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Discipline/corrective action must be issued consistently. Two questions employers should ask before corrective action deciding upon what discipline to mete out is: “What actions have we taken in the past under similar circumstances?”; and “Are there any circumstances that would justify departure from that practice?” Inconsistency in corrective action is a serious problem and one that costs employers dollars if challenged and proven in arbitration by the EEOC, NLRB or a judge/jury. It is imperative that discipline follows reasonably close in time from the conduct for which the employee is being disciplined. Any delay in discipline is far less likely… Read More »Why Consistency and Documentation Matter

Not so incredibly, courts are seeing a breach of an “implied contract” for failure to follow a progressive discipline policy in employee handbooks. This is consistent with the number of reported cases in the country in recent years in which employers have been found to have breached implied contracts with employees for failure to follow other personnel policies. To minimize exposure to liability with respect to progressive disciplinary action procedures, employers should consider the following: Do not include the progressive disciplinary procedure in the employee handbook. The purpose of a progressive disciplinary policy is to provide guidelines to employees and… Read More »Progressive Disciplinary Policies

The unpleasant take of discharging an employee should follow a time-tested protocol to put you in a defensible position should your decision be challenged in a proceeding or in court. You need to review and investigate any issues in which a supervisor wants you to terminate an employee. The possibility of an employee being “fired on the spot” for any offense should not even be a possibility. The maximum authority any supervisor should have is to suspend an employee pending further investigation. Immediate supervisors should be given the right to recommend termination but should not be permitted to fire an employee. Frequently,… Read More »Are You Terminating Employees “By the Book?”