#51 Profane Language in the Workplace and Insubordination
Graphic artist makes her displeasure known to all around her when she is asked to assist on a project that belongs to another worker. Note that in the meeting following this incident, the employee stated that she was unhappy and wished to look for another job. The employer agreed to allow her limited time off from work over the next thirty days to attend interviews elsewhere during normal working hours.
PERFORMANCE CORRECTION NOTICE
Employee Name: Denise Kingsley |
Department: Graphics |
Date Presented: March 7, 2017 |
Supervisor: George McMasters |
DISCIPLINARY LEVEL
Verbal Correction—(To memorialize the conversation.)
Written Warning—(State nature of offense, method of correction, and action to be taken if offense is repeated.)
Investigatory Leave—(Include length of time and nature of review.)
Final Written Warning
Without decision-making leave
With decision-making leave (Attach memo of instructions.)
With unpaid suspension
SUBJECT:Written warning: substandard work performance; final written warning: insubordination/abusive language
Policy/Procedure Violation
Performance Transgression
Behavior/Conduct Infraction
Absenteeism/Tardiness
PRIOR NOTIFICATIONS
Incident Description and Supporting Details: Include the following information: Time, Place, Date of Occurrence, and Persons Present as well as Organizational Impact.
Denise,
Yesterday, you engaged in insubordinate conduct when you received my email asking you to work with Dorothy Epstein to clean up some imaging work on your graphics project for the sales department. I overheard you from my office, as did other coworkers, stating loudly that you “didn’t give a shit what happened to that project” and that you “would be glad” when you “got out of this goddamn place.” When I came out of my office, I saw you throw materials into my in-box from several feet away to display your dissatisfaction. Coworkers were concerned about your behavior, which disrupted the entire office. In addition, Denise, on a number of occasions, you have complained about the work that you have been given, whether it has been part of your primary responsibilities or a special project. Attached is your email response to my reasonable request that you provide me with a biweekly inventory account that was to be due on March 1. You stated in your email response that this assignment would “take too much time,” that the work you’ve done on previous inventories was “never right for some strange reason,” and then you added, “Isn’t it great to work for a company that cares so much about its employees?” Such sarcastic comments are unacceptable because they violate company standards of performance and conduct.
PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT PLAN
1. Measurable/Tangible Improvement Goals: Denise, I expect you to perform all duly assigned tasks at all times. It is your responsibility to ensure that the work in your area is completed by established deadlines. I expect you to talk with me privately and quietly if you have questions about your work or disagree with a work assignment. I also expect you never again to publicly display hostility and anger. You are responsible for creating and maintaining a friendly work environment that is free of harassment and intimidation.
2. Training or Special Direction to Be Provided: As we have agreed, we will allow you a reasonable amount of time to conduct a job search and to interview with other companies in the next thirty days.1 However, understand that your primary responsibility is to complete your work in our department before leaving for any outside interviews. Also, any time that you take off during regularly scheduled hours will come from your accrued vacation and holiday banks and cannot include sick leave.2 You must give me twenty-four hours’ notice whenever you have an interview scheduled with another company.
In addition, I’m attaching a copy of your job description, which details that you are responsible for work flow backup in our department. Please reread your job description tonight and meet with me tomorrow with any questions. Understand that you remain responsible for all duties listed in your job description while you are employed here.
Note as well that you have already been sent to an off-site training program on handling conflict, anger, and emotion in the workplace. Our company paid for you to attend this workshop, and you were permitted to attend on company time. I expect you to apply the skills that you have learned at that workshop for the remainder of your tenure with our company.
3. Interim Performance Evaluation Necessary? No
4. Our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provider, Prime Behavioral Health Group, can be confidentially reached to assist you at (800) 555-5555. This is strictly voluntary. A booklet regarding the EAP’s services is available from Human Resources.
5. In addition, I recognize that you may have certain ideas to improve your performance. Therefore, I encourage you to provide your own Personal Improvement Plan Input and Suggestions:
(Attach additional sheets if needed.)
OUTCOMES AND CONSEQUENCES
Positive: I will remain available to help you and discuss areas where you require additional support. If you meet your performance goals, no further disciplinary action will be taken regarding this issue. In addition, we will temporarily continue, at our sole discretion, to support your attempts to locate other employment while you continue working in your current position.
Negative: You are now being placed on notice that if you ever again demonstrate hostile behavior toward your supervisors, coworkers, or customers by unreasonably challenging them or willfully refusing to perform properly assigned work, you may be immediately dismissed. In addition, if you ever again purposely demonstrate insubordinate behavior in front of coworkers by using profane language or by loudly stating that you dislike working here or don’t care what happens to this institution, disciplinary action up to and including termination will result. A copy of this document will be placed in your personnel file.
Scheduled Review Date: Thirty days (April 6)
EMPLOYEE COMMENTS AND/OR REBUTTAL
EMPLOYEE ACKNOWLEDGMENT GOES HERE
Note: Since this employee is on final written warning, add this sentence to the Employee Acknowledgment: “I understand that this is my last chance. If I violate any of the terms established in this memo, I will voluntarily resign or be discharged for cause.”
1 Thirty days was a reasonable amount of time for this individual to find work elsewhere. However, if the employee didn’t find a job during that thirty-day window, the company would revisit the issue and determine (a) how the employee was performing, (b) if she needed additional time off work to interview elsewhere, and (c) if it made sense for her to remain employed by the company. Speak with a labor attorney before implementing this third option (i.e., firing the person) lest you be challenged with a wrongful discharge suit for having failed to provide due process.
2 Note that this employee is nonexempt and must therefore clock in and out when leaving company premises to interview. To be paid for time “off the clock” in order to interview, the nonexempt worker will need to access her vacation or holiday accruals; otherwise, the time off would have to be unpaid. However, if the employee were exempt (and not subject to overtime, comp time, or other wage and hour protections), you, the employer, would have to handle this matter differently. Under certain circumstances, exempt workers should not have their pay docked in increments of less than one full day (for example, for two hours). To do so would jeopardize the exempt status of the worker (who could claim that she was indeed treated as a nonexempt employee). And that could land you with a whopping bill for back overtime wages due! Therefore, you wouldn’t have the flexibility of allowing the person to use vacation or holiday accruals for interviews. You would, instead, have to pay the exempt worker for the entire day even though the individual leaves your company for several hours to interview elsewhere. Confer with a wage and hour expert before including this line in your disciplinary memo, if you have further questions.