HR Compliance Bulletin

Best Practices for Employee Discipline

Employee discipline is a necessary but often fraught element of workforce management. Disciplinary action taken in lieu of immediate termination can help mitigate the risk of potential wrongful termination claims, but failure to handle employee discipline properly can negatively affect employee morale and expose employers to other legal claims. Therefore, it is important for employers to consider a variety of factors before disciplining employees.

To minimize legal risks and protect employee morale, employers may consider each of the following best practices in implementing employee discipline:

• Create clear and consistent policies
• Establish a lawful and nondiscriminatory basis for employee discipline
• Document the reason for discipline
• Conduct an internal investigation
• Consider potential limitations to discipline
• Select an appropriate method of discipline
• Effectively communicate with the employee being disciplined

Action Steps:

Prior to taking any disciplinary action, employers should carefully consider their obligations and any potential legal or business risks. This Compliance Bulletin provides best practices for employers to reduce risks when implementing employee discipline by ensuring compliance with legal and contractual requirements and maintaining a positive company culture.

Highlights:

To avoid employee claims, employees may want to establish practices for the disciplinary process to mitigate legal risks and protect employee morale, such as:

• Creating clear and consistent policies;
• Establishing a lawful and nondiscriminatory basis for employee discipline
• Documenting the reason for discipline
• Investigating misconduct
• Selecting an appropriate method of discipline
• Considering potential limitations to discipline
• Effectively communicating with the employee being disciplined.

This Compliance Bulletin is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. Readers should contact legal counsel for legal advice. ©2024 Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved.

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