Employee is arrested

annK

Should an employee be placed on LOA or can we terminate for unexcused absence if they are arrested?

Tricia

If you have an attendance policy and the employee has exceeded the amount of time allowed, then I would termintate him/her. However, if you have no real attendance policy in place, I would suspend the employee until the end of the trial. This is how we handle ee's who are arrested on felony charges. We suspend them until the end of their trial. If they are found guilty, we terminate them for conviction of a felony. If they are found innocent, however, we have to allow them to return to work. These type people usually end of getting terminated over something else.

Ginger Lei

Regular attendance is an essential job function. Treat employees who are arrested just like any other employee: focus on job performance. (Remember "Innocent until Proven Guilty")
Our attendance policy states, "If you are going to be absent from work for any reason (including incarceration)...you must report your absence to your immediate supervisor at least four (4) hours prior to the start of you shift." And it goes on to say, "Failure to properly notify your manager by not calling in and/or not showing up for work is grounds for immediate termination." We treat incarceration just like any other attendance issue: if an employee is absent for one (1) day without notifying their supervisor of the reaason for absence, including incarceration, they are terminated for abandonment of their position.

smarti

We place the employee on a special leave during the arrest until final disposition of the charges. Only then would we determine whether reinstatement or return to active employment would be appropriate. Of course, many other factors regarding benefits, etc are subject to policy as well. Good luck