We need to terminate an employee due to poor performance. Should we give them a letter outlining why we are terminating them? Answer from Daniel, SHRM-SCP: There is no federal requirement for employers to provide written notice about why someone is being terminated, but we do recommend...
An employee came to us with a harassment complaint but said they didn’t want us to do anything about it. Do we have to do an investigation? Answer from Sergio, SHRM-CP: Yes, you should still investigate the complaint. Not investigating could expose you to legal risk if...
While covering shifts for an employee on a leave of absence, we discovered errors in their work. How do we address their performance without seeming retaliatory for taking leave? Answer from Jenny, SPHR, SHRM-SCP: Taking disciplinary or corrective action following a leave of absence is going to...
It depends. Generally, employees can use unpaid breaks as they see fit. However, if the employee sleeping is affecting their work, disrupting others, or otherwise negatively impacting the business, you could (and should) address those issues. For example, if the employee is sleeping at the front...
2008 was a difficult year. The Great Recession was underway. People lived in a constant state of worry. In workplaces across the country, employees informally gathered after official meetings, trying to decipher what their leaders had shared and what information they’d held back. If the larger...
Discipline is an act on the part of the employer to address and correct inappropriate behavior or a policy violation by an employee. Discipline functions both as an incentive for employees to refrain from bad behavior in the first place and as a corrective if...
No, you’re not required to pay this employee through the end of the week. The general requirement to pay a salaried, exempt employee for the full week doesn’t apply in the first or last week of employment if the employee didn’t work the full week....
In general, yes. When an employee is on a performance improvement plan (PIP), and their performance has not improved and has, in fact, gotten worse, it is perfectly reasonable to cut the timeframe of the PIP short and move forward with further disciplinary action, including...
Yes, in two circumstances. First, you can discipline the employee if their other job violates your outside employment (aka moonlighting) policy. Second, you can discipline an employee who obtained FMLA leave fraudulently. If, however, you do not have a policy that specifically prohibits employees from...
You need to investigate the matter. A racially insensitive comment could be considered harassment—unwelcome behavior that’s based on a protected class such as race. Harassment becomes unlawful if putting up with it is a condition of continued employment or if the conduct is severe or pervasive...