• Progressive discipline is discipline that increases with repeated violations, starting with warnings and culminating in termination.

Most employers follow a policy of progressive disciplinary action. Repeated violations lead to increasingly severe corrective action, culminating in termination.

Consequences for misconduct can range from warnings (oral or written), to short suspensions (generally 14 calendar days or less), long suspensions (usually more than 14 calendar days), demotion, or termination.

Determining the consequence

Several factors come into play when determining an appropriate disciplinary action. Included among them are the basic concepts of corrective, progressive discipline. That is, penalties should be selected with the intent to apply the minimum discipline likely to be sufficient to correct the offense. Additionally, fairness and consistency must be considered when determining disciplinary consequences.

Penalties should be reasonably consistent with past discipline administered in similar situations against employees with similar records. This means that employers should carefully weigh a number of factors when determining how severe a disciplinary consequence should be. These factors include:

• The nature and severity of the offense,
• The employee’s previous discipline record,
• The employee’s potential for improvement,
• The consequences imposed on other employees in similar situations, and
• The disciplinary guidelines or policy.

Verbal warnings and other informal discipline can usually be given without undue formality. For more serious discipline, formally notify (in writing) the employee of the discipline being proposed and the incident(s) or conduct that necessitated this corrective action.

Employers must be careful to avoid disciplinary actions that could possibly be interpreted as discriminatory in nature. Discriminatory acts are any actions taken or treatment given because of a person’s age, sex, race, or other protected characteristics.