Scenario
In Project One, your company went through a union campaign, and a majority of employees voted in favor of union representation. Subsequently, union leadership and company management negotiated a collective bargaining agreement. The presence of represented (union) and non-represented (nonunion) employees means that Human Resources must work to ensure all employees receive fair and similar treatment within the guidelines of applicable laws and the provisions negotiated in the collective bargaining agreement.
As the HR analyst, you received a complaint from the union representative that alleges a member of the company’s management team violated the negotiated progressive discipline process when handling a recent HR incident. The specifics of the complaint are as follows:
The company manager suspended the union employee for one day with no pay because the union employee left the shift early without permission from the manager. The union representative claims the suspension was not necessary. The company manager claims that the suspension was appropriate because all nonunion employees would be suspended for the same issue.
The union representative claims the union employee was not given an opportunity to have another employee present at the conversation in the manager’s office. The manager claims the union employee was offered the opportunity to have representation and the employee said no. There were no other witnesses in the manager’s office.
The union representative claims the company manager did not allow the union employee to explain the reason for leaving early. The company manager disagrees and states that 30 minutes were spent listening to the employee’s story as would be the case for any employee in the company.
The company manager claims that everyone in the department is treated the same way if an employee leaves the shift early without permission. Leaving a shift early impacts all other members of the team because work is not completed and may fall on nonunion employees to complete, creating overtime and possibly creating the need for nonunion employees to complete union employee work.
The director of Human Resources, who is your manager, has requested that you research the complaint in preparation for HR’s meeting with the union representative and recommend an initial course of action.
Full Answer Section
- The company manager claims that the suspension was appropriate because all nonunion employees would be suspended for the same issue.
- The union representative claims the union employee was not given an opportunity to have another employee present at the conversation in the manager's office.
- The manager claims the union employee was offered the opportunity to have representation and the employee said no.
- The union representative claims the company manager did not allow the union employee to explain the reason for leaving early.
- The company manager disagrees and states that 30 minutes were spent listening to the employee's story as would be the case for any employee in the company.
- The company manager claims that everyone in the department is treated the same way if an employee leaves the shift early without permission.
Investigation
I conducted an investigation into the complaint and interviewed the following individuals:
- The union representative
- The company manager
- The union employee
I also reviewed the company's collective bargaining agreement and the company's employee handbook.
Findings
Based on my investigation, I found that the company manager did not violate the negotiated progressive discipline process when handling the recent HR incident.
The collective bargaining agreement states that "employees who violate company policy may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment." The employee handbook states that "employees who leave their shift early without permission may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including suspension."
In this case, the company manager suspended the union employee for one day with no pay for leaving his shift early without permission. This is a reasonable disciplinary action for this type of violation.
The union representative claims that the suspension was not necessary because the union employee had a legitimate reason for leaving early. However, the company manager investigated the matter and found that the union employee's reason for leaving early was not legitimate.
The union representative also claims that the union employee was not given an opportunity to have another employee present at the conversation in the manager's office. However, the company manager offered the union employee the opportunity to have representation, and the employee declined.
Finally, the union representative claims that the company manager did not allow the union employee to explain the reason for leaving early. However, the company manager states that he spent 30 minutes listening to the employee's story.
Recommendation
Based on my findings, I recommend that the company manager's decision to suspend the union employee be upheld. The suspension was a reasonable disciplinary action for the employee's violation of company policy.
I also recommend that the company manager review its progressive discipline policy to ensure that it is fair and consistent.
Sample Answer
Investigation Report
Subject: Complaint of Violation of Progressive Discipline Process
Date: March 8, 2023
Prepared by: Bard
Background
On March 7, 2023, the union representative filed a complaint with Human Resources alleging that a company manager violated the negotiated progressive discipline process when handling a recent HR incident. The specifics of the complaint are as follows:
- The company manager suspended a union employee for one day with no pay because the union employee left the shift early without permission from the manager.
- The union representative claims the suspension was not necessary.