How long should a disciplinary action remain in the employee’s file?

Removing discipline is usually reasonable, but should be based on the offense. Many employers will purge the file after a certain period of time (such as one year) or reduce the severity (from a third warning to a second warning). If the employee has improved, there is no reason to keep the same level of warning in place for an indefinite period, and you can modify the employee’s file to remove or reduce the level of discipline over time. However, employers should establish guidelines for which actions can be removed.

For example, if an employee has been showing up late for work, but then shows up on time for a full year, you might change the disciplinary record to remove the warnings for tardiness. On the other hand, if an employee sexually harassed a coworker, your response to any future harassing conduct by that individual may have to consider previous conduct, even if the first incident occurred several years before (because an employer’s response to harassment must not only stop the conduct, but ensure that it does not recur). For this type of disciplinary action, allowing the employee to “start over” with a clean record may not be appropriate.