Discipline / Investigations

When it comes to discipline, details matter–and so does consistency and fairness

05/03/2016

Employers that discipline workers consistently and fairly hardly ever get sued. On the rare occasions they do face a lawsuit, they don’t often lose.

Key to beating bias suits: Consistent discipline

05/03/2016

Make sure you equally and consistently punish all employees who break the same rules.

2 employees, 1 offense? Discipline equally

04/08/2016

When two employees are involved in the same misconduct, be sure to discipline both, otherwise you could have yourself a discrimination case.

Conduct careful investigation after public employees’ leak of damaging information

03/08/2016

Public employers have a special Constitutional responsibility that private-sector employers don’t have.

Designing a Progressive Discipline Policy

03/07/2016

White Paper published by The HR Specialist ______________________ The most reliable way to protect your organization from wrongful termination charges is to establish and enforce a system of progressive discipline. Having such a structure in place, and making it clear to all supervisors that they are expected to abide by it, is your best defense […]

Beware boss backlash after complaint–you’re probably looking at retaliation

02/22/2016

It usually happens like this: An employee comes to HR complaining that her boss said something inappropriate—maybe it was a sexually explicit joke, racial slur or offensive comment about someone’s religion. Then the supervisor gets angry at the employee for complaining and retaliates.

Writing the ‘written warning’

02/18/2016

A “written warning” is usually a key step in the process of progressive discipline. It’s purpose, of course, is to effect a change in behavior. But how do you write one?

Unequal discipline for same offense? Be prepared to explain exactly why

02/10/2016

When more than one employee is implicated in a rule violation, make sure all employees are disciplined equally. That’s especially true if they have the same supervisors and similar disciplinary histories.

Are we allowed to discipline an employee for spouting off about political topics?

02/08/2016

Q. With the upcoming presidential elections, political conversation among employees has become more frequent and intense. One employee in particular, whose political views are the opposite of most of the others in the office, has taken to vehemently promoting his favored candidate and that candidate’s views. Several employees have complained that this has made them uncomfortable. Can we take disciplinary action against the employee for promoting his political views? We are a private employer.

10 steps: Conducting an internal investigation