Keep the discussion focused on the specific wrongdoing. And employees should know how their actions affect their co-workers and the company at large.ĥ. For example, an employer might choose to describe the financial loss of an employee's walking off a production line, Bergmar noted. Describe the impact of a policy violation if the effect is readily ascertainable. This will help strengthen the company's defenses in the event of future litigation and ensure the policies are not flouted.Ĥ. Clearly explain which policies the employee violated. Connect the employee's conduct to the company's policies. Shifting explanations for discharge set an employer up for claims that its reasons for discipline and termination were pretext for discrimination.ģ. Plus, the true reason is likely to surface in any subsequent litigation. This promotes honest discussions within the workplace. The employee should know for certain what he or she did to prompt the warning. For example, they might say "personality fit" is the problem, rather than "threatened co-workers," Bergmar noted. Because discipline can lead to termination, employers sometimes provide a reason for a warning that they think sounds less confrontational. Provide the real reason for the warning, not the reason that sounds better. That way the company can pre-empt debates during litigation over whether there was insubordination or falsification of records.Ģ. Explain how and why the conduct rose to the level of the stated offense. "Since courts give more weight to contemporaneous accounts of what happened than subsequent explanations articulated during litigation, it is key to include as much information as possible" about the misconduct, said Nina Maja Bergmar, an attorney with Burr & Forman in Atlanta. With a warning, the employee can learn exactly how he or she missed the mark, which gives the person more of a chance to improve.īut should the employee sue, this record will be valuable. Maybe the worker didn't fully realize the seriousness of the misstep. For both the manager's and employee's benefit, include details about what exactly happened to prompt the warning. Here are some recommendations on how to improve written warnings so that employees can improve their behavior, managers can better manage them-and the company can stay out of the courtroom.ġ. When they include vague references to "insubordination" or "falsification of records" without giving the specifics of what led to discipline, or if there's too much information that doesn't relate to the behavior, then red flags go up, and employees can be confused about what sparked the warning―and then plaintiffs' attorneys can use that information in lawsuits against the employer. Usually the second step, after verbal warnings, in progressive discipline policies. Written warnings are meant to help document employee behavior or performance problems, but they can fall short.
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