The acknowledgment form rebuts any claim that the employee lacked knowledge of the work rule for which disciplinary action was taken. To ensure consistency and minimize disparate treatment claims, a designated member of management or a Human Resource representative should review all serious disciplinary action. At the very least, prior to taking any action, a supervisor should consult another supervisor to obtain a neutral, unbiased, second opinion. A. Progressive Discipline Employers have adopted many types of procedures for disciplining employees. Progressive discipline is designed to improve employee performance while allowing the employer to document its efforts should discharge be necessary.
Progressive discipline provides for a series of steps designed to remedy problems.
If the problem is not remedied at the first stage, the next step is implemented until either the problem is resolved or the employee is discharged. Progressive discipline is not appropriate for serious infractions such as illegal or unethical conduct. Such conduct warrants immediate termination provided that in the past the employer terminated employees under similar circumstances. Progressive discipline requires a lot of documentation. It must be administered consistently.