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Discipline / Investigations

How to document employee infractions: 4 ‘musts’ to include

06/27/2019
In his recent Business Management Daily webinar, Documenting Employee Performance, author and HR executive Paul Falcone explained how much (and what kind) of details should be included when documenting employee performance and behavior problems.

What should we do? Two no-show/no-call situations were treated differently

06/11/2019
Q. We have a strict rule against not calling in before a missed shift to report an absence. We require workers to make that call at least one hour before the shift is to start, unless they cannot do so due to an emergency. Otherwise we mark the absence as unexcused. Recently, an employee went to the emergency room and couldn’t make the call because she could not get cell service where she was and was undergoing triage treatment. We didn’t hold her to the rule. Now another employee, who heard from the first employee that she was excused, is complaining she’s being treated unfairly, but her situation was not the same. What do we do?

Flight attendants say JetBlue failed to investigate rape

05/23/2019
Two female JetBlue flight attendants allege they were drugged and one was raped by two JetBlue pilots during a layover in Puerto Rico. They reported the incident to JetBlue, but have now filed a lawsuit alleging the airline did not investigate their allegations.

Is it possible to discipline for body odor?

05/16/2019
Q. We have several employees who apparently don’t use deodorant and have very offensive body odor. What can we do to get them to clean up their act? Can we discipline them? Our dress code does specify that all employees shall practice good hygiene.

Beware close timing between FMLA leave and discipline

04/15/2019
The closer a termination comes to the end of a worker’s FMLA leave, the more likely she may win an FMLA-retaliation lawsuit.

Shouting match doesn’t count as mediation

04/15/2019
If, during an investigation, you must bring an employee and her alleged harasser together to find out what happened, don’t let the meeting turn into a shouting match.

Consistency is key when deciding how to discipline for excessive medical absences

04/15/2019
Employers don’t have to keep disabled employees on the payroll after they have exhausted all available leave and received a reasonable accommodation of taking more time off. That doesn’t mean you can arbitrarily pick and choose which employees you discharge.

Warning letter doesn’t count as retaliation

04/15/2019
Retaliation must include an adverse employment action such as termination, demotion or some other substantial and negative action like transfer to an undesirable shift. A mere letter of warning doesn’t rise to the required level of adversity.

Bypass progressive discipline if necessary

04/15/2019
Progressive discipline plans are great for correcting the behavior of employees in whom you have invested time and money and getting them back on track. But always leave yourself an “out” for those cases when retaining the worker just doesn’t make sense.

Union member sentenced for defrauding health plan

04/09/2019
A scheme to defraud the International Longshore and Warehouse Union’s health plan has earned a Southern California longshoreman a year-long prison sentence, along with a requirement to repay $201,000.