Opinion ID: 789622
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Feldscher's Termination

Text: 36 Feldscher testified that on February 11, 2001 he was changing tires on a truck when a screw fell out of his prescription safety glasses. At that moment, Woehlke entered the shop and saw him working without his safety glasses in violation of company policy. Upon seeing Woehlke, Feldscher immediately put on a spare pair of safety glasses from another employee's toolbox. 37 Feldscher had violated the safety glasses policy several times before. On February 3, 2000, he was written up for two separate incidents of failing to wear safety glasses. The report stated: Employee needs to be reminded every day to put on safety glasses.... If this keeps up employee will be terminated. On May 24, 2000, Feldscher received a Notice of Safety Violation for two more conduct violations, one of which was for failure to wear safety glasses on that date. This notice resulted in a three-day suspension and stated: This is the last warning. Next time will be termination of employment. Despite this admonition, Feldscher again was found without safety glasses several times between May 24, 2000 and February 11, 2001. In each instance, he was given only a verbal warning. 38 At Feldscher's request, on February 11, the day of the last safety glasses violation, Woehlke agreed to meet with Feldscher to provide him with his evaluation and annual review. During that meeting, Woehlke asked Feldscher why he had not been wearing his safety glasses earlier. Feldscher explained that the screw had fallen out, that the driver was waiting for the truck, and that he decided to complete the job because he was almost finished. Feldscher showed Woehlke his broken glasses. Woehlke told Feldscher that the company was enforcing its rule on the wearing of safety glasses, and that he needed to have safety glasses at all times. 39 Woehlke then returned to Feldscher's evaluation and review. He told Feldscher that he wanted to move him to the third shift so he could gain more experience and possibly be promoted from a service attendant to a T-1 technician. Woehlke told Feldscher that he needed to improve his compliance with the safety glasses requirement, and that he needed to work on his punctuality. He also told Feldscher that he was receiving a raise of one dollar an hour and that, if he could improve on the deficiencies noted, he would probably receive another raise within six months. Feldscher's safety rating was fully competent, a two-category improvement from his 2000 evaluation. His work habit rating also improved from 2.3 out of 5 to 2.6, and his overall rating improved from 2.46 to 2.72. 40 When Feldscher reported to work the next day, however, Woehlke and Toneges summoned him to the office and told Feldscher that his employment was being terminated. Feldscher signed the notice of termination under protest. 41 Toneges testified that he decided to discharge Feldscher because, in the course of reviewing Feldscher's personnel file and speaking to Woehlke, he learned for the first time that Feldscher had been previously suspended for violating the safety glasses policy and that he had since been warned about other violations. On February 12, the same day he terminated Feldscher, Toneges issued written warnings to three other employees at Indianapolis East for violating the safety glasses policy a few days earlier.