File Organization for hearing

Lonnie

Lurker Lonnie here. I'm a middle manager who will soon be attending my first board of review hearing where am ex-employee is appealing the termination. I'm unsure about how to organize my file on the employee. There are several annual performance reviews, written warnings & suspension plus a ton of my informal notes (some handwritten, some typed, some notes jotted on calendar) documenting numerous incidents, coaching, counseling, problems, etc.

Should I keep everying interfiled or would it be better to separate the formal material from the other? Also, is there such a thing as "too much" doucmentation? Years ago an employee here (not mine thank goodness!) won an appeal because "after so many warnings and disciplinary action, employee had no reason to believe he would ever be terminated no matter what progressive discipline received, no matter what he did or didn't do on the job."

I've learned the hard way to be more formal in documentation, but that's water under the bridge--and in 25 year of supervising it's never been necessary before!!!

While our place isn't union it is extremely, IMHO, pro-employee.
Any suggestions about how to prepare for the hearing would be appreciated--first times are so scary.
Thank you.
Lonnie

Don D

by Board of Review I'm assume you mean the Unemployment Agency Board and not some municipal or internal board.

The lead person representing the employer should always be the HR staff person. Assuming that not to be you, your file should not be nearly as complete as theirs. It is a given though, that you should not take a document along from YOUR file that the HR file does not contain or that will surprise the HR rep.

Since the opposing side can demand you hand a file over to them in a hearing, I do not take entire files. I take only that upon which the termination was based, led up to it, substantiates it or in some manner relates directly TO it. Notes, scribblings, drop notes, calendar entries are not good evidence typically.

Your side will be called upon to testify as to why the person was terminated, who terminated him and upon what policy violations, behaviors and evidence that was based. I always line my evidence out on the desk or table days prior to the hearing and number each document to correspond with my written agenda I will follow in evidence production. The process, for me, gets a bit anal, but one can be made to look awfully unprepared in a tiny room with no table or only lap room and documents being shuffled and tempers flaring.

To a typical hearing I take copies of work policies, copy of document they signed when they received the policy statement, copies of time cards or other hard evidence of violation, copies of disciplinary writeups, copies of attendance and progressive discipline policies, copies of anything else that clearly corroborates a link between the behavior, the policies and the action we took. Always take three copies: One for you to testify from, one for the hearing officer, one for the claimant that is given to the hearing officer to give to her if he chooses to. If you are a manager or supervisor, chances are you are going as support. You won't be allowed to sit through the testimony or questioning of others if indeed you are to testify. The hearing is taped, the testimony is sworn, things are generally kept orderly. It's not at all like your manager's roundtable disciplinary meeting at work.

Lonnie

Hi Don, Thanks for info, however, the hearing is an internal thing similar to a tribunal with members from outside the organization, not an unemployment hearing (I'm trying not to be too specific with the name of review board in case his attorney is a member of the list - paranoia or good sense???) Ex-employee won the unemployment hearing (in our state an employee has to do something egregious/convicted felony committed on job/etc to not get unemployment, or at least that's how I see it right now!) What he's after now is re-instatement with backpay for the full time since he was terminated. He was terminated for two specific incidents in a three day period but progressive discipline continuing from past also was taken into consideration by department head who made decision to terminate. The incidents without the history of progressive discipline for similar stuff *possibly* would not seem so blatantly beyond the pale. (My recommendation to terminate but I don't have authority to terminate--he would have been gone a lot sooner if I did!)

Thanks for the details about the other. It helps me understand the process better. I sorta feel like i've been out of the loop in a way on what to do and how to do it. And seeing the results of other termination appeals doesn't leave me with a lot of confidence in the process. Thanks again! Lonnie
p.s. I assume it will the company attorney representing us and she doesn't exactly have a high batting average. Excuse me. I think I must be in a bad mood today. I feel very cynical. What was the point of them (HR) telling me to document, document, document and that handwritten notes were good docuemntation if none of it is taken into account at the hearing? What's the use of progressive discipline. I need chocolate. Lots of chocolate.

Balloonman

Lonnie,
Don made some good points. Just remember, be organized, relaxed and matter of fact. Also help is you know that others have been termed for similar offenses. Stick to the facts, keep your toes crossed maybe you will win.
My $0.02 worth.
DJ The Balloonman

Don D

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 08-29-03 AT 11:30AM (CST)[/font][p]Document, document, document has another piece. File, file, file. Typically that means move the documentation to the office of record which is the HR department and the personnel file. Some jurisdictions hold that if it isn't in that file, it does not exist. Things produced last minute such as scraps of paper, notes from supervisory drop-files, things on calendars and day-timers, may or may not be entertained by your review board, I don't know. but, I recommend in any event you take with you those things that directly related to the firing - each documented incident that led to it, each documented disciplinary discussion or counseling, formal or informal, each repeat incident documented, policy book to show each policy violated, again - copies of things showing he was aware of the policy or procedure and I might even take along proof from the files that shows you consistently handled it - such as documentation that shows others were treated the same for similar infractions. The lawyer with the bad batting average should have already briefed you on specifically what she expects you to bring to the hearing and the things that you should not bring. If she hasn't, I understand her batting average better now.

Lonnie

"Document, document, document has another piece. File, file, file."

Yeah... that other piece is what got left out in all the sessions I had with our HR manager about how to cope with this extremely challenging employee. And the training supervisors got from the company itself was basically if the supervisor would just counsel and coach everything would work out. No bad employees, just bad supervisors. I could toss my cookies.

Thanks Don and Balloonman for your feedback.

An aside: I hang out on the list to try to learn how to manage staff and deal with unpleasant staff situations better -- not something I learned with my technical background & education, or do I have the instinctive knack. Please all you HR managers who work with managers like me - understand we didn't get taught the information you were taught. Help us!

LarryC

Good comments so far. I would add that hearing judges not only want to know "what" happened, but "when and in what order" things happened. I've been through several lawsuits and have found that keeping files in chronological order is very helpful and valuable. Good luck! You'll do fine.

Don D

When you raise your hand to be sworn in and state your name, just don't tell them you are 'Lurker Lonnie'. It's all about credibility. Have a good weekend, and don't forget....40% of the guests who come to your home will rifle through your medicine cabinet.

LarryC

Well, isn't that comforting. When my guests paw around in my medicine cabinet, they''l see that I'm almost out of Viagra. What can I say? It's been a damn good month.

System

Either that or each of your visitors this month has lifted two.