(1) For the purpose of submitting and advancing a grievance, a career service employee, or a reporting employee alleging retaliatory action, may:

1. (a) obtain assistance by a representative of the employee's choice to act as an advocate at any level of the grievance procedure;
2. (b) request a reasonable amount of time during work hours to confer with the representative and prepare the grievance; and
3. (c) call other employees as witnesses at a grievance hearing.

(3) No person may take any reprisals against a career service employee or a reporting employee for:

1. (a) use of or participation in a grievance procedure described in this chapter; or
2. (b) representing and providing assistance to a career service employee as an advocate in accordance with Subsection (1)(a).

(5)

1. (a) The employing agency of an employee who files a grievance may not place grievance forms, grievance materials, correspondence about the grievance, agency and department replies to the grievance, or other documents relating to the grievance in the employee's personnel file.
2. (b) The employing agency of an employee who files a grievance may place records of disciplinary action in the employee's personnel file.
3. (c) If any disciplinary action against an employee is rescinded through the grievance procedures described in this chapter, the agency and the Department of Human Resource Management shall remove the record of the disciplinary action from the employee's agency personnel file and central personnel file.
4. (d) An agency may maintain a separate grievance file relating to an employee's grievance, but shall discard the file after three years.