HR Snapshot
A LONGTIME GOOD EMPLOYEE WAS CAUGHT FORGING HIS TIMESHEET. WE HAVE TERMINATED OTHERS FOR THIS POLICY VIOLATION IN THE PAST. DO I HAVE TO TERMINATE THIS EMPLOYEE AS WELL? HIS WORK HAS ALWAYS OTHERWISE BEEN EXCELLENT, AND I DON’T WANT TO LOSE HIM. The most risk-averse approach would be to terminate this employee as well. Any time you deviate from consistent disciplinary practices—in this case terminating for forging timesheets—you open your organization up to greater risk of discrimination claims. This employee would no doubt appreciate not losing his job. But former and future employees terminated for this same offense could claim that their termination was discriminatory—that it was based on a protected class or protected activity. Responding to a discrimination claim can be costly, even if you eventually win. A more risk-tolerant approach would be to document how this situation is different from the others that resulted in termination. For example, this employee may have had consistently good performance while the other dismissed employees did not. If you decide to give this employee a second chance, it’s important to communicate just how serious forging timesheets is and what will happen if he does it again. Document your conversation. Another risk-tolerant approach would be to change your disciplinary practices. This could entail giving a written warning for the first policy violation and then terminating for the second. If you decide to change your policy or practices around discipline and termination, make sure the changes are documented, clearly communicated to employees, and consistently applied moving forward. Ultimately, nothing you do can guarantee that an employee won’t call a lawyer, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or some other government agency and claim that their discipline or termination was for an illegal reason. That said, you can take steps to reduce risk. Clear, consistently enforced policies and practices are your best line of defense.
Answer from Kelley, PHR
IS THERE ANYTHING SPECIAL WE SHOULD KNOW BEFORE TERMINATING A REMOTE EMPLOYEE? Terminations involving remote employees function much the same as those in a physical worksite, but there are some things to keep in mind: • If the employee works in a different state, you’ll need to follow that state’s laws regarding termination procedures, paperwork, and final paychecks. Look these up on the platform ahead of time. You don’t want to miss any deadlines. • Coordinate with IT so they are prepared to remotely revoke the employee’s access to company systems immediately upon termination. • Have a clear process in place for the employee to return any company-owned computers, monitors, phone systems, etc. and plan to pay for shipping. Go over the process at the termination meeting. • Don’t make deductions from the final paycheck because the employee hasn’t returned company property or has returned things damaged unless you’re sure it’s legal in the state where they work and that you’ve complied with any related requirements. • As with most terminations, be sure to have documentation of behavior and performance issues, conversations you had, disciplinary actions you took, and warnings to the employee about the consequences if they failed to improve. This documentation may be Answer from Kim, helpful if the termination is ever challenged.
SPHR, SHRM-SCP
You can learn more about conducting terminations on the platform. MAY/JUNE 2022 [ 22 ]
