Policies

central home / Policies / Employee Policies / Discipline and Performance Improvement Plans

Discipline and Performance Improvement Plans

Overview

Outline of the progressive disciplinary process and behaviors/actions that can result in discipline and/or termination.

Definitions

Discipline: action taken to correct behavior or improve performance when concerns or issues arise

Progressive discipline: approach to disciplinary process that builds on previous disciplinary action that may have taken place within a set time period (6 months)

Termination: separation of employment

Performance Improvement Plan (PIP): defined approach and plan to identify performance concerns and set clear expectations of improvements that must be met for continued employment

 Responsibilities

Employee: to be familiar with and ensure their conduct aligns with all Central College policies and procedures.

Supervisor: clearly communicate performance and behavioral expectations and address any concerns that may arise to work to correct the issue.

Talent, Equity, and Engagement Staff: serves as a resource on consistent application of policy and procedure for employees and supervisors.

Policy Details

Except for tenure-line faculty and individuals under express written employment contracts, employment is at-will.  This means an employee can be terminated with or without cause and with or without notice at either the option of the college or the employee, except as otherwise provided by the law.

  1. Disciplinary actions will be considered “active” in the progressive disciplinary process for 6 months following the communication of the concern to the employee.
  2. Disciplinary policy is generally applied progressively. This means that, in most cases, discipline would start at the level of coaching/counseling, and if repeated issues arise while a previous disciplinary action is active (6 months), the next step would be a written warning, and so on. The progression is outlined below. However, depending on the situation, steps in the progressive process may be skipped due to severity.
      1. Coaching/counseling
      2. Written warning
      3. Final warning
      4. Termination
  3. The following behaviors or actions may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination. This is not an all-inclusive list but rather a list of several examples to consider.  Central College reserves the right to evaluate each situation as it occurs and determine the most appropriate response.  Not all situations listed below will start with coaching and counseling based on severity.
      1. Failure to contact a supervisor when absent or late for work.
      2. No call/no show for scheduled shift. (Note: 2 consecutive days of no call/no show is considered a voluntary resignation)
      3. Walking off the job
      4. Excessive tardiness/absenteeism
      5. Misuse of work time
      6. Criminal acts (at work or outside of work)
      7. Sexual or relationship misconduct
      8. Harassment or discrimination of any type
      9. Violation of drug, alcohol, or tobacco use policies
      10. Theft
      11. Willful damage or destruction of property
      12. Falsifying employment application, time worked, or official college documents
      13. Insubordination
      14. Disclosing confidential information improper use of college computer systems, equipment, or programs
      15. Violence in the workplace
      16. Egregious misconduct
      17. Failure to follow safety protocols
      18. Failure to promptly report for a work-related injury
      19. Not following prescribed work restrictions
      20. Non-performance of expected job duties
  4. In cases of poor performance, the supervisor will work with the employee to provide the appropriate performance counseling and necessary disciplinary action to provide an opportunity for improvement to take place. The level of disciplinary action around performance will consider items such as:
      1. Nature and severity of the issue
      2. Timing and frequency of issues
      3. Overall performance of the employee
      4. Impact of performance issues
  5. Performance Improvement Plan (PIP)
      1. In the case where there are consistent and/or significant performance deficiencies, a PIP may be put in place.
        1. The PIP will outline areas of performance concerns and give specific expectations of what improvements are needed for the employee to remain in their position.
        2. When a PIP is in place, the supervisor will meet with the employee to clearly discuss and outline the concerns and expectations as documented on the form.
        3. Weekly check-in meetings with the supervisor and employee will take place to keep close communication on progress or lack thereof regarding performance issues.
        4. The recommended time frame for a PIP is 3 months. If the initial PIP is not successful, it can be extended an additional 3 months if some progress is seen.
        5. If, at the end of the 3 (or 6) month PIP process, the expected level of performance has been attained and the employee is successfully meeting expectations, the PIP will come to an end. It is up to the employee to maintain that expected level of performance moving forward.
        6. If, at the end of the 3 (or 6) month PIP process, little to no improvement is seen, the PIP comes to an end and termination will result.
  1. While tenure-line faculty are expected to comply with policies and expectations set for all employees, faculty governance procedures apply when appropriate.

Last Revision Date: 4/10/2024

Policy Owner: Human Resources