Discipline / Investigations

Document carefully to justify discipline

06/05/2013

Here’s some good news for those worried about absolute fairness in discipline: You have more latitude than you may think. Courts will use another employee’s lighter discipline as discrimination evidence only if the two employees being compared committed offenses of “comparable seriousness,” which generally means their wrongdoing was “nearly identical.”

Get details if several workers break same rule

05/17/2013

You have no doubt heard that employees who break the same rule should receive the same punishment. That’s true in most circumstances. However, nothing prevents employers from treating similarly situated employees differently if the facts warrant it. In those cases, however, details matter.

Strive for harmony, plan for a lawsuit: Document every complaint

05/16/2013

Of course you have an anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policy. You make sure employees know about it. You even make it easy for employees to use the policy. But all that can be for naught if you’re unable to track those complaints.

Fix racial harassment before hostile environment starts affecting employee performance

05/10/2013

Employees who have to work in a hostile work environment may have a hard time doing their jobs well. When resulting poor performance leads management to fire someone, expect trouble. Your best bet is to address any hint at a hostile work environment right away.

Document misconduct probe, just in case of lawsuit

05/09/2013

Sometimes, it’s pretty obvious you need to terminate an employee. That doesn’t mean you don’t have to investigate and document your decision.

Should veiled lawsuit threat affect how we approach disciplining difficult worker?

05/08/2013

Q. We have an employee who has been a constant source of drama and complaints within her department. When her manager sat down with her recently to discuss a confrontation she had with another co-worker, she “casually” mentioned that she has been trying to get pregnant, and “wonders if the stress of the job” could be the reason she has been unable to conceive. What are we supposed to do now?

2 workers broke same rule? Explain different punishments

05/07/2013

Sometimes, two employees who break the same rule don’t deserve exactly the same punishment. But employers must make sure they can explain the difference.

OK to punish repeat offenders more harshly

04/30/2013

A cardinal HR rule: Everyone who breaks the same rule should receive the same punishment. That doesn’t mean a frequent rule-breaker can’t be punished more harshly.

Carefully document every rule violation to defend against surprise claims

04/01/2013

You never know which fired employee might sue or for what reason. That’s why you should always carefully document all discipline, up to and including the final reason for discharge. The fact is, a legitimate business reason almost always defeats a discrimination claim.

5 tips: How to rein in expense account fraud

03/08/2013

The typical organization loses 5% of its revenues to fraud each year, and 16.6% of fraud losses trace back to expense account schemes, according to a report by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.