August 20, 2014
41.4.66
Background
The grievor sold the home for 93.47% of its appraised value – below the 95% prescribed by section 8.3 of the NJC Relocation Directive. The employer denied the grievor's application for Home Sale Assistance (HSA) as approval from the Departmental Relocation Coordinator was not sought prior to completing the sale.
The grievor maintains that the Contracted Relocation Service Provider (CRSP) did review the requirements of section 8.3 of the Directive, however no explanation was given in regards to how approval should be sought in the event that a CRSP representative was unavailable by phone or email. This was the case for the grievor; the final offer was submitted and accepted outside of business hours. Therefore, the grievor submitted the request for HSA the following business day.
Bargaining Agent Presentation
The Bargaining Agent representative explained that the intent of the Directive, specifically in article 1.2 was to relocate employees in the most efficient manner, with minimal detrimental effect, and at the most reasonable cost.
The Bargaining Agent representative explained that the grievor had been affected by the Deficit Reduction Action Plan (DRAP) and was required to move in order to retain employment. The grievor's house had been on the market for a number of months. After having lost a sale in the month of December 2012, the grievor was anxious to sell.
On April 13, an offer was made on the grievor's house with a deadline of April 14 at 5 p.m. The Bargaining Agent representative indicated that the grievor attempted to contact the departmental representative and the CRSP, however no one was available during the weekend. After many counteroffers, the grievor decided to accept an offer of 93.5% of the appraised value. The grievor was worried that the sale of the house would be lost should the final offer not be accepted by the buyer's deadline. It was also indicated that the grievor had not told the real estate agent about the HSA in order to get the highest price possible.
The Bargaining Agent representative explained that the grievor and the CRSP representative had discussed the 95% threshold however, it was never specified how the grievor should go about accepting a lower offer. The grievor advised the CRSP on April 15 of the accepted offer and was told that HSA was not available without prior approval.
The Bargaining Agent representative indicated that the Committee had the authority to accept a request for HSA retroactively as it had done so in another similar situation.
Given that the CRSP was not available during the weekend to give the grievor direction, the Bargaining Agent representative requested that the grievance be upheld.
Departmental Presentation
The Departmental representative explained that the grievor had received a copy of the Directive and hadseveral conversations with the CRSP and the HSA had been discussed.
She explained that the Department had been sensitive to the grievor's situation and realized that it was a stressful time. It provided an extension of time to finalize the relocation, allowed the grievor to remain at the residence on a part-time basis until it was reasonable to relocate and made every effort to facilitate the relocation process.
The Departmental representative indicated that the Department was precluded from providing HSA since it is clear in the Directive that prior approval is necessary in order to qualify for any benefits. She indicated that the grievor could have added a clause in the contract indicating "subject to the approval of…" or could have explained the situation to the buyers and the need for another few hours before accepting the final offer. As the obligations under section 8.3 of the Directive were not respected, the Department is of the view that the grievor is not entitled to the HSA.
Executive Committee Decision
The Executive Committee noted that the Relocation Committee could not come to an agreement on the intent of the Directive in this case. The Executive Committee considered the Committee's report and could not reach consensus either. As such, the Committee reached an impasse.