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Discipline / Investigations

Employee failed to tell us about the unsafe condition that led to her injury–can we discipline?

06/17/2015
Q: “I have an employee who told me on Monday that she was hurt on the prior Thursday. While we will certainly take care of the injury and report it and offer care, we would like to write up a disciplinary notice for her not immediately reporting both the unsafe condition that caused the injury as well as the injury itself. May we do this?” – Kary, Maryland

An investigation is inevitable: Now what?

06/05/2015
At some point the question becomes not whether you need to dig deep into a case of workplace misconduct, but who you’re going to get for the task. Here are some guidelines.

Investigating workplace misconduct: How to use your poker face & steady hand

05/06/2015
A workplace investigation is no country for amateurs. Attorney Ann Kotlarski has laid out what a reasonable one looks like and reveals why you’d better put the very best people on cases holding even a germ of trouble.

Workers ask to talk to HR about their boss: What now?

04/27/2015
You are probably accustomed to meeting with individual employees who have problems with a manager. But what do you do when a handful of employees request a meeting with HR? Don’t be flustered, intimidated or decline to meet. Use the following plan to handle the situation.

Not ready to fire? Give one last chance

03/23/2015
Sometimes, a marginal worker shows promise and immediate termination isn’t warranted. Plus, you’re concerned that a lawsuit may follow the firing. In such cases, consider drafting a last-chance agreement for the employee.

Employee of Philly nonprofit confesses to killing boss

03/11/2015
A co-worker has confessed to shooting and killing the executive director of a Philadelphia nonprofit while she waited for her morning bus.

Better late than never–if you have a good excuse

02/27/2015
Getting to work on time can be hard enough without the added obstacles imposed by bathroom mishaps, gas station stick-ups and, of course, bands of roving deer. The pollsters at CareerBuilder recently asked more than 2,100 hiring and HR managers for the most ridiculous excuses for tardiness they have heard.

Good records are your best defense in court

02/18/2015

Can you explain why you terminated one employee, but not another who committed a similar offense? Chances are, if you didn’t document specific behavior and provide concrete examples of poor performance, you won’t be able to explain it in court. Resolve to improve your system for documenting disciplinary actions now, before an unhappy former employee sues.

Even if criminal charges don’t hold up, it’s OK to discipline government worker

02/16/2015

When a government employee is arrested and charged with a crime related to her job, most public employers take some form of action—typically suspending the employee pending trial. If they are found guilty, they usually are terminated. Then the employee is entitled to “some sort of a hearing,” according to Supreme Court precedent. But what if criminal charges wind up being dropped?

Don’t let internal complaint derail discipline

02/03/2015
When faced with negative reviews and worried about losing their jobs, some employees file internal discrimination complaints in an effort to avoid discipline. Don’t play that game!