Discipline / Investigations

NLRB ruling: Weigh context when punishing employee for angry outbursts

06/21/2023

The National Labor Relations Act, which is administered by the National Labor Relations Board, protects employees’ right to form and join a labor union and engage in so-called concerted activities to improve working conditions. Recently, the NLRB ruled that occasional angry outbursts—even if offensive enough to potentially create a hostile environment under Title VII—are protected activity under the NLRA.

Build toolkit to use every time you launch an investigation

05/22/2023

Employment lawyer John Doran has a secret weapon he deploys every time a client asks him to conduct an investigation of alleged workplace misconduct: an investigations toolkit already loaded onto his laptop. It contains templates for all the documents needed to conduct witness interviews, determine what happened and guide the investigation toward resolution.

Your anti-harassment obligations are 24/7/365

05/17/2023

An employer has the same obligations whether the harassment takes place in the workplace during working hours, in the break room, at the bar during happy hour, via text message or social media, in a grocery store aisle or in outer space.

Refusal to sign discipline memo? What to do

05/12/2023

Every HR professional knows the importance of disciplinary documentation. But what happens if an employee refuses to sign a disciplinary memo?

Check for possible retaliation before approving discipline

04/17/2023

Before approving a termination, always review the case details. Be on the lookout for signs that the action might be motivated by a supervisor’s attempt to retaliate against the employee.

Document every step in investigation

03/16/2023

Employees who get fired are very likely to file lawsuits. Their lawyers will surely scrutinize your investigation for any evidence that you took shortcuts or were biased in some way against their client. It’s up to HR to prepare for that possibility by showing that the investigation was based on valid business reasons and that you applied the process even-handedly.

OK to discipline worker who filed complaint

01/24/2023

Make sure your organization’s supervisors understand that it’s perfectly legal to impose legitimate discipline on an employee who has filed a harassment or discrimination complaint.

Keep it Legal: The case for detailed disciplinary notes

01/06/2023

Do you keep detailed disciplinary notes and pass them on to HR? Here’s why, as a manager, you should. If you have to fire a worker and he sues, alleging discrimination because another worker broke the same rule and wasn’t fired, those notes will come in handy. Detailed narratives let you explain why you allowed one worker to get away with a warning or short suspension while you fired another worker who broke the same rule.

The case for behavioral rules

10/20/2022

If you don’t have behavioral rules to guide employees or don’t enforce the current ones, you are missing an opportunity to discipline workers appropriately when they cross behavioral lines.

Keep It Legal: Internal investigations—get them right or pay the price

10/14/2022

“Investigations are becoming a new and independent source of risk,” attorney Christopher Ward with Foley & Lardner told Business Management Daily during their HR Specialist Summit. “And it’s not simply whether you did an investigation, but whether you did it right. A good investigation usually means a good process.”