NAPE/AFSCME member Jennifer Nettles, a Resource Developer for the Department of Health and Human Services in Omaha, enforced her rights by challenging her unsatisfactory 2023 performance evaluation.
In August 2023, Jennifer began a new role with DHHS as a Resource Developer. She previously worked as a DD Service Coordinator and was excited to transition into her new position.
“I was ready to try something different and learn something new while also staying with the State because I’d been here for so long,” Jennifer said. “The evaluation process in my new division was very different from what I’m used to. I’m almost done with my fourteenth year with DHHS and have never received a bad evaluation, so I was blindsided.”
Jennifer’s 2023 performance evaluation only covered her performance as a Resource Developer, meaning that she was evaluated based on less than half of her work in 2023. Additionally, Jennifer was not given performance standards until several weeks after she began working in her new position.
“It’s concerning that the processes aren’t more consistent across departments. The Resource Developer position was more slow-paced than I was used to and I felt like I needed a more clear and structured communication while I did that transition,” she said. “I was never told that I wasn’t meeting expectations or given any feedback, which means I wasn’t given any opportunity to improve. It was a very vague four-month evaluation.”
Our labor contract requires that management base annual evaluations on the entire calendar year and performance feedback must be communicated to employees early, often, and appropriately. Jennifer was not evaluated based on her work performance from January to August and she was not given any feedback on her performance from August to December.
Jennifer contacted her union representative right away and a grievance was promptly filed on her behalf.
“I got the email and I immediately reached out to my representative. This was my first time filing a grievance, so I came into it not knowing what to expect,” she said. “The process was longer than I thought it would be. I know I’m not a bad employee, so when we had to keep appealing it through the different steps, that was a scary thing.”
Eventually, Jennifer prevailed and her 2023 performance evaluation was rated satisfactory. She received the step pay increase retroactive to July 1, 2024.
“There were moments when I was scared and wanted to give up,” Jennifer said. “I want people to know that it’s worth following through. I was so relieved and happy when I got the call that we’d won and the process was finally coming to a close in our favor.”
If you have any questions or concerns about your performance evaluation, contact us right away.
