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Discipline / Investigations

Don’t sweat details if your discipline decision is sound

06/17/2011

Do you worry about every detail of discipline and make sure all the facts are completely accurate? Your concern may be needless. Employers certainly have to be fair when disciplining, but judges know HR departments aren’t courts of law—and they don’t demand proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

Let investigation guide harassment punishment

06/17/2011

Not every workplace incident involving offensive conduct between employees has to end in termination. Employers can and should base their response on the circumstances uncovered during an investigation. For example, the first time an employee uses offensive language, the appropriate remedy may be a stern warning. On other occasions, when it’s impossible to tell who said what, the proper response may be to counsel both parties.

Is Brooklyn Botanical Gardens fertile ground for bias?

06/17/2011
The former head of security at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens has filed a lawsuit claiming the institution discriminates against blacks, and that he was fired in part because of his age.

Dunkin’ Donuts store pays for not investigating harassment

06/17/2011
The owner of a Dunkin’ Donuts franchise will pay $290,000 and agree to enter into a six-year settlement agreement after it refused to investigate charges that the store manager was sexually harassing female workers. Many of the employees were just 16 and 17 years old at the time.

When workplace romance goes bad, fall back on sexual harassment policy for discipline

06/17/2011

It’s bound to happen eventually: Two of your employees will have an affair. Then one of them will break it off, leaving the other hurt, angry and perhaps vengeful. It’s all a recipe for disaster—and HR will have to manage the situation. You can punish them both, assuming they are merely co-workers. But if your rules aren’t very specific, you’ll have to be careful.

Quiz for managers: Documenting discipline the legal way

06/14/2011

If an employee ever sues, you need to have strong documentation of performance, behavior and discipline issues. Managers sit on the front lines of the documentation battlefield. Have your supervisors take our quiz to test their knowledge of documentation do’s and don’ts. Plus, learn three documentation rules every manager must know.

Documenting employee discipline: 3 cardinal rules

05/31/2011
Managers should make documentation of employee performance, behavior and discipline a regular habit. Strong documentation is especially important if an employee or ex-employee ever files a legal complaint saying his or her termination or discipline was based on illegal discrimination.

When employees foul up, feel free to tailor your response to fit the circumstances

05/27/2011

Employees break rules from time to time. They make mistakes occasionally. When those things happen, you have to respond. But don’t make the mistake of thinking you must discipline or correct every employee the same way all the time. Management needs the flexibility to tailor solutions to particular problems, because every situation is different.

Loud and inappropriate gripe? OK to punish, even if complaint involved discrimination

05/20/2011

It goes without saying that employers can’t punish employees because they have complained about discrimination. That would be retaliation, and could mean a lost lawsuit even if the employee wasn’t correct about her allegations. But that doesn’t mean you have to tolerate loud, obnoxious or disruptive complaints, no matter what their content.

Court: Discipline OK if disabled worker makes threats

05/20/2011
It’s been an open question whether Cali­for­nia’s Fair Employment and Hous­ing Act allows employers to punish a mentally ill employee whose disease makes her act out. Now the answer is clear: You can punish mentally disabled employees for threats or violence against co-workers.