4th edition Dealing with Problem Employees A Legal Guide by Attorneys Amy DelPo and Lisa Guerin always up to date The law changes, but Nolo is on top of it! We offer several ways to make sure you and your Nolo products are up to date: 1 Nolo’s Legal Updater We’ll send you an email whenever a new edition of this book is published! Sign up at www.nolo.com/legalupdater. Updates @ Nolo.com 2 Check www.nolo.com/update to fi nd recent changes in the law that affect the current edition of your book. Nolo Customer Service 3 To make sure that this edition of the book is the most recent one, call us at 800-728-3555 and ask one of our friendly customer service representatives. Or fi nd out at www.nolo.com. please note We believe accurate, plain-English legal information should help you solve many of your own legal problems. But this text is not a substitute for personalized advice from a knowledgeable lawyer. If you want the help of a trained professional—and we’ll always point out situations in which we think that’s a good idea—consult an attorney licensed to practice in your state. 4th edition Dealing with Problem Employees A Legal Guide by Attorneys Amy DelPo and Lisa Guerin Fourth Edition octobEr 2007 cover Design SUSAN PUtNEY Production SArAh hiNmAN Proofreading mArk NigArA index mEDEA miNNich Printing DEltA PriNtiNg SolUtioNS, iNc. DelPo, Amy, 1967- Dealing with problem employees : a legal guide / by Amy DelPo and lisa guerin ; edited by Janet Portman. -- 4th ed. p. cm. includes index. iSbN-13: 978-1-4133-0711-5 (pbk.) iSbN-10: 1-4133-0711-6 (pbk.) 1. labor laws and legislation--United States--Popular works. 2. labor discipline--law and legislation--United States--Popular works. 3. Problem employees--legal status, laws, etc.--United States--Popular works. i. guerin, lisa, 1964- ii. title. kF3457.Z9D45 2007 658.3’045--dc22 2007018035 copyright © 2003, 2005 and 2007 by Nolo. All rightS rESErvED. PriNtED iN thE U.S.A. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without prior written permission. reproduction prohibitions do not apply to the forms contained in this product when reproduced for personal use. For information on bulk purchases or corporate premium sales, please contact the Special Sales Department. For academic sales or textbook adoptions, ask for Academic Sales. call 800-955-4775 or write to Nolo, 950 Parker Street, berkeley, cA 94710. Acknowledgments First and foremost, we would like to express many thanks to our editor on the first edition of the book—and boss—Janet Portman. Not only is her skill with a red pen unparalleled, but she is also a humane taskmaster. if all supervisors were as good-humored, respectful, and kind, employment lawyers throughout the country would have to find new work. And many thanks to our meticulous and detail-oriented editor on later editions, our friend and colleague Stephanie bornstein. thanks for catching our mistakes and making us look good. thanks, too, to Nolo founder and man-about-town Jake Warner. his enthusiasm for this project never wavered, even when we had our doubts. We are also grateful to Nolo’s Stan Jacobson for his tireless research efforts and good cheer, and to Ella hirst and Alayna Schroeder for their meticulous work on the state law charts that appear in our books. We’d also like to express our gratitude to former Nolo editor, employment law doyenne, and author barbara kate repa, whose previous work on this topic inspired us to write a whole book about it. Some of her words live on here. Amy DelPo and Lisa Guerin thanks to three people who made my work on this book possible: to my dear husband, Paul, who has given me so much, including the encouragement and freedom to jump off the gerbil wheel of litigation and work at a job that i truly love. And to my parents, ray and Eleanor, who gave me my education—and a solid foundation on which to build a wonderful life. Amy DelPo thanks to my friends and former colleagues in the employment law trenches—everyone at rudy, Exelrod & Zieff; mike gaitley; Deborah England; and particularly John true—for your guidance and inspiration. thanks also to my family and friends, who support and encourage me—and keep my life interesting. Lisa Guerin Table of Contents Introduction The High Cost of Problem Employees..........................................................................................................2 How This Book Can Help ....................................................................................................................................4 Who Should Read This Book .............................................................................................................................5 Who Should Not Read This Book ...................................................................................................................5 1 What’s Your Problem? Performance or Productivity Problems .......................................................................................................9 Interpersonal Problems .....................................................................................................................................11 Insubordination .....................................................................................................................................................14 Excessive Absenteeism ......................................................................................................................................16 Drugs and Alcohol ...............................................................................................................................................18 Theft and Dishonesty .........................................................................................................................................23 Violence .....................................................................................................................................................................24 2 Employment Law Basics Employment at Will ............................................................................................................................................34 Employment Contracts .....................................................................................................................................37 Breaches of Good Faith and Fair Dealing ................................................................................................46 Violations of Public Policy ...............................................................................................................................47 Discrimination and Retaliation .....................................................................................................................49 3 Performance Evaluations The Benefits of an Evaluation System .....................................................................................................77 Step 1: Create Performance Objectives ....................................................................................................78 Step 2: Observe and Document Employee Performance ...............................................................82 Step 3: Conduct Interim Meetings to Discuss Progress and Problems ...................................87 Step 4: Conduct the Year-End Evaluation ...............................................................................................89