NAPE/AFSCME member Frank Stewart is a Developmental Disabilities Services Coordinator for the Department of Health and Human Services. Frank has worked for DHHS in Omaha for more than five years. In March, Frank received an unsatisfactory performance evaluation. This was the second year in a row that Frank was rated unsatisfactory. As a union member, Frank has direct access to our professional field staff and reached out about his evaluation right away.
In our contract, there is language that allows employees to challenge their most recent unsatisfactory evaluation score if they receive unsatisfactory ratings for two consecutive calendar years. When Frank brought his evaluation to NAPE/AFSCME, our field services team quickly realized he had a good case. Though Frank’s score was overall unsatisfactory, his supervisor praised his performance in the comments of the evaluation. The notes in each section of the evaluation characterized Frank as an employee who easily met expectations, if not exceeded them. Due to these inconsistencies, the NAPE team filed a grievance on Frank’s behalf challenging his score.
Ultimately, DHHS agreed to settle the matter in Frank’s favor after NAPE represented him at hearing. Not only is Frank now correctly rated as satisfactory for 2021, but he also received his 2022 Step increase in July. Frank did the right thing by contacting NAPE right away when he received his unsatisfactory performance evaluation. If he hadn’t reached out within fifteen days, he would have waived his right to challenge the evaluation and he would not have received his step raise in July. If you or a coworker believe our contract has been violated, please reach out to NAPE right away.