Grievance Procedure
Purpose
The ISI Grievance procedure is an important provision of our organization. It is important to ISI members and the skating public that claims of unethical conduct filed against a member of the ISI are received and processed promptly and adjudicated fairly and justly.
In an effort to ensure the highest quality of professionalism in all dealings between ISI members and other members or the public, the ISI has established a Code of Ethics and Tenets of Professionalism to govern the conduct of its members.
Any complaint concerning breaches of the Code of Ethics or Tenets of Professionalism shall be dealt with by the Ethics and Professional Standards Subcommittee according to such policies as are adopted from time to time by the Board of Directors of the Ice Sports Industry.
ISI and SafeSport
The Ice Sports Industry (ISI) takes the safety and well-being of our members very seriously. Every participant in our program can expect that we will do everything within our power to provide a safe environment for every skater.
Our professional members are held accountable to the ISI’s Tenets of Professionalism and Code of Ethics. We always stand ready to accept, administer and adjudicate any grievance filed against one of its member coaches.
As the ISI is not a national governing body (NGB) for ice sports, under the description of SafeSport, we are an associate member as mandated under the SafeSport Authorization Act of 2017 and we champion their duty to investigate and potentially sanction coaches, fellow skaters and officials who sexually, emotionally or physically abuse athletes.
The ISI includes education in the area of recognizing and reporting abusive behavior for all its member coaches both in print, through online training and at in person learning opportunities.
ISI Grievance Policy and Procedure
One or more individuals, organization(s), corporation(s) or other legal entities may file a grievance against a current ISI member by completing the ISI Grievance Application Form found here.
Grievance Application must be signed and notarized under oath and penalty of perjury and sent to the ISI office in accordance with the time frames and other requirements outlined below. The required filing fee must accompany any Grievance Application in order for it to be considered.
All grievances shall be filed within 120 days of the occurrence of an alleged violation, or within 120 days of the discovery of the alleged violation, provided that all claims must be made within two years of the alleged violation regardless of the time of discovery. Any of the following grounds of disability, existing at the time when a cause for complaint may arise shall suspend the running time of the period of timely filing until the disability is removed, but in all cases, not longer than two years after the disability ends:
- The complainant is under the age of 18;
- The insanity of the complainant;
- The commencement of the complaint is stayed by injunction or statutory prohibition;
- The complainant has a medical condition that prohibits him/her from filing within the required timeframe.
Upon receipt of a Grievance Application and the required filing fee, the ISI office shall forward such grievance to ISI’s Grievance Review Chairperson who shall review said application and determine if there is sufficient merit to proceed with a formal Grievance review.
Such determination shall be made within 20 days of receipt of the application and filing fee.
If the ISI Grievance Review finds sufficient merit to proceed with a formal grievance review, the Chairperson will appoint, in consultation with the ISI Executive Committee a panel made up of individuals who are members of the ISI organization to administer the grievance review process.
All grievance reviews that are determined to allege unprofessional conduct or violations of ISI’s Code of Ethics shall be commenced promptly by the review chairperson notifying the individual against whom the grievance has been filed.
The appointed grievance review panel shall review whatever supporting documentation has been filed and, if necessary, conduct further investigation into the alleged violation(s). After considering all of the relevant facts, the panel shall make a determination as to whether or not the individual against whom the grievance was filed has acted unprofessionally or violated the ISI’s Code of Ethics.
If the finding is that there was, in fact, improper conduct, the review panel will recommend to the Chair of the ISI Ethics and Professional Standards subcommittee such disciplinary action(s) as they deem appropriate. Disciplinary sanctions can include private admonition, public admonition, probation, suspension, or expulsion from membership.
After notification of the panel’s findings has been sent to the respondent, the Subcommittee on Ethics and Professional Standards shall withhold from entry the findings for a period of ten (10) days pending the filing of an appeal. If no such request is received within the ten-day period, entry of the findings shall be completed and any ordered discipline shall begin.
If an appeal is filed, such an appeal will be referred to the ISI Executive Committee for consideration. Any appeals considered will only determine if the grievance review panel followed proper procedures and acted in good faith. It will not be a de novo appeal.
Any ISI member who has been suspended and has not been reinstated under the terms of the suspension or any member who has been expelled from the ISI may apply for reinstatement of membership. Any requests for reinstatement must be considered by the Subcommittee on Ethics and Professional Standards and may only be granted under such terms and conditions as the majority of the members of the subcommittee deem appropriate.
All files, records, and proceedings of any panel or subcommittee meeting related to any complaint or grievance against an ISI member shall be deemed confidential and shall not be disclosed except under the following conditions: Except as may be required by the ISI Executive Committee for any appeals process; or except as may be required by law.
Link to US Center for SafeSport – Response and Resolution
Link to US Center for SafeSport – Centralized Disciplinary Database