Can an employee claim wrongful dismissal or collect unemployment after only verbal warnings?
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Can an employee claim wrongful dismissal or collect unemployment after only verbal warnings?
We have an employee who has been absent from 50 of her scheduled shifts for
the past few months. At first, she claimed protection from the Family Leave Act
as she was going through her divorce. That ended at least two months ago,
though, and she is still consistently absent. Her excuses range from illness,
lack of child care, moving, and being sore from water-skiing over the weekend.
She has been given verbal warnings by her manager and the CFO to correct this
behavior, but no documentation was created for these conversations.
I am brand new to the HR department and want to make sure that we have the
correct documentation so that she can’t claim wrongful dismissal. I have
created a form for her manager to fill out that states there were previous
conversations about her behavior and the dates of those conversations to have
her sign as an acknowledgment that this is her final warning. When he asked her
to come talk to him, she said she wouldn’t be coming in for two weeks and that
if that meant she was fired, so be it. She has made it clear that she wants to
be fired and just collect unemployment, which we don’t think would be very
fair. I have called her to come in to have a brief meeting with me with no
return call. I want this form signed so that we are protected. How should I
handle it from here?
Asked on August 11, 2016 under Employment Labor Law, Oregon
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
There is no legal need for written warnings or a formal disciplinary process. (Obviously, those can be helpful, in providing documentation/evidence, but they are not actually required.) If you are confident that you could at need support that she was terminated for unauthorized absences, whether by payroll information (e.g. days paid/not paid) and/or manager testimony, you can fire her "for cause" for the unauthorized absences and deny her unemployment benefits.
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