The consequences of poor or sloppy disciplinary practices can be disastrous. From claims of harassment to defamation, Jeff Johnson will provide practical pointers on prevention of the most common lawsuits that stem from disciplinary missteps.

Johnson provides you tools for the disciplinary process, including coaching, warnings, performance improvement plans and last chance agreements. He offers sample disciplinary documents and discusses the pros and cons of different progressive disciplinary systems.

Performance reviews strike fear into the hearts of managers and employees alike. Jeff will teach you tactics to relieve the tension and to create useful tools for the performance management of difficult employees. He will discuss practical tips for creation and completion of written performance reviews and discuss how to avoid the mistakes that managers often make at review time.

How do you proceed when termination seems like the only remaining option? You will receive a tested legal and practical checklist to use when making the termination decision. You will also learn how to use internal investigations as an important tool prior to this last stage of the disciplinary process.

No event is more fraught with legal danger for the manager than the actual termination of an employee. Johnson will dissect the process from the moment the termination meeting begins, to the time the employee has left the company premises, through the long list of post-termination issues.

Even if you’ve got all the standard bases covered, there are still common but difficult situations in the disciplinary process,

• the discipline of employees who have complained of discrimination or are injured or disabled,
• the termination of employees on FMLA leave,
• the discipline of employees for off-duty conduct that arguably affects the workplace and
• the obligations of an employer to grant religious accommodations.