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6. Equal Treatment -Did the employer apply the rules, orders, and penalties even- <br /> handedly and without discrimination to all employees? <br /> i <br /> j Unequal treatment usually results from inconsistent enforcement of rules or meting out <br /> j of discipline for a particular offense. Different responses to violation of similar rules or <br /> similar conduct must be based on a valid operational reason (e.g., different <br /> ~ assignments) or on the individual circumstances. Treatment can be unequal if <br /> i enforcement is inflexible and does not take particular circumstances into <br /> consideration. <br /> 7. Penalty -Was the penalty imposed by the employer reasonably related to the <br /> seriousness of the employee's actions? <br /> The punishment should fit the crime, in light of the seriousness of the offense and the <br /> employee's work record. Discipline should consider severity of incident, aggravating <br /> or mitigating factors (including the nature of the. employee's response to the charges), <br /> <br /> i past work record, and the employer's past practices regarding similar incidents. <br /> It is critical to check the employee's documented work record and the record of <br /> disciplines by the employer. <br /> The supervisor must adhere to the principles of progressive discipline. The objective <br /> is to correct behavior by employing increasingly serious disciplinary responses to <br /> repeated misconduct; it is not a lockstep, however. There are occasions when the <br /> behavior of an employee is such a severe violation of written or implied duties that <br /> immediate discharge is called for. <br /> Where an event warranting discipline is not severe, but severe discipline is warranted <br /> in light of prior work record it is possible to sustain it (called "last strav~' cases). All <br /> violations need not be the same if there is evidence of progressive discipline. <br /> Common pitfalls of discipline include: the off-the-record record; stale past records; no <br /> opportunity for improvement after a warning or discipline; suggestion of .building a <br /> record (too many warnings in too short a time); discipline not imposed promptly; and, <br /> penalty is too severe given the circumstances. <br /> 6 <br /> <br />