Did HR mishandle this?

A mgr @ work jumped the gun & accused an employee of falsifying her time card w/o getting the facts straight. Employee did not intentionally do this - mgr was out all week & employee was unsure how an unexpected late arrival should be coded, so she did not sign the card & put a "?" in the comments section so mgr would see there was a question to be discussed. Instead of talking to the employee mgr immediatly wrote an angry email & gave oral warning threating termination of employment.

Employee's explanation was unaccepted or considered by mgr or HR. In fact, HR privately told employee to "bite her tongue" & "just be careful in the future".

I think this mgr is trying to get rid of employee - she's done this before. When she tires of you she becomes a micro manager watching & questioning everything you do every minute of the day. I suggested to employee to prepare a written explanation of the incident in her defense & requested it be included in my HR file for her own protection. Another reason I suggested this is because our co. fights unemployment benefits when they terminate someone, and this employee is a struggling single mom.

After a long meeting between employee, mgr & HR they pursuaded employee to withdraw her "documentation" request under the condition that the oral warning be removed as well.

Employee agreed, but is now questioning if this was the right thing to do. Is it to her benefit that all the documentation on this matter be present in her file? Perhaps she just prooved what a poor manager co. has on their staff, which would make the co. liable if they terminated her. More importantly, did the co's action of denying this employee's voice to be heard & documented violate any labor laws?

Since oral was removed there is nothing to argue. Furthermore this is not your issue and you do not know all the facts of the incident. Last if this place or Manager is that unpleasant to work for you and your freind might start searching for new employment

Thanks for the input.

I must say however, I'm always baffled by responses like yours that seem to focus more on critisizing the poster vs. just giving advice. Posters are here for helpful advice - that's what this forum is for!

Critize what?

A. Issue is resolved

B. You are outside party who doe snot know both sides. Therefore its both wrong and unfair for us to Judge action as you want. If the actual person was to post here we might be more helpful.

Just a note time and time again uninvolved parties come to this site with questions. They get same replies. Its not about you its about getting the correct info out there

I stand by what I said about critisicism on the poster. I see it a lot here on this forum and think it's unecessarily rude - that's all. Often those who are critical of others don't see it that way and don't realize how they come across.

Thanks again & have a great day.

Your question is, did HR mishandle the situation. That's not possible to say with the available information.

However, for information's sake, how do YOU think HR should have handled it?

cbg said:

Your question is, did HR mishandle the situation. That's not possible to say with the available information.

However, for information's sake, how do YOU think HR should have handled it?

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I'm not sure how they should have handled it. I wouldn't be questioning at all, but a co-worker came to me for support & that's why I'm here asking.

We are wondering if this incident should be documented and kept in her file rather than dismissed.

It seems the mgr got caught mishandling a situation - why else would she withdraw the oral warning when the employee defended herself?

It seems wrong that a mgr & HR should deter an employee the right of providing a written explantion on the incident. Why do they want the incident to just disappear? I think they are worried about having something in a file that will have a negative impact on the mgr & co. Sometime employees deserve negatives in their file, sometimes they don't. It should be a two way street - if the mgr or co. has a negative, why can't the employee's voice be heard?

There is no negative in her file! The issue was dropped!! Whether or not the manager should be held accountable for your assumptions is also not your issue or call. Your friend is fine issue is gone as if never happened. Any waves made by her or you could cause your continued employment at risk. Whats the term?.............. Oh yes "Let sleeping dogs lay"

Sheesh Jacksgal - would you relax already? There is no need to continuously bark at me for soliciting opinions here!

However, I have to agree with jacksgal. There is nothing negative in her file, so I'm not sure what damage you think the incident can do to her. There is no defense necessary because there is nothing there to damage her.

And how do you know what's in the manager's file? How do you know that there isn't a reprimand there?

While I certainly can't say for absolutely certain without a whole lot more information, nothing you have posted suggests that the situation was wrongly handled. There's more than one way of handling any situation and just because the employee wants a blanket disclaimer in her file doesn't mean that's necessarily the best way to handle it.

Point taken. I appreciate your sound advice and the calm demeaner in which you delivered it.

You are correct - we don't know if the mgr was repremanded. I guess it's not so much a matter of looking for "damage" or "defense", but rather the employee wanting documented validation that the oral warning was not warranted. She's concerened that her mgr is looking for ways to get rid of her or make her quit and feels such validation would be an asset should she be terminated.

Thanks for sharing your opinion!

I think your friend is on the verge of causing for herself the very problems she's looking to present. The oral warning was withdrawn; demanding that there be a written record that it was never warranted in the first place is leaning dangerously close to making HER look like the problem-causer. When you've already won, pushing for more does not make you look good.

130munch said:

Thanks for the input.

I must say however, I'm always baffled by responses like yours that seem to focus more on critisizing the poster vs. just giving advice. Posters are here for helpful advice - that's what this forum is for!

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Good point those type of answers should be ignored. The notion that "if you and your co-workers are unhappy at work... then just quite" is straight up un-American. Since you mentioned "Labor law" in your post I want to address that. As well as what constitutes a violation of labor law, it appears applicable to you and your co-workers, since there is obvious labor strife

Labor Law deals with your "organizing" rights, that is you and your co-workers acting in unison too change terms and conditions of employment. Once you and your co-workers act together then the activity is protected. This includes in most cases the right to strike. The keystone of these rights is embodied in the NLRA Sec.7:

Sec. 7. Employees shall have the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection, and shall also have the right to refrain from any or all such activities except to the extent that such right may be affected by an agreement requiring membership in a labor organization as a condition of employment as authorized in section 8(a)(3).

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Many people mistakenly believe this is a right reserved strictly for unions. It is not, on the contrary this clause more than any other extends right of unorganized workers to organize. In a nutshell this is you and your co-workers organizing rights and they can not be infringed on when exercised, with or with out a union. The key feature is {to self-organization, to form} so I encourage you to talk with others that feel the same way and self-organization, and form. It is the only way to effect meaningful change in the work place.