SECTION 11.30 TYPES AND SAMPLES OF DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS
Last Update: 2/08
Written Notice: Regardless of the type of disciplinary
measure imposed, a written notice indicating the reason(s) for discipline, type
and duration of the disciplinary action, and grievance or appeal rights of the
employee must be given to the employee within twenty-four (24) hours for
noncontract employees, within three (3) workdays with a copy to the union for
AFSCME and IUP employees, and within five (5) workdays with a copy to the union
for SPOC employees.
Retain a copy of the letter signed by the employee
to confirm that they were given the letter and instructed to read it. A copy of all disciplinary letters must be
retained in the employee’s personnel file.
Letters of discipline are not removed from the personnel file unless as
part of an arbitrator’s decision, a settlement agreement, or a collective
bargaining agreement provision. The SPOC
collective bargaining agreement requires removal of written reprimands after
three (3) years. The IUP collective
bargaining agreement requires the removal of written reprimands after twelve
(12) months, if no additional discipline is received within that twelve
(12)-month period. The AFSCME collective
bargaining agreement requires that written reprimands, clarifications of
expectations, or other similar memoranda be removed from the employee’s
personnel file after one (1) year, provided no further disciplinary action has
been taken against the employee.
Copies
of all disciplinary letters must be sent to the DAS-HRE personnel officer.
Except
for severe infractions of laws, rules, or policies, discipline should be
progressive, corrective, and must always be well documented.
In
accordance with policies and rules of the DAS-HRE and the collective bargaining
agreements, discipline for any employee must meet the standards of just cause
(see Section 11.10).
Some
infractions, even though they are the first committed by an employee, may be
serious enough to warrant suspension or summary discharge following an
investigation. The following steps are
meant only to provide a guide to implementing progressive discipline.
Letter of Written Reprimand (see sample in this
section)
The written reprimand should be signed by both the
supervisor and the employee. The written
reprimand must be given to the employee with one (1) copy placed in the
official employee file, one (1) copy given to the personnel officer, and one
(1) copy given to the union (if applicable).
The
letter of reprimand must include the following information:
● Written
notice of infraction, citing specific rule(s) and policy(s) violated.
● Specific
information (dates, times, what occurred) regarding the unacceptable behavior
or performance.
● Information
regarding what is expected of the employee to correct the problem or
performance.
● Grievance
or appeal rights.
See
the appropriate collective bargaining agreement for information on the removal
of written reprimands from the employee personnel file.
Letter of Suspension (see samples
in this section)
Disciplinary
suspensions for employees covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) are
without pay. An employee exempt from the
FLSA will be given documentation of disciplinary action equivalent to a
suspension (paper suspension); the FLSA exempt employee will not serve time off
or be docked in pay.
The
length of the suspension must fit the severity of the infraction. Disciplinary action that is taken as a
punitive rather than a corrective measure will not be supported in the appeal
or grievance process. A suspension
without pay may not exceed thirty (30) days.
Suspensions
with pay pending the outcome of an investigation (administrative suspension)
may be used to remove an employee from the workplace until the completion of
the investigation. See collective
bargaining agreements for limitations.
All
suspensions should be reviewed with the personnel officer assigned to the
department prior to implementation.
The
letter of suspension must be given to the employee with one (1) copy placed in
the official employee file, one (1) copy given to the personnel officer, and
one (1) copy given to the union (if applicable).
The
letter of suspension must contain the following information:
● Effective
date of suspension.
● Length of
suspension in workdays.
● Return to
work date.
● Written
notice of infraction, citing specific rule(s) and policy(s) violated.
● Specific
information (dates, times, what occurred) regarding the unacceptable behavior
or performance.
● Information
regarding what is expected of the employee to correct the problem or
performance.
● Grievance
or appeal rights.
Management may determine it necessary to issue a
final warning as part of a disciplinary suspension letter. The letter will state that if the employee
engages in the same type of behavior or further violates work rules that would
normally result in disciplinary action, discharge will occur. A final warning is usually given as the final
step in a progressive discipline, or in the case where a lengthy suspension has
been imposed for a severe rule infraction.
Contact your personnel officer before issuing a final warning.
Disciplinary Demotion
An
employee may be demoted to a vacant position as disciplinary action for
inability to perform the duties of the higher position or for some instances of
misconduct. For positions covered by a collective bargaining agreement, the
position must be first posted and available to fill (clean) under the
provisions of the applicable agreement.
Just cause standards must be met.
The employee must meet the minimum qualifications for the lower job
class if it is not in the same series as the job class currently held by the
employee. Demotion is considered
substantive disciplinary action and should be discussed with the department’s personnel
officer before imposition.
Reduction of Pay within the
Same Pay Grade
The
UE/IUP collective bargaining agreement allows for reduction of wages for less
than competent or inadequate job performance and violations of attendance
policies. Such reductions are imposed in
lieu of suspension, are temporary, and should approximate the dollar loss of
the appropriate suspension. Reductions
of pay may not result in an employee being paid less than minimum wage.
Letter of Discharge (see sample
in this section)
Following
the investigation and the determination that discharge is likely warranted, the
employee must be informed in person that discharge is being considered and be
given the opportunity to respond to the allegations. This is known as the Loudermill meeting.
Generally, public employees who can only be discharged for cause are
viewed as having a property interest in continued employment. This includes employees covered by collective
bargaining agreements, the merit system provisions, or a statutory provision
requiring cause for termination. The Loudermill meeting is not a formal
hearing to definitively resolve the legitimacy of the discharge, such as a
grievance or arbitration proceeding.
Instead, the employee is given an explanation of the findings of the
investigation and an opportunity to present additional information that the
employee wants management to consider prior to the imposition of
discipline. If the decision stands after
this discussion, the employee must be informed of the action in writing.
Discharge
usually follows other lesser progressive disciplinary action. There are some circumstances, however, which
warrant summary discharge. Summary
discharge means discharge from employment upon completion of a fair and
thorough investigation substantiating the alleged offense. Such discharge is not preceded by progressive
discipline.
The letter of discharge must be given to the
employee with one (1) copy placed in the official employee file, one (1) copy
given to the personnel officer, and one (1) copy given to the union (if
applicable).
The letter of discharge must contain the following
information:
● Effective
date of discharge.
● Reason
for discharge, including the infraction and appropriate rule or policy
violation.
● If
progressive, reference to prior actions taken.
● Grievance
or appeal rights.
Reassignment
As a result of some misconduct, it may be determined
that it is in the best interest of the organization to reassign the employee to
a different work unit or location, either as a disciplinary action or as part
of an action such as suspension. This
action must be discussed with the personnel officer to make sure it does not
affect the rights of other employees (such as contractual transfer rights) and
to insure that just cause has been met.
Non-discrimination
Supervisors
must apply discipline in a non-discriminatory manner. Discipline may be considered as
discriminatory if members of a protected class are given discipline
disproportionate to the amount or severity of discipline given to non-protected
class persons. Amounts or severity of
discipline imposed must be justifiable based on the facts of each specific
situation, incident, or event.
Note: Refer to Chapter 14.25, Confidentiality of Employee Information, regarding the release of
information concerning employee discipline.
(Date)
(Employee’s name/address)
Dear :
This letter is to serve as a
written reprimand. This action is being
taken as a result of your violation of this department’s work rules regarding , which states:
On , you were counseled regarding
your violation of this work rule.
From this date forward, you
are expected to unless you have prior approval from me to do
otherwise. Further incidents of this
nature will result in more severe disciplinary action being taken, up to and
including discharge.
You may file a grievance per
(specify which: Article IV of your
collective bargaining agreement or Chapter 61 of the Department of
Administrative Services – Human Resources Enterprise rules) if you feel this
action was not taken for just cause.
Supervisor’s Signature
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I have read this letter and I
have received a copy.
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Date of Receipt |
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Employee’s Signature |
c: Union Representative (if applicable)
Personnel
Officer
Employee
file
(Date)
(Employee’s name/address)
Dear :
Effective ,
you are being suspended without pay for workdays.
This action is being taken as a result of your violation of the work
rules of this department regarding ,
which states:
On , you were
counseled for ;
on ,
you received a written reprimand for and on you were suspended.
You will be expected to return
to work on .
This suspension should serve
as a strong warning that your conduct will continue to be monitored and that
another incident of this nature will result in more severe disciplinary action,
up to and including discharge.
You may file a grievance per
(specify which: Article IV of your collective bargaining agreement or
Chapter 61 of the Department of Administrative Services – Human Resources
Enterprise rules) if you feel this action was not taken for just cause.
Supervisor’s Signature
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I have read this letter and I
have received a copy.
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Date of Receipt |
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Employee’s Signature |
c: Union
Representative (if applicable)
Personnel
Officer
Employee
file
(Pending
Completion of Investigation)
(Date)
(Employee’s
name/address)
Dear :
This
letter is to inform you that, effective ,
you are being suspended with pay pending the completion of an investigation.
In
accordance with (specify which: AFSCME, SPOC, or IUP collective bargaining
agreement, or the Department of Administrative Services – Human Resources
Enterprise rules), this suspension with pay will be in effect until .
It is
important that you understand the restrictions placed upon your whereabouts
during the time you are on this suspension with pay. During your regularly scheduled hours of work
you will be expected to be available to your supervisor via telephone and also
able to report to your work unit within one hour of notification to do so. Failure to make yourself available will
result in disciplinary action.
You
will be notified at the completion of the investigation. If you have questions concerning this action
or need further information about your status in regard to this action, please
contact me.
Supervisor’s
Signature
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I have
read this letter and I have received a copy.
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Date of Receipt |
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Employee’s Signature |
c: Union
Representative (if applicable)
Personnel
Officer
Employee
file
(Date)
(Employee’s
name/address)
Dear :
This
is to advise you that the investigation into your alleged violation of the
department work rules has been concluded.
The investigation determined that your conduct violated work rule when you (or by your) . As a result of this infraction, you are
hereby subject to this written notice of alternative discipline in lieu of a
suspension without pay. While this
action does not reduce your pay, seniority, or other benefits, it does carry
the same weight as if you had been subject to a day suspension.
This
is the (first, second, third, etc.) violation of the cited work rule. On previous occasions you have been
disciplined as follows:
It is
imperative that you understand that your failure to follow the department’s
work rules and policies is a serious matter.
You
may file a grievance in accordance with (Specify Article IV of the collective bargaining agreement or chapter 61
of the Department of Administrative Services – Human Resources Enterprise
rules).
Supervisor’s
Signature
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I have
read this letter and I have received a copy
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Date of Receipt |
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Employee’s Signature |
c: Union
Representative (if applicable)
Personnel
Officer
Employee
file
(Date)
(Employee’s
name/address)
Dear :
This
letter is to inform you that, effective , you are being discharged from
employment with the Department of . This action is being taken as a result of our
investigation. Specifically, the charges
are that on you . Our investigation brought forth evidence that
supports the Department’s allegation.
Your actions are in violation of substantiating the department work rules
regarding which state .
You
may file a grievance per (specify which: Article IV of your collective
bargaining agreement or Chapter 61 of the Department of Administrative
Services – Human Resources Enterprise rules) if you feel this action was not
taken for just cause.
Sincerely,
Supervisor’s
Signature
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I have
read this letter and I have received a copy.
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Date of Receipt |
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Employee’s Signature |
c: Union
Representative (if applicable)
Personnel
Officer
Personnel
file