assists other attorneys with cases including, but not limited to, investigations,

negotiations, interviewing, etc.f. Researches the law and prepares memoranda.g. Conducts interviews.h. Handles Private Bar Involvement work, including but not limited to

interviewing referrals, working directly with private attorneys within any of the above task areas.

i. Provides other assistance to attorneys as requested.j. Reviews the work product of secretarial staff relating to all clients being assisted

or represented by him/her.k. Develops specialized knowledge in a substantive area(s) of poverty law and acts

as a resource in the area office and program for other staff.l. Educates and/or participates in programs involving community groups, schools,

and others regarding their rights and may prepare materials relating to these presentations.

m. Handles administrative appeals.n. Other reasonable duties to support the functioning of the office that s/he is

qualified to perform, as assigned by the supervisor.

The following are General Criteria for Paralegal I: Must have graduated from a paralegal school (or have been grandfathered

into the position under the collective bargaining agreement.)

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Demonstrated interest and concern for low-income people. Capacity to analyze and apply legal principles to practical problems. Ability to relate to professionals as well as community groups and

individuals. Good writing and communication skills.

There are some of the general Tasks and Standards for a Paralegal I to master with proper training and they also identify some of the qualities necessary for future leadership. This model is designed to encourage new Paralegal Is to take on more responsibilities in response to program need, and to do so in a way which involves other staff, and sets a standard to strive for, as an example for other staff. With that in mind, Paralegals Is are encouraged to strive to meet the goals for promotion to Paralegal II.

PARALEGAL II

A Paralegal I desiring to advance to Paralegal II will be required to demonstrate proficiency in advanced skills which will benefit the work of the assigned team and the agency. Thus the paralegal will need to consult with the assigned team supervisor as to which advanced skills are needed, and with the assistance of the supervisor and Training Coordinator, look for opportunities for formal or informal trainings, work assignments, and mentor relationships that will allow for the development of those skills. To advance to Paralegal II, the paralegal must be satisfactorily completing all of the duties listed in the description of Paralegal I, plus, under the supervision of an attorney, demonstrate proficiency in at least (2) two of the more advanced skills listed under Section I below which have been identified by the team supervisor as needed to support the team’s work or that of the agency, and demonstrate leadership and commitment to the agency and client population by meaningful involvement in at least (2) activity listed in Section II below:

I. Legal and Administrative Law

Advanced Litigation activities including but not limited to:1. Providing substantive assistance to attorneys in preparing for deposition such as by

drafting initial outlines or assisting with potential deposition exhibits.2. Providing substantive assistance to attorneys in preparing trial notebooks.3. Providing substantive assistance to attorneys in the drafting of briefs such as

researching and drafting a legal memo on an issue that serves as the basis for an argument in the brief.

4. Providing substantive support on appeals such as, coordinating with court reporters or clerks to assure filing of record and preparing templates for briefs that include all required sections based on appellate rules (i.e. table of authority, table of contents, appendixes, statement of issues, etc.).).

5. Assisting in discovery in a manner that demonstrates judgment, including drafting some case specific discovery requests, assisting clients in gathering information and documents, preparing initial draft responses to discovery, organizing discovery

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materials, investigating possible sources of evidence and preparing third party subpoenas.

Administrative Advocacy

1. Representing clients before administrative bodies, including state hearings.2. Co-counseling on administrative appeals, including preparing exhibits, preparing

drafts of the briefs, and assisting counsel in preparing for oral arguments.

II. Community Education and Service, and Pro Bono Activities

Legislative Activities

1. Gathering information and assisting in drafting comments for submission on proposed legislation or administrative rules

2. Assisting in drafting written testimony for legislative advocacy.3. Substantial assistance in other legislative advocacy, such as contacting community

organizations, assisting in planning and participation at stakeholder events, and providing materials to statewide task forces on legislative activities.

Community Outreach and Education

1. Preparing drafts of community education materials that explain legal rights and obligations in lay terms.

2. Giving effective community education presentations based on feedback from sponsoring organizations or client community.

3. Assisting at Pro Bono Clinics and providing support to pro bono attorneys on LASC referred cases

Professional Activities

1. Substantial involvement in professional organizations, including leadership role in such organization and/or significant contribution based on feedback from peers.

2. Mentoring 3. Preparing materials for use in professional organizations.4. Effective presentations before peer groups based on peer evaluations.5. Effective participation in statewide task force meetings based on peer evaluations.

Other Activities in Support of Client Community or Agency

The list of activities included in the paralegal II job description is not intended to be exhaustive, but identifies the types of activities that would demonstrate more advanced paralegal knowledge and skills. The supervisor may identify other skills that are needed to support the agency’s work which could be used to meet the Paralegal II job description, for example work that demonstrates creativity and initiative designed to

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improve outcomes for clients or to improve agency systems, or partnering with community organizations.

PRO BONO COORDINATOR

1. General Responsibilities:The Pro Bono coordinator is responsible for developing, increasing and orchestrating efforts to increase the involvement of the private bar in providing legal assistance to the low-income population within the LASC service area and otherwise maximizing staff resources to increase the amount of assistance provided to legal services-eligible clients.

2. General Tasks May Include But Are Not Limited To The Following:a. Recruit attorneys to participate in PAI programs, as well as other pro bono

projects;b. Create and assist in the creation of new pro bono projects;c. Develop training materials and organize training sessions for volunteer

attorneys, in partnership with LASC Training Coordinator;d. Participate on committees and develop relationships with members of the private

bar to recruit volunteer attorneys;e. Work with the organized bar to generate support for legal services and pro bono;f. Manage existing in-house referral projects, including the Volunteer Resource

Center;g. Monitor and assist LASC-sponsored legal clinics; h. Assist Law Clerk and Volunteer Hiring Committee with internal hires and

develop means of utilizing law students in PAI activities; i. Facilitate Writing Mentorship Program; j. Perform other work-related duties, including case handling, as assigned by the

Executive Director, or designee;k. May be called upon to perform Staff Attorney or Paralegal functions.

3. Relationshipsa. Report directly to the Executive Director or designee.b. Maintain good working relationships with co-workers.c. Maintain good relationships with clients, private attorneys, the organized bar,

and with members of the public with whom s/he may have contact.

4. General Standardsa. Graduate of an accredited law school, or high school decree or equivalent with

related experience.b. Demonstrated interest in the area of poverty law and working with individuals of

limited financial means.c. Strong writing, public speaking, and leadership skills and the capacity to take

initiative on projects.d. Ability to articulate the need for pro bono assistance and to advocate effectively

with the private bar.

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5. If the position is filled by an attorney the Attorney salary scale applies. If the position is filled by a non-attorney, the Paralegal scale applies.

GRADUATE LAW CLERK

Immediate Supervisor: Managing Attorney

1. General Responsibilities:Under the general direction of the immediate supervisor (to the extent that she/he is able to under the laws of the State of Ohio and/or the United States), the Graduate Law Clerk is responsible for assigned research and writing, the supervised representation of clients, and working with other staff on case work, community and team activities.

2. General Tasks May Include But Are Not Limited To The Following Activities Under The Supervision Of A Licensed Attorney:

a. Advises eligible client groups, utilizing legal knowledge and expertise as well as the assistance of other staff to aid community organizations and groups in planning goals, tactics, and strategies for self-advocacy.

b. Assists in the development of law related educational programs directed to the client community or agencies regarding rights and responsibilities.

c. Composes correspondence, pleadings and other documents.d. Assists other attorneys with cases including, but not limited to

investigations, negotiations, interviewing, etc.e. Researches the law and prepares memoranda.f. Conducts interviews.g. Handles Private Bar Involvement work, including but not limited to

interviewing, referrals, working directly with private attorney within any of the above task areas.

h. Provides other assistance to attorneys as requested by the Supervisor.i. Other reasonable duties to support the functioning of the office that s/he is

qualified to perform, as assigned by the supervisor.

The following are the General Criteria for Graduate Law Clerk: Scheduled to take the next available Ohio Bar Examination. Demonstrated interest and concern for low income people. Capacity to analyze and apply legal principles to practical problems. Ability to relate to professionals as well as community groups and individuals. Good writing and communication skills.

These are some general Tasks and Standards for a Graduate Law Clerk to master with proper training. They also identify some of the qualities necessary for future leadership.

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ATTORNEY I

Supervised by Managing Attorney.

Under the general direction of the immediate supervisor (to the extent that she/he is able to under the laws of the State of Ohio and/or the United States), the Attorney I is responsible for becoming proficient in at least one area of the law, able to handle most routine case work, be involved in the community in a way that promotes the Agency, and work with others on case work, community and team activities.

1. General ResponsibilitiesThe Attorney I shall provide comprehensive legal services to clients in civil cases in accordance with Program guidelines and the Code of Professional Responsibility.

2. General Tasks May Include But Are Not Limited To The Following:a. Interviews, meets with, advises and represents eligible clients on civil

matters.b. Advises eligible client groups, utilizing legal knowledge and expertise as

well as the assistance of other staff to aid community organizations and groups in planning goals, tactics, and strategies for self-advocacy.

c. Develops law related educational programs directed to the client community or agencies regarding rights and responsibilities in his/her special area of expertise.

d. Composes correspondence, pleadings and other documents.e. Assists other attorneys with cases including, but not limited to

investigations, negotiations, interviewing, etc.f. Researches the law and prepares memoranda.g. Conducts interviews.h. Handles Private Bar Involvement work, including but not limited to

interviewing, referrals, working directly with private attorneys within any of the above task areas.

i. Provides other assistance to attorneys as requested by the Director/Manager.j. Reviews the work product of secretarial and paralegal staff relating to all

clients being advised or represented by him/her.k. Develops specialized knowledge in a substantive area(s) of poverty law and

acts as a resource in the area office and program for other staff.l. Educates and/or participates in programs involving community groups,

schools, and others regarding their rights and may prepare materials relating to these presentations.

m. Handles civil appeals.n. Other reasonable duties to support the functioning of the office that s/he is

qualified to perform, as assigned by the supervisor.

The following are the General Criteria for Attorney I: Licensed to practice law in the State of Ohio. Demonstrated interest and concern for low-income people. Become proficient in at least one area of law.

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Capacity to analyze and apply legal principles to practical problems. Ability to relate to professionals as well as community groups and

individuals. Good writing and communication skills.

These are some general Tasks and Standards for an Attorney I to master with proper training. They also identify some of the qualities necessary for future leadership. This model is designed to encourage new Attorney Is to take on more responsibilities in response to program needs, and to do so in a way which involves other staff, and sets a standard to strive for, as an example for other staff. With that in mind, Attorney Is are encouraged to strive to meet the goals for promotion to Attorney II.

ATTORNEY II -- Casehandlers

Core competenciesThe following are criteria expected of all attorneys in the Attorney II category Proficiency in at least one substantive area of law and in civil procedure General knowledge of poverty law sufficient for issue spotting, advice, and referral Conducting advocacy, beyond the competence of beginners, of the type and amount

generally expected of an advanced/experienced member of the team Routinely securing remedies of the type the team expects to secure in the fora in which

the team generally practices Has effectively provided mentoring, training, or consulting support to other case

handlers and/or private attorneys Community involvement that promotes alleviation of poverty Completion of competent persuasive legal writing Consistently earning the trust and confidence of clients and exhibiting zeal and loyalty

in their representation Meaningful progress on tasks assigned under the team’s impact plan Contributing meaningfully to strategy discussions within the team about addressing

repeated and systemic problems faced by the poor Has demonstrated the ability to engage in non-litigation advocacy by participating

satisfactorily in some client representation outside the fora in which the team generally practices

Skilled completion of oral administrative-, trial- or appellate-level argument

o Demonstrated competence at laying foundation for introducing documentary evidence

o Demonstrated competence in direct and cross-examinationo Demonstrated competence in identifying and raising evidentiary issues

Experience in pursuing and resolving a discovery dispute

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General tasks

Interviewing, advising, and representing eligible clients Advising eligible client groups and aiding community organizations Developing community legal education in area of expertise Writing correspondence, pleadings, and other documents Assisting other attorneys Legal research and persuasive oral and written legal argument Conducting investigation and discovery and enforcing discovery rights Presenting fact and opinion evidence in contested hearings Making, arguing, and defending against evidentiary objections Private bar involvement work Reviewing work product of secretaries and paralegals on assigned cases Developing specialized substantive knowledge and sharing with colleagues Appeals Implementation of any applicable grant activities/requirements Other reasonable duties assigned by supervisor

General qualifications

Ohio license Three years of legal case handling experience Demonstrated interest and concern for poor people Proficiency in substantive poverty law and civil procedure Competence at legal analysis and applying law to facts Ability and demonstrated willingness to collaborate with professionals, individuals, and

community groups Good writing and communication skills Successful progress on goals identified in employee evaluation Has completed available CORT training curriculum for new attorneys

ATTORNEY II – Non-Casehandlers

Core competencies Attorney is attempting and completing a volume of work and achieving results at a level

to be expected from an experienced performer in the position. Attorney demonstrates the level of knowledge of the challenges of the position and

techniques for meeting them to be expected from an experienced performer in the position

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Attorney is engaged in the community and with community groups in ways that promote the alleviation of poverty

Attorney has effectively provided mentoring, training, or consulting support to colleagues and staff

Attorney successfully promotes, supports, or contributes to, the advocacy product of the program as a regular part of the attorney’s work

Attorney has demonstrated initiative or leadership in at least one area of importance to the work of the program

General tasksAny and all reasonable duties assigned by supervisor(s) under any applicable job description (e.g. Pro Bono Coordinator)

General qualifications

Ohio license Three years’ law-related work experience utilizing a law license. Demonstrated interest and concern for poor people Proficiency in substantive poverty law and civil procedure Competence at legal analysis and applying law to facts Ability and demonstrated willingness to collaborate with professionals, individuals, and

community groups Good writing and communication skills Successful progress on goals identified in employee evaluation Has completed available CORT training curriculum for new attorneys

ATTORNEY III -- Casehandler

Core competencies

In addition to continued demonstration of the core competencies of an Attorney II: Attempting and achieving significant impact objectives of the team or of the program Conducting advanced advocacy, including appellate and federal litigation, or extensive

and/or complex trial level advocacy Pursuing innovative approaches to advocacy seeking nonroutine but well-supported

remedies, and using fora beyond the local state trial courts where possible Active co-counseling with private and other legal aid lawyers Mentoring of newer attorneys within OSLSA Has effectively provided consulting support to private attorneys on complex or

challenging questions in the area of substantive specialty Providing formal training to staff, community, or private attorneys

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Development or use of non-litigation activities to address systemic issues and/or advance the advocacy of the program

Developing community legal education in area of expertise

General tasks

Assisting the team and program in devising and executing major advocacy to resolve or relieve systemic problems faced by the poor

Interviewing, advising, and representing eligible clients Advising eligible client groups and aiding community organizations Writing correspondence, pleadings, and other documents Assisting other attorneys Legal research and persuasive oral and written legal argument Conducting investigation and discovery and enforcing discovery rights Presenting fact and opinion evidence in contested hearings Making, arguing, and defending against evidentiary objections Private bar involvement work Reviewing work product of secretaries and paralegals on assigned cases Developing specialized substantive knowledge and sharing with colleagues Appeals Implementation of any applicable grant activities/requirements Other reasonable duties assigned by supervisor Preparation and completion of an Attorney III work plan every two years

General qualifications

Ohio license Five years’ casehandling experience Demonstrated interest and concern for poor people Proficiency in substantive poverty law and civil procedure Competence at legal analysis and applying law to facts Ability and demonstrated willingness to collaborate with professionals, individuals, and

community groups Good writing and communication skills Acceptance by the Review Committee of an Attorney III work plan or satisfactory

completion of the previous Attorney III work plan, if any

Attorney III work plans

To qualify as an Attorney III, the candidate will propose an Attorney III Work Plan, which shall include a detailed explanation of how, in addition to normal advocacy responsibilities, the attorney will, over a period not to exceed the next two years:

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(A) Utilize the abilities and skills of an Attorney III to benefit the program and its client community through activities beyond normal advocacy responsibilities or a special project selected by the attorney and the Review Committee;

(B) Maintain performance at the levels expected of an Attorney III.

Within sixty days of the scheduled completion date of his or her existing Attorney III Work Plan, an Attorney III will propose a new Attorney III Work Plan which, in addition to meeting the above description of an initial Attorney III Work Plan, will include a self-assessment of the attorney’s continuing satisfaction of the above core competencies, and the extent of the attorney’s success and lack of success on the existing Attorney III Work Plan. Attorney III Work Plans after the initial plan will be reviewed and approved by the Attorney III’s immediate supervisor and the Executive Director (or designee).

Progress on Attorney III work plans will be regularly monitored and evaluated by the Attorney III’s immediate supervisor.

ATTORNEY III – Non-Casehandler

Core competencies

Attorney is attempting and completing a volume of work and achieving results at a level to be expected from an outstanding and elite performer in the position

Attorney demonstrates both knowledge of the challenges of the position, and the ability to use techniques for meeting them, at the level to be expected from an outstanding and elite performer in the position

Attorney has demonstrated consistent and successful innovation in meeting the challenges of the position

Attorney is engaged in the community and with community groups in ways that promote the alleviation of poverty and demonstrate initiative, innovation, and programwide leadership

Attorney has provided extensive mentoring, training, or consulting support to colleagues and staff

Attorney has demonstrated consistent initiative and leadership in multiple areas of importance to the work of the program

Preparation and completion of an Attorney III work plan every two years

General tasks

Any and all reasonable duties assigned by supervisor(s)

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General qualifications

Ohio license Five years’ law-related work experience utilizing a law license. Demonstrated interest and concern for poor people Proficiency in substantive poverty law and civil procedure Competence at legal analysis and applying law to facts Ability and demonstrated willingness to collaborate with professionals, individuals, and

community groups Good writing and communication skills Satisfactory completion of any previous Attorney III work plan

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APPENDIX B

PROMOTION CRITERIA FOR SUPPORT STAFF II

A Support Staff I who wishes to promote in place to the position of Support Staff II must submit an application, along with supporting documentation, that demonstrates proficiency (a high level of expertise) and effectiveness (skillful use of energy to accomplish desired results with little waste of effort) during the 3 years prior to the date of the application in at least three of the following categories:

1. Correspondence with clients, attorneys, and other agencies, including e-mails, referrals, and informational pamphlets.

2. Organization and maintenance of daily calendars and schedules.3. Organization and tracking of funding sources.4. Point of contact with outside vendors, including client appointments with CRIS and

Deaf Services and Optimal.5. Noteworthy client, employee or private attorney assistance, including handling

walk-ins.6. Keeping all files in an orderly manner and preparation of filing system directions for

other users.7. Updating of Agency forms as necessary.8. Assistance in the preparation of Agency publications and promotional materials.9. Data input for reports and statistics.10. Sorting mail, distributing mail, and preparing outgoing mail.11. Coordinating room set ups and requirements for meetings.12. Screening clients for assistance, using the case acceptance criteria prepared by the

substantive teams.

The application and supporting documentation must also demonstrate proficiency and effectiveness during the 3 years prior to the date of the application in at least two of the following (or equivalent) areas. The emphasis for these areas is on demonstrating a unique leadership role in improving the functioning of the team and the Agency.

13. Coordinating and training other staff for court filing, filing documents with all of the different courts, and follow up with the case handlers and courts on filing.

14. Troubleshooting printers, computers, telephones, copiers and other office equipment, and other IT issues.

15. Competence in office software programs used by the Agency and providingtraining and/or mentoring to others in the proper use of current or new software.

16. Coordinating with community groups and clinics to provide staff and brochures at tables for community festivals and events.

17. Training and coordinating volunteers to support the work of the team and the agency.

18. Responsibility for developing, improving and maintaining office procedures to improve Agency service delivery.

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The application and supporting documentation must also demonstrate that the applicant meets all of the following criteria.

Work Quality and Attitude:

1. Completes work in a timely manner.2. Completes work with a minimum of errors.3. Manages time well and works hard.4. Anticipates the needs of the team (and other teams as appropriate) and prepares

for deadlines, upcoming leave, and other changes.5. Maintains a pleasant attitude toward co-workers and contributes to a pleasant

work environment.6. Thinks about and implements ways to improve the efficiency of his/her own

work and that of the team.7. Is flexible and responds positively to new tasks and responsibilities.

APPENDIX B

PROMOTION CRITERIA FOR SUPPORT STAFF II

A Support Staff I who wishes to promote in place to the position of Support Staff II must submit an application, along with supporting documentation, that demonstrates proficiency (a high level of expertise) and effectiveness (skillful use of energy to accomplish desired results with little waste of effort) during the 3 years prior to the date of the application in at least three of the following categories:

19. Correspondence with clients, attorneys, and other agencies, including e-mails, referrals, and informational pamphlets.

20. Organization and maintenance of daily calendars and schedules.21. Organization and tracking of funding sources.22. Point of contact with outside vendors, including client appointments with CRIS and

Deaf Services and Optimal.23. Noteworthy client, employee or private attorney assistance, including handling

walk-ins.24. Keeping all files in an orderly manner and preparation of filing system directions for

other users.25. Updating of Agency forms as necessary.26. Assistance in the preparation of Agency publications and promotional materials.27. Data input for reports and statistics.28. Sorting mail, distributing mail, and preparing outgoing mail.29. Coordinating room set ups and requirements for meetings.30. Screening clients for assistance, using the case acceptance criteria prepared by the

substantive teams.71

The application and supporting documentation must also demonstrate proficiency and effectiveness during the 3 years prior to the date of the application in at least two of the following (or equivalent) areas. The emphasis for these areas is on demonstrating a unique leadership role in improving the functioning of the team and the Agency.

31. Coordinating and training other staff for court filing, filing documents with all of the different courts, and follow up with the case handlers and courts on filing.

32. Troubleshooting printers, computers, telephones, copiers and other office equipment, and other IT issues.

33. Competence in office software programs used by the Agency and providingtraining and/or mentoring to others in the proper use of current or new software.

34. Coordinating with community groups and clinics to provide staff and brochures at tables for community festivals and events.

35. Training and coordinating volunteers to support the work of the team and the agency.

36. Responsibility for developing, improving and maintaining office procedures to improve Agency service delivery.

The application and supporting documentation must also demonstrate that the applicant meets all of the following criteria.

Work Quality and Attitude:

8. Completes work in a timely manner.9. Completes work with a minimum of errors.10. Manages time well and works hard.11. Anticipates the needs of the team (and other teams as appropriate) and prepares

for deadlines, upcoming leave, and other changes.12. Maintains a pleasant attitude toward co-workers and contributes to a pleasant

work environment.13. Thinks about and implements ways to improve the efficiency of his/her own

work and that of the team.14. Is flexible and responds positively to new tasks and responsibilities.

PROMOTION CRITERIA FOR PARALEGAL II

A Paralegal I who wishes to promote in place to the position of Paralegal II must submit an application along with supporting documentation that demonstrates proficiency and effectiveness during the preceding 3-5 years prior to the date of the application in at least 6 of the following categories:

1. Litigationa. Trial and deposition activities related to contested cases that do not settle.b. Negotiations of complex cases.

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2. Appellatea. Appellate briefs where there is no oral argument.

3. Administrative or Legislative advocacya. Advocacy of complex cases.

4. Client community related activitiesa. Preparation of community education materials for clients explaining their

legal rights and obligations in easily understood lay terms.b. Substantial revision of community education materials based on changes in

the law.c. Positively evaluated presentations to the client community.

5. Professional presentationsa. Preparation of professional educational materials.b. Substantial revision of professional educational materials based on changes

in the law.c. Positively evaluated presentations to the professional community.

6. Bar/Paralegal association activitiesa. Specific bar/paralegal association or committee work done by the employee

should be explained.7. Interagency activities

a. Specific work with other agencies done by employee should be explained.8. Intra-agency Team activity

a. Specific work done by team where employee was a team member or contributor should be explained.

9. Mentoringa. Specific significant mentoring activities should be detailed.

10. Co-counsel activitiesa. Specific co-counseling activities on complex cases accompanied by a

breakdown of the activities done by the employee.11. Other

a. Specific significant work that does not fit in the above categories falls here and may include, but is not limited to:

i. Use of ADR (alternative dispute resolution) by the employee for a client, which results in resolution of the client’s issue.

ii. Employee usage of a language other than English, whether “spoken” (including American Sign Language) or read by the client, for client communication or production of client education materials.

iii. Significant non-litigation brief service that provides a resolution of the client’s issue.

iv. Identification of an emerging issue of the client community and development of an advocacy or litigation response to it. (Issues developed by a team may be used by any team member but need not be used by each team member. The specific contributions of the individuals should be detailed.)

This list of Promotion Criteria is not all inclusive, and employees who submit an application and who wish to cite Promotion Criteria that do not fit into a category above may do so.

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PROMOTION CRITERIA FOR ATTORNEY II

An Attorney I who wishes to promote in place to the position of Attorney II must submit an application along with supporting documentation that demonstrates proficiency and effectiveness during the preceding 3-5 years prior to the date of the application in at least 7 of the following categories:

1. Litigationa. Trials and depositions related to contested cases that do not settle.b. Negotiations of complex cases.

2. Appellatea. Oral arguments before an appellate court.b. Appellate briefs.

3. Administrative or Legislative advocacya. Advocacy of complex cases.

4. Client community related activitiesa. Preparation of community education materials for clients explaining their

legal rights and obligation in easily understood lay terms.b. Substantial revision of community education materials based on changes in

the law.c. Positively evaluated presentations to the client community.

5. Professional presentationa. Preparation of professional educational materials.b. Substantial revision of professional educational materials based on changes

in the law.c. Positively evaluated presentations to the professional community.

6. Bar association activitiesa. Specific bar association or committee work done by the employee should be

explained.7. Interagency activities

a. Specific work with other agencies done by employee should be explained.8. Intra-agency Team activity

a. Specific work done by team where employee was a team member or contributor should be explained.

9. Mentoringa. Specific significant mentoring activities should be detailed.

10. Co-counsel activitiesa. Specific co-counseling activities on complex cases accompanied by a

breakdown of the activities done by the employer.11. Other

a. Specific significant work that does not fit in the above categories falls here and may include, but is not limited to:

i. Use of ADR (alternative dispute resolution) by the employee for a client, which results in resolution of the client’s issue.

ii. Employee usage of a language other than English, whether “spoken” (including American Sign Language) or read by the client, for client communication or production of client education materials.

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iii. Significant non-litigation brief service that provides a resolution of the client’s issue.

iv. Identification of an emerging issue of the client community and development of an advocacy or litigation response to it. (Issues developed by a team may be used by any team member but need not be used by each team member. The specific contributions of the individual should be detailed.)

This list of Promotion Criteria is not all inclusive, and employees who submit an application and who wish to cite Promotion Criteria that do not fit into a category above may do so.

PROMOTION CRITERIA FOR ATTORNEY III

An Attorney II who wishes to promote in place to the position of Attorney III must submit an application along with supporting documentation that demonstrates proficiency and effectiveness during the preceding 3-5 years prior to the date of the application in at least 9 of the following categories:

1. Litigationa. Trials and depositions related to contested cases that do not settle.b. Negotiations of complex cases.

2. Appellatea. Oral arguments before an appellate court.b. Appellate briefs.

3. Administrative or Legislative advocacya. Advocacy of complex cases.

4. Client community related activitiesa. Preparation of community education materials for clients explaining their

legal rights and obligation in easily understood lay terms.b. Substantial revision of community education materials based on changes in

the law.c. Positively evaluated presentations to the client community.

5. Professional presentationa. Preparation of professional educational materials.b. Substantial revision of professional educational materials based on changes

in the law.c. Positively evaluated presentations to the professional community.

6. Bar association activitiesa. Specific bar association or committee work done by the employee should be

explained.7. Interagency activities

a. Specific work with other agencies done by employee should be explained.8. Intra-agency Team activity

a. Specific work done by team where employee was a team member or contributor should be explained.

9. Mentoring

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a. Specific significant mentoring activities should be detailed.10. Co-counsel activities

a. Specific co-counseling activities on complex cases accompanied by a breakdown of the activities done by the employer.

11. Othera. Specific significant work that does not fit in the above categories falls here

and may include, but is not limited to:i. Use of ADR (alternative dispute resolution) by the employee for a

client, which results in resolution of the client’s issue.ii. Employee usage of a language other than English, whether

“spoken” (including American Sign Language) or read by the client, for client communication or production of client education materials.

iii. Significant non-litigation brief service that provides a resolution of the client’s issue.

iv. Identification of an emerging issue of the client community and development of an advocacy or litigation response to it. (Issues developed by a team may be used by any team member but need not be used by each team member. The specific contributions of the individual should be detailed.)

This list of Promotion Criteria is not all inclusive, and employees who submit an application and who wish to cite Promotion Criteria that do not fit into a category above may do so.

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APPENDIX C - EXPERIENCE CREDITS

AttorneyAttorneys shall be given full prior experience credit for all employment as an attorney licensed to practice law in the state in which employed, up to seven (7) years of experience credit. Any experience credit beyond seven (7) years is at the Executive Director’s discretion.

ParalegalParalegals shall be given full prior experience credit for employment as a paralegal or similar experience up to seven (7) years of experience credit. Any experience credit beyond seven (7) years is at the Executive Director’s discretion.

Support StaffSecretaries shall be given full prior experience credit for employment as a secretary, up to seven (7) years of experience credit. Any experience credit beyond seven (7) years is at the Executive Director’s discretion. Other support staff shall be given full prior experience credit for all employment in the same or similar job, up to seven (7) years of experience credit. Any experience credit beyond seven (7) years is at the Executive Director’s discretion.

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