Matthies Law Firm, P.C.  

Serving as Employment Law Advisors for over 25 years

Section 9: Discipline and Termination

• Discipline
• Reasons for Termination
  
• Procedures at Termination
  
• Severance Pay
  
• Outside Reference Checks
  
• Return of Property
  

Discipline

If an employee fails to meet our overall expectations for performance of the job (including compliance with Company rules and procedures, as well as use of common sense and common courtesy), the Company must decide whether imposition of discipline is likely to fully correct performance deficiencies and turn the employee into a desirable worker.

If the Company does not believe that discipline is likely to turn the employee into a desirable worker, then the employee is subject to immediate termination. Instances where no disciplinary action is likely to be considered to be worthwhile include situations where, despite real effort, the employee simply cannot do the work assigned (whether due to lack of needed skills, lack of physical ability, personality issues, or other factors which the employee is likely to be unable to change within the time needed). Discipline also may be considered not to be worthwhile where the overall record of the employee is poor and/or the employee requires an excessive amount of supervisory time (e.g., the supervisor is often dealing with problems created by the employee, or often having to oversee the employee's work to get satisfactory work or effort, or often having to adjust schedules due to unexcused absences, tardiness or poor work effort by the employee).

In making the decision on whether to impose discipline, as well as what type of discipline to impose, the Company considers the following types of factors: the severity of the particular offense in question (some acts are so serious that termination is the only viable option); the prior overall record of the employee (including the number of times that the employee has presented past disciplinary problems, even if different from the current offense, as there is a point where an employee becomes more trouble than she/he is worth); the effect of the offense/ discipline on the morale of other employees in the Company; the effect of the offense/discipline on those who do business with the Company; and whether the employee has demonstrated an overall aptitude, ability and willingness to satisfactorily perform assigned job duties (so that it makes sense to devote scarce supervisory time and resources towards working with the employee to try to correct the problems).

The Company believes in treating every employee as an individual, and in assessing each particular situation to determine the disciplinary action to be taken. On occasion, this may mean that an employee will receive greater or lesser discipline for a particular offense than someone else (in most cases, this arises when one person has a clean disciplinary record and has been doing excellent work for several years, while the other is a short-time employee who has been in constant trouble for varying offenses since hire and whose overall work is poor).

Any of the following types of disciplinary action may be given to an employee. In addition, where the decision is made to continue employment, the Company reserves the right to impose special requirements or terms on the employee as a condition of continued employment (such as probationary periods during which additional infractions and/or failure to adhere to an agreed performance improvement plan may result in further disciplinary action or termination).

• Termination - Company decides that further employment of the individual is not in its best interest, and severs the employment relationship.

• Suspension without pay - Generally, these suspensions are from one to three days of time off without pay. The days of the week of the suspension are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (ie., the suspension will be set up to avoid giving the employee a long weekend off work). As an alternative to suspension without pay, other forms of pay cuts may be imposed as a disciplinary measure (including denial or postponement of raises or bonuses, as well as outright cuts in pay rate or commission levels). Normally, suspensions will not be used for attendance-related offenses, as it makes no sense to provide more time off to someone whose attendance is already unacceptable.

• Written warning - Employee receives formal written notice from supervisor of the infraction, and the steps required to correct the problem. Employee must commit in writing to immediate correction of the problem.

• Verbal warning - Employee is verbally notified by their supervisor of the infraction, and a commitment is obtained from the employee to cease the offending conduct immediately.

The type of discipline selected is in the sole discretion of the Company. Employees who are dissatisfied with the discipline imposed are free to present their complaints through the problem resolution procedure. However, pending resolution of their complaint, any discipline imposed will continue in effect unless management specifically advises the employee to the contrary.

Reasons for Termination

Employment may be ended by the employee or by the Company at any time, and for any reason. Common reasons for ending the employment relationship are:

• RESIGNATION - voluntary employment termination initiated by an employee. As a courtesy, the Company requests two weeks notice of resignation so that it can seek to fill the opening with minimum disruption.

• LAYOFF - involuntary employment termination initiated by the organization for lack of work; staff reductions; departmental closure; and the like.

• RETIREMENT - voluntary employment termination initiated by the employee meeting age, length of service, and any other criteria for retirement.

• TERMINATION - involuntary employment termination initiated by the Company when further employment of the individual appears to no longer be in the best interest of the Company.  This category includes non-disciplinary terminations (such as where an employee cannot return from leave, or is unable to do the job despite good faith effort, or simple personality conflicts where the relationship has deteriorated to the point where the Company concludes that one person must go).  It also included terminations for disciplinary reasons.

Procedures at Termination

Upon termination of their employment, employees will receive their final pay in accordance with applicable state law (usually at the next regular pay period following termination). All accrued, vested benefits that are due and payable upon termination also will be paid at this time. Other accrued benefits, such as benefits under retirement or savings plans, will be distributed under the terms of those plans.

After termination, health insurance benefits usually may be continued at the employee's expense if the employee so chooses, and it may be possible to continue certain other insurance benefits, depending on the terms of the plan. The employee will be notified in writing of the benefits which may be continued, and of the terms under which this is possible.

The Company will generally schedule exit interviews at the time of employment termination. The exit interview will afford an opportunity to discuss such issues as employee benefits, conversion privileges, repayment of outstanding debts to the Company, or return of Company-owned property. Suggestions, complaints, and questions can also be voiced.

Severance Pay

The Company does not have any policy for payment of severance pay on termination. However, it reserves the right to offer such pay to particular employees, in its sole discretion. Any payment of severance pay will be conditioned upon execution of a full release of any claims against the Company arising out of employment and/or termination (except for rights under any existing benefit plans, and claims which cannot be released without court approval).

Outside Reference Checks

Reference checks on former employees are handled by the Personnel office. Please do not ask your supervisor to provide a reference for you, as this is against our Policy and places the supervisor in an awkward position. As a general rule, the Company will confirm only dates of employment, last position held, and salary at termination in response to reference checks (unless the employee engaged in such gross misconduct that it may have a legal obligation to warn others, such as a situation where the employee raped a coworker at the office, embezzled monies, or was dealing drugs at work).

If you wish, Personnel will provide you with a statement which describes our general policy on references, and lists the information applicable to your employment, which you may wish to provide to future employers in lieu of a formal reference check.

Return of Property

Employees are responsible for all property, materials or written information issued to them or in their possession or control. All the Company property must be returned by employees on or before their last day of work. Where permitted by applicable laws, the Company may withhold from the employee's check or final paycheck the cost of any items that are not returned when required. the Company may also take all action deemed appropriate to recover or protect its property.

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