Grievance Procedure

Arts United is Young Audiences’ comprehensive effort to examine and improve our programming, leadership, and operations with a focus on diversity, equity, inclusion, and access. YA continually strives to create spaces that are diverse, equitable, and inclusive. YA is committed to providing students of all identities, backgrounds, and experiences with arts education.

YA encourages our staff, board, artists, and partners to share experiences of harm or personal impact in relation to diversity, equity, inclusion and access within our organization or the environments in which we work. If during a YA sponsored event or while working in partnership with YA you have experienced or witnessed something that makes you feel uncomfortable, dismissed, stereotyped, harmed, or otherwise impacted please reach out to YA staff.  We want you to share your experience so it can be addressed.  We are dedicated to resolving concerns and issues as appropriate. The following policy outlines how we will respond to such experiences.

PROCEDURE 

Timing 

If there is a concern, report it to YA immediately. We encourage issues to be reported even if time has passed, but the earlier a concern is expressed, the easier it is to address it.

Reporting a Concern

Partners: 

We understand that often the easiest way to express an uncomfortable experience is via the YA staff member you are most in touch with. If this is the case, share your experience with that person, who will include the President and CEO and other appropriate staff to move forward the handling of the grievance. Any staff who are named in the grievance would not be included in the process of evaluation.

Trustees: 

We encourage you to begin the reporting process by contacting either the Board Chair or the Chair(s) of the Arts United Committee.

Conflict in reporting:

If you are not directly in contact with a YA staff member or the person you would most directly share with is involved in the grievance, please email or call YA @ 609-243-9000 to connect with the Sr. Director of Equity (Michelle Marigliano, [email protected]) or Senior Director of Finance and Administration (Lori Rivera, [email protected])

Anonymity:

If you are not comfortable sharing your grievance directly to a person or would prefer to remain anonymous, use the Arts United Grievance Form to report your experience.

The option of using the Arts United Grievance Form to submit a report is open to any concerned party.

How The Grievance Will Be Handled

The staff member or trustee who receives the grievance will refer it to the President and CEO for review if there is no conflict in doing so. Some concerns may be resolved by the reporting staff member or trustee and the President and CEO at this point based on information provided in the initial grievance without the need for further investigation.

When necessary, inquiries will be made by the President and CEO or Executive Committee and/or AU Committee Chair to determine whether further investigation is appropriate, and the form that it should take.  It is the job of this group to assess the degree of harm and determine appropriate follow-up action.

This process may include conducting interviews with all parties involved, reviewing documents, recordings and/or video. To the extent that the grievance in any way involves allegations of wrongdoing or otherwise impacts a member of the Executive Committee or AU Committee, that committee member will not take part in the resulting investigation.

All employees of YANJEP are expected to cooperate with any investigation. Failure to do so may lead to

discipline, including dismissal. Information provided by individual employees during an investigation will be treated as confidential and only be provided to those who have a need for the information or when it is required while investigating the grievance. Providing false

information during an investigation is grounds for discipline, including dismissal.

There will be no discrimination or retaliation against any individual who files a good-faith AU grievance, even if the investigation produces insufficient evidence to support the grievance or if the charges cannot be proven. There will be no discrimination or retaliation against any other individual who participates in the investigation of the grievance. Nor is YA under any obligation to take action to address the grievance.

Possible resolutions may include but are not limited to: apology, awareness training, briefing to all staff, briefing to partners, reimbursement or waiving of costs to partners, change in business relationship, or disciplinary action such as a change in employment status.

Note: Inquiries regarding allegations that are not perpetrated by YA staff, artists or board members may require involving outside sources for additional consult or follow-up and may not be actionable by YA.

Reporting

The individual who shared a grievance will receive the following information:

  • Acknowledgment that the grievance was received will be provided within 5 business days;
  • The opportunity to provide input on how they would like the grievance resolved.
  • A description of the way the grievance will be handled will be provided within two weeks;
  • If no further investigation is needed, final determination will be provided within four weeks;
  • If further investigation is needed, an estimate of the time that it will take for a final response will be provided within four weeks; and
  • Semi-monthly follow-up will be provided until resolution is achieved.
  • Subject to legal constraints, the individual will receive information about the outcome of any investigation.