What Every Manager Needs to Know about Progressive Discipline

Employee Discipline Basics (Not the S&M Kind)

William E. O’Gara, Esq.Pannone Lopes Devereaux & West LLC317 Iron Horse Way, Suite 301Providence, RI 02908

Concept Behind Progressive Discipline

• Bird in the hand

• Employee may lack basic understanding of rules – progressive discipline puts person on notice

• Concept of fairness – person was given warning

• Employer has given person opportunity to correct behavior

Progressive Discipline Critical in Union Environment

• 7 Part Test = Just Cause1. Did the Employer give Employee forewarning of possible or probable

disciplinary consequence's of behavior?

2. Was the Employer’s rule reasonably related to efficient operations and performance it should expect of Employee?

3. Did Employer before disciplining Employee make effort to discover Employee violated rule?

4. Was the Employer’s investigation fair and objective?

5. Did investigation uncover substantial evidence that Employee guilty is as charged?

6. Has the Employer applied rules and penalties evenhandedly?

7. Was the discipline reasonably related to the seriousness of the Employee’s offense and service to the Employer?

• Progressive Discipline is used for less serious infractions – tardiness, carelessness – not used for most serious infractions – stealing, assault …

1. Verbal Warning2. Written warning3. Repeat step 24. Suspension5. Termination

Problem with Not Utilizing Progressive Discipline

• It never happened – selective recall

• It could not have been a big deal – nothing was written up

• We are treating people differently and have no records

• Courts, Administrative Agencies and Arbitrators expect us to follow a procedure

• We are the Government – we have the ability to generate a piece of paper to document a problem

• In cases where Progressive Discipline followed claims of unfair or illegal treatment fail

• Decisions are made based on fairness – where there is a record of warnings and opportunities to correct behavior the Employer wins

• Progressive Discipline can correct behaviors and sometimes fix a problem before termination

• Arbitrators expect the Employer has attempted to fix the problem before firing