Advice needed on termination
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I need advice on whether or not this employee should be terminated? We have an ee who is constantly late or out sick. This has been going on for years. This ee never has any sick time available to, but it hasn't stopped her. She has gotten worse over the last few weeks. Keep in mind she is now pregnant. Her supervisor has not kept up on the paperwork (evaluations, warning notices, etc.). Her last review was in 2000. Her evaluations prior to that mention her poor attendance, but state that it has not negatively affected her job. There is nothing else to document her poor attendance. I know her supervisor has had a few meetings with her regarding the issue, but he never documented the meetings (If he has, it is not in her personnel file.). What are the ramifications of terminating her? The plan is for her to see her supervisor the next time she arrive at work. I think this is not the best idea, with the lack of documentation. Am I correct?
Comments
If you terminate now, it will appear that you're discriminating against her because she's pregnant. The lack of documentation from the past will not help you...nor will the statement "poor attendance, but doesn't affect work".
Make the termination about performance and policy.
As pollypop suggested, you might need to implement a training regimen with respect to evaluation training and the importance of consistent documentation and application of the company's policies dealing with tardiness and absenteeism.
It is not just documenting the events associated with this EE. Even if you get rock solid documentation and that leads to a termination, you could still be at risk for a Pregnancy Discrimination lawsuit if you cannot prove that you treated her like all other EEs.
If the example of her documentation is just the tip of the iceberg, you would have a difficult time proving that you deal with all absenteeism issues consistently.
There are 12 supervisors here, including myself. I only have this problem with 2 of them. The other 10, including myself, follow through with their documentation and evaluations. I realize that my problem is with the supervisor. I have discussed this with him numerous times and he claims to not have the time. If he took 5 minutes after each meetung with her to document it, he would be all set. It drives me crazy that he doesn't document issues. In the 3 years I have been here I have not had an evaluation. One of my problem supervisors used to be my supervisor and my current supervisor is the other one I have a problem with.
The supervisor is using her timecards as proof of continuing absences prior to her pregnancy through today. She is due at the end of the summer.
Her supervisor says He will be speaking with our lawyers regarding this. I hope he does.
Good luck,
Dutch2