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The Not-So-Simple Employee Disclipline Matter

By Philip M. Berkowitz
January 31, 2007

In the new age of the whistleblower, an employment lawyer who one day advises on a routine employee discipline or discharge may the next day find him- or herself directing a multi-disciplinary investigation of alleged corporate malfeasance, guiding a team of forensic accountants, private investigators, and public relations experts.

Employment lawyers have long understood that they need to look behind complaints that an employee has a 'bad attitude,' since a nonspecific, highly subjective criticism of this nature may not tell the whole story. In determining the risk of taking disciplinary action against an employee ' and particularly with regard to an employee who is protected by the array of federal, state, and local employment discrimination laws ' we look for objective information that evidences specific difficulties with the employee's job performance. With only an amorphous claim about 'attitude' and without solid, objective evidence, there is a risk that the employee may be able to claim that the real reason he or she is being disciplined is his or her protected status, not job performance problems.

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