Human Resource Blog

First Time with Progressive Disciplining in Missouri

	Employment Training
Employee Warning Notice Employee Counseling Report Performance Improvement Plan Forklift Safety Kit

	Hiring and Staffing
Complete Business Forms Kit CD Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification Employment Application Long Form Substance Testing Consent Form Pre-Employment Reference and Background Check Employment Offer/Acknowledgment Receipt of Employee Handbook New Hire Survey

	HR Management
Confidential Employee Folder Confidential Employee Medical Folder Job File Worksheet Folder Daily EEO Applicant Flow Log Workplace Information Sheets Request to Inspect Personnel Files

	Labor Laws
Complete State & Federal Labor Law Posters 1 Year Compliance Protection Plan State ONLY Labor Law Posters Federal Labor Law Posters

	Management/Leadership
Complete Harassment Forms FMLA Administrator Kit Harassment Prevention Kit Sexual Harassment Kit Workplace Information Sheets

	Performance Management
Performance Appraisal Review Employee Performance Evaluation Form Performance Improvement Plan Employee Warning Notice Employee Counseling Report Employee Final Warning Notice

	Structural Development
Workplace Information Sheets Complete Business Forms Kit CD FMLA Administrator Worksheet FMLA Administrator Kit USERRA Employee Handout Packet The USERRA Easy Comply Set

Our Missouri company is coming up on our first ever progressive disciplining event. We have a policy in place, but can you provide some last-minute tips in order to ensure that we are diligent and legal with the steps we take?

Yes. It is important that you are very legal about the process so that your investigation holds up in court and so that you do not face legal troubles down the road as a result of the investigation.

First, it’s important that you and any investigators on your team are diligent about your record keeping. Make sure that you document any verbal warnings that were given to the employee prior to the disciplinary action. It’s important that you have written notes about the employee’s behavior, any citations or complaints against him or her, and any follow-ups that you made in the process to try to correct the behavior.

Next, it’s important that you make sure that these prior warnings (and there likely are some) are tied directly to the circumstances at hand. You can document all of these proceedings using what I called a Discipline Documentation Notice, which is basically a formal list of all steps you’ve taken to discipline the employee.

Next, it’s always important that you let the employee speak during this process. Your employee will have a point of view and opinion on the matter; let him or her express it openly.

Make sure that your employees that are conducting the discipline are well aware of what you expect from them. It’s important that you explicitly state what you expect from them. You  may also have to make the tools and resources available to them so that they can be thorough in the investigation.

You’ll always want to heave deadlines for your team so that they know when you expect certain steps to be met, such as a final decision or even simple interviews. Let your employees know what the consequences are if they fail to follow through on any of these steps so that they can anticipate any adverse action taken against them.

Keep in mind that you must follow all of the steps you said in your policy. Skipping steps could result in legal trouble.