Each public employer and bargaining agent shall negotiate a grievance procedure to
be used for the settlement of disputes between employer and employee, or group of
employees, involving the interpretation or application of a collective bargaining
agreement. The grievance procedure shall have as its terminal step a final and binding
disposition by an impartial neutral, mutually selected by the parties; however, an
arbitrator or other neutral shall not have the power to add to, subtract from, modify,
or alter the terms of a collective bargaining agreement. If an employee organization
is certified as the bargaining agent of a unit, the grievance procedure then in existence
may be the subject of collective bargaining, and any agreement which is reached shall
supersede the previously existing procedure. All public employees shall have the right
to a fair and equitable grievance procedure, administered without regard to membership
or nonmembership in any organization, except that certified employee organizations
shall not be required to process grievances for employees who are not members of the
organization. A career service employee shall have the option of utilizing the civil
service appeal procedure or a grievance procedure established under this Section,
but an employee cannot use both a civil service appeal and a grievance procedure.
