Discipline / Investigations

When it comes to discipline, details matter

07/30/2013

Here’s an important reminder for HR professionals and managers who must investigate employee misconduct and decide on appropriate discipline. Don’t forget to provide a detailed account of what happened, whom you interviewed and how you arrived at an appropriate punishment. Make sure similar misconduct results in similar consequences.

Court points way toward tracking employees with GPS

07/24/2013

A recent New York Court of Appeals case offers guidance to employers that want to slap GPS devices on employees’ cars to monitor their activities.

Law firm employee convicted of true copycat crime

07/23/2013

A New York City man is headed to prison after being convicted of selling his employer’s copier toner on the black market.

Employee won’t cooperate with investigation? That’s legitimate grounds for discharge

07/17/2013

You can reasonably expect employees to cooperate with internal investigations so you can get all the facts and make well-informed decisions. You can and should discipline workers who won’t assist.

Zip it! Keep all investigations confidential

07/17/2013

Employees who participate in internal investigations into discrimination charges are protected from retaliation. That’s why it’s good policy to keep investigations confidential. Don’t divulge the names of cooperating employees to anyone who doesn’t need to know.

When firing, consider all the circumstances–but prepare for lawsuit

07/05/2013

Fired employees who file lawsuits alleging they were singled out for discipline because of some form of discrimination usually follow a basic legal strategy. They try to find a former co-worker outside their protected class who was punished less severely for similar conduct. Your best defense against those lawsuits is to make sure you carefully document all discipline.

Worry about disciplinary inequities from one supervisor, not every boss

06/27/2013

Yes, all employees are supposed to be treated equally when they break the same rule. But when courts compare discipline, they don’t do so across the entire organization. They focus on one supervisor at a time. Company-wide variations are normal and not absolute proof of discrimination.

Create–and enforce–policy requiring honesty

06/26/2013

Employers want honest employees who don’t lie, cheat or steal. To encourage honesty, be sure your company has a policy requiring honesty. That way, it’s easy to terminate someone you believe has acted dishonorably.

Supreme Court defines ‘supervisor’ in bias cases

06/26/2013

In a major victory for employers, the Supreme Court has ruled 5-4 that, in Title VII discrimination cases, only someone with the power to take “tangible employment action” can be considered a supervisor. The June 24 decision in Vance v. Ball State will make it harder for employees to sue for supervisor bias.

Fair investigation all that’s needed to support discharge

06/24/2013

Employers don’t have to be absolutely right before disciplining an employee. They merely have to investigate first.