Employee Rights and Discipline
In this week’s entry we will be looking at three cases involving both mistreatment of employees and employee misconduct. While discussing these cases we be taking a look at preventative measures and appropriate responses that could have help avoid these incidents or resolve and address inappropriate behaviour.
On November 6 2016, a supervising officer in the NYPD allegedly sexually assaulted a subordinate officer. Deputy inspector Keith Walten approached a subordinate officer and proceeded to kiss her, grope her and place her hand on his aroused genitals. According to documents from the ongoing $35 million dollar lawsuit, he admitted being attracted to her for some time and thought she would reciprocate. She alleges that he proceeded to retaliate against her thwarting his advances. Let's look at a few things that could have attempted to prevent this incident.
- Enshrine a strict and clearly stated rule against fraternization between commanding officers and subordinates and that all commanding officers understand and agree to it. Thus ensuring that these situations of unrequited affection will be understood as categorically inappropriate before any incident arises.
- In the event that an incident does arise, immediate reassignment of one of the parties, if not outright dismissal of the offending party, should be top priority to avoid possible reprisal.
- A culture of impartial open door HRM should be in place, encouraging employees to bring up these incidents in a safe manner so that they may be addressed in an immediate fashion.
In my opinion, his taped admittance of sexual attraction and advances should have been grounds for immediate dismissal.
Due in part to the rise of social media, more and more people are sharing incidents of receiving lewd and offensive notes on their checks from waitstaff while dining out. A few ideas to combat this trend.
- Due to the nature of the restaurant industry being largely staffed by under educated applicants or first time job seekers, training and straightforward disciplinary action are key. Every new employee should have a basic understanding of appropriate customer interaction and the expected penalties of noncompliance. A couple of strategies for firm wide disciplinary programs:
- Progressive discipline: A series of escalating disciplinary actions usually starting with a verbal warning, moving on to a written notice, then a suspension and finally a termination.
- Positive discipline: Allowing the employee to create a plan to address workplace issues, accompanied by guidance and counselling from management. Failure to comply with and employee’s own goals may be a more powerful motivational tool than purely punitive measure created solely by management.
- Create “hot stove” rules, infractions that are understood to have a swift and stark reaction. A relevant example could be applying a policy stating that use of racial, sexual, or other discriminatory dialogue toward customers is grounds for immediate dismissal.
Our third and final case involves a sailor, his wife and his superior officers. While stationed in Flint, Michigan, the Walters family discovered orage water coming from the tap and rashes on their children. After testing the water for contaminants, it was determined that their water contained twice the lead levels of what is considered toxic waste. Lee Ann Walters began speaking out against the issue, eventually leading to her testifying before Congress. Her husband Dennis, a 17 year naval veteran, began facing actions by his superiors that could be considered retaliatory, culminating in his apparent removal from positions of leadership and threatening him with a “...hardship discharge if he didn't get (her) under control." says Lee.
These alleged actions are in direct opposition to existing whistleblower protections and fly directly in the face of the 1st amendment.
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