Effective Date Dec 1, 2014

Applicable Employee Classes:	Reviewed Date:	Approved by:
All Florida Tech Employees	February 2022	Dr. T. Dwayne McCay, President

 

Policy Title

Corrective Action & Resolution Policy

Policy Owner: Human Resources

Policy Purpose

Employees should have an opportunity to improve performance or change unacceptable conduct and be told what changes they need to be successful at their jobs. Early intervention is the hallmark accomplished through a progressive or stepped approach. Corrective action should always reflect the nature, seriousness and frequency of the deficient performance or conduct.

Policy Scope

Employee discipline is a very serious matter. It is an action that is taken with care and with full consideration for the interests of all parties. Florida Tech has adopted a progressive corrective action policy to pinpoint and deal with employees and work-related problems. The process outlined in this procedure applies to both non-exempt and exempt employees.

Policy Statement

Although the university is an at-will employer, it is in the best interest of the university to provide the corrective action process as an opportunity for an employee to be made aware of performance deficiencies and be given the opportunity to correct the inappropriate or incorrect conduct. The corrective action process is not intended solely as a system of punishment, but is designed to be firm, consistent and fair. As a demonstration to Florida Tech’s commitment to diversity, equity & inclusion, corrective action is not influenced or impacted by any employee individualities that are protected by federal, state and local laws.

In most cases, employee conduct warranting corrective action stems from unacceptable behavior, poor performance or violation of the company’s policies, practices or procedures. However, corrective action may be administered for conduct that falls outside of such areas. Just as importantly, the company is not obligated to exercise progressive corrective strategies but may take whatever action it deems necessary to address the issue at hand.

The company may use progressive corrective measures even when the conduct that leads to more serious corrective action differs from that which resulted in less severe punishment. In other words, violations of different rules shall be judged in the same manner as repeated violations of the same rule for purposes of progressive action.

The steps included in this policy are outlined below. The company retains the right to amalgamate or omit steps depending on the specific circumstances of each case, including the type of issue or offense. The steps outlined below do not have to be issued in chronological order. Some of the factors taken into consideration are whether the offense reoccurs despite previous disciplinary action, including coaching and counseling.

Procedures/Guidelines

 Appropriate corrective action cannot be decided in advance. The following information represents a common sequence of events, but keep in mind that the specific circumstances in which you may be involved may dictate a more or less severe action than that received by a co-worker. Nothing in this policy should be construed to prevent a greater or lesser action being imposed for any infraction of regulations, rules, or standards of conduct.

If your supervisor becomes aware of a problem, the following corrective actions (ranging from least severe to most severe) may be taken: informal discussion, formal verbal warning, written warning and suspension with or without pay or dismissal.

If your supervisor becomes aware of a problem, the first step normally taken to correct the problem is an informal discussion with you. During this meeting your supervisor will make you aware of the problem, define the appropriate conduct, and clarify any points of expected behavior. The purpose of this action is to bring the problem to your attention.

Your supervisor may enact a coaching plan to provide you with one-to-one coaching to model correct conduct and work more closely with you to address the root of the problem. Coaching may be used alongside other steps in the corrective action process (e.g., a formal verbal warning or written warning) or may be its own, intermediary step.

If you do not correct the problem, your supervisor will progress to the formal part of the corrective process, which will start with a formal verbal warning. Verbal warnings have specified consequences for failing to improve and are documented and recorded as part of the progressive corrective process. Your supervisor will indicate the nature of the improper conduct, cite the work standard governing the situation and explain what corrective action is expected. Your supervisor will also inform you that future similar behavior may result in more serious disciplinary action.

Continued failure to improve or correct inappropriate conduct will lead to a written warning. It will cite the specific performance or conduct standard that was violated, briefly note the specific incident prompting the corrective measure, indicate the behaviors or performance expected and note the required actions and the consequences for failing to achieve the required performance or behavior standard.

Failure to improve at this step can lead to a suspension with or without pay or a dismissal, depending upon the specific circumstances. This may result from the commission of one offense or as the result of cumulative offenses.

An investigation of the incident may be conducted during the period of a suspension. The purpose of such an investigation will be to determine if the offense was sufficient to justify dismissal. In this situation, the employee may be placed on an investigatory suspension. An investigatory suspension may be with or without pay. If the investigation does not support dismissal, the employee may be reinstated and may be reimbursed for the period of an unpaid investigatory suspension. A determination that dismissal was an inappropriate action does not preclude alternative corrective action including suspension without pay, which may include the period of time the employee already served by an unpaid investigatory suspension.

Questions regarding the discipline process can be answered by your supervisor or by the Office of Human Resources (321) 674-8100.

Nothing in this policy should be construed to prohibit the university from skipping one or more of the steps outlined in the process, possibly progressing to immediate dismissal.

Definitions

Not Applicable

Compliance Reference

Not Applicable

Responsibilities

Supervisors should work in consultation with Human Resources prior to taking corrective measure.

Enforcement

Very serious offenses can lead to immediate dismissal. In the event of dismissal, the employee will normally be paid on the next scheduled payday and only for time worked during that pay period. In accordance with the vacation policy, a dismissed employee will not be paid for remaining vacation hours. Factors including, but not limited to, the following may result in immediate dismissal:

• Violation of the law
• Gross neglect
• Theft
• Immoral conduct/moral turpitude
• Sexual harassment
• Sexual abuse
• Insubordination
• Bodily assault upon any person
• Unauthorized possession of firearms or any dangerous weapon (including explosives) on campus
• Threatening or intimidating another employee, student, parent or other visitor
• Release or inappropriate use of proprietary information
• Violation of the university's alcohol/drug policy
• Discourteous behavior to or in the presence of students, parents, visitors or other university employees
• Falsification of records
• Misuse of university resources
• Any activity that may cause personal harm to another or damage to property of another or of the university