Although the company has the legal right to terminate at-will employees without undertaking disciplinary action, it is often in the company’s best business and legal interests to do so. The most important objectives in carrying out any disciplinary action are to give the employee notice of the problem and an opportunity to improve while, at the same time, taking care not to undermine the at-will nature of the employment relationship. In most cases, it will be in the company’s best business and legal interest to give management the flexibility to undertake whatever action is appropriate for the circumstances in question and not require progressive disciplinary action. In taking such an approach, however, the company must take care to ensure that it is consistent in its treatment of comparable situations. Comparable situations should receive comparable action. Failure to do so could expose the company to liability for discrimination, retaliation or wrongful termination claims.
Additionally, companies should be mindful that, as a general rule, no deductions from pay may be made from an exempt employee in any week in which he or she has performed some work. Therefore, disciplinary action involving time off without pay for exempt employees either should...
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