It is the intent of the state of North Dakota to assure fair and equitable treatment and promote harmony between and among all classified employees by requiring affected agencies to adopt grievance procedures and through the creation of a statewide appeals mechanism with primary jurisdiction to entertain and resolve classified employee appeals. It is the policy of this state to resolve bona fide employee complaints as quickly as possible. The division shall    cooperate with and assist the various departments, agencies, and institutions of the state in the development and implementation of basic agency grievance procedures and a statewide appeal mechanism. The division shall certify appeals from nonprobationary employees in the classified service which are related to discrimination, merit system qualification, reprisals, reduction in force, forced relocation, demotion with loss of pay, suspension without pay, and dismissal, and from applicants for positions in the classified service and probationary employees in the classified service which are related to discrimination or reprisal. Upon receipt of an appeal, the division shall submit a written request to the director of the office of administrative hearings to designate an administrative law judge for the division to conduct the hearing and related proceedings, including receiving evidence and preparing findings of fact, conclusions of law, and issuing a final decision. The moving party in the initial action bears the burden of proof in the appeal. An appeal to the district court from the determination of the administrative law judge must be filed according to chapter 28-32, including proper service upon the division, but neither the division nor the office of administrative hearings may be named as a party to the appeal under chapter 28-32 unless an employee of one of those two agencies is involved in the grievance.

Terms Used In North Dakota Code 54-44.3-12.2

  • Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
  • Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. Source:
  • Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
  • written: include "typewriting" and "typewritten" and "printing" and "printed" except in the case of signatures and when the words are used by way of contrast to typewriting and printing. See North Dakota Code 1-01-37
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