Opinion ID: 5341
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Turner's Performance Problems

Text: Turner encountered difficulties from the start. His own exhibit lists seven instances of unfavorable comments in his personnel file between October 1986 and May 1987. As Wilson noted in a letter of January 30, 1987, Turner was failing to match invoices and receipts, to reconcile month-end capital expenditure reports with the financial statements, to properly review financial statements, and to perform adequately in several other areas. His performance was so poor that Wilson ended this letter with a warning that, If substantial improvement is not made, a decision must be made with respect to your future employment with Cooper. In May, Wilson ended a letter to Turner with a similar but stronger warning: A direct failure to follow work instruction is not an improvement on [your less than desirable past performance]. This should serve as a final warning concerning failure to follow work instruction. Future failure to follow work instruction could result in termination from employment. In a letter Wilson wrote to Turner in June 1987, less than three weeks before Wilson was fired, he indicated that there has been progress, but there are areas which you must continue to improve upon. Wilson proceeds to list some of these areas and ends the letter with an offer to help Turner overcome his deficiencies. Turner suggests that this letter indicates that he was now performing satisfactorily and distinguishes it from the seven negative letters. In October 1987, one month after the new permanent plant manager took over, Turner was fired.