13. Discipline and Termination
13.1 Employment “At-Will” One of your fundamental rights as an employer is to have the authority to terminate employees. The traditional and recommended “employment at will” allows you to terminate for a good reason or no reason at all, just as employees are free to resign whenever they wish. At no time should you suggest to the employee (verbally or in writing) that her employment is guaranteed to be permanent or long-term. Exercise great care and plan carefully when discharging an employee. Terminated employees have nothing to lose and everything to gain by filing discrimination or wrongful discharge claims, and may do so just because they are angry or upset. Although the “at-will” nature of the employment agreement protects employers from lawsuits for breach of employment contract, the “at will” provision does not insulate an employer from discrimination cases. As a consequence, you should always have a good, consistent, articulated reason for terminating any employee. Moreover, in order to discourage plaintiffs’ lawyers from initiating a lawsuit, or the EEOC from taking a charge of discrimination seriously, the employee should be informed of the reasons for her termination and those reasons should be well documented in the employee’s personnel file. If the reasons for termination are not easy to articulate, the decision may not be a good one and may be an open invitation for the plaintiffs’ lawyer to inquire further. There is no substitute for making good termination decisions, with advice and counsel from your attorney. 13.2 Employee Job Security Guidelines The great majority of employees put forth a genuine effort to do a good job for the company, their customers, and themselves. They are conscientious and exhibit the kind of proper behavior necessary to operate the business successfully. Employees have the right to expect you to enforce the established rules of conduct firmly and fairly. 13.3 Progressive Discipline Overview For any business to succeed and prosper, basic standards of conduct must be established and adhered to. Following an established program of progressive discipline will help assure the success of your business by supporting the high standards of quality that will contribute to customer and employee retention. As a business owner, you have a responsibility to provide working conditions in your business in which good employees are allowed to perform their jobs without hindrance from employees who are unwilling to perform their jobs properly. In most cases, unacceptable performance, attitude, and conduct will manifest themselves in a number of areas including attendance, appearance, work standards, language, etc., as well as offenses that could warrant immediate discharge. Because your employees must interact with customers every day, their behavior and demeanor impact the customer’s experience, perception and level of satisfaction – and this has a profound impact on your business. In all dealings with your employees regarding substandard work or behavior, you must engage in progressive discipline, exercise
MOLLY MAID Personnel Manual Copyright 2015, Molly Maid, Inc.
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