It shall be the responsibility of the State Board to resolve all member grievances brought to its attention, only after all grievance remedies at the local level have been exhausted unless good cause is shown why the grieving party has not done so. Where a grievance concerns a current or past member of the WV NOW Board of Directors or the Executive Committee related to their service in that capacity, the grievance shall be filed with NOW National in accordance with the NOW National grievance policy. 

​

Grievances shall contain a statement setting forth the nature and basis of the grievance, specifying who or what unit(s) of NOW have violated what specific policy, procedure, bylaw, or regulation of NOW or its various sub-unit(s); the remedy requested; and shall indicate whether, and the manner in which, all available remedies at the local level have been exhausted. The State Board shall appoint three of its members, by lot, who shall arbitrate the grievance. Grievances must be submitted within six months from the date of the grievable incident or within six months from the time that the member involved first knew or should have known of the grievable incident or from the date that all attempts at local resolution have been exhausted.

​

The chair of the Grievance Committee will meet with the parties involved in person or by other appropriate means to determine if the grievance can be mediated and then attempt to mediate it. The chair shall complete the mediation attempt no later than 90 days following notification that the grievance has been accepted. If no agreement can be reached by the grievance chair and the parties involved, the Grievance Committee will proceed with a hearing. 

​

The Grievance Committee shall act to set a date for the hearing no later than 30 days after the end of the attempted mediation period. The hearing may take place in person or by video conference. Changes in the hearing date may be granted by the Grievance Committee for good cause shown. All parties may submit documents and other materials. These documents and materials must be submitted as directed by the Grievance Committee.  The Grievance Committee must notify all parties if additional documents, materials or clarification are needed. A request for additional materials by the Grievance Committee may be made prior to and/or at the hearing.

​

The Grievance Committee must issue and mail a written decision within thirty days of the hearing or within thirty days of the expiration of the two week notification for submission of additional materials, whichever is later. The decision will be mailed to each party and the Executive Committee