Documenting Misconduct that Will Stand Up in Court
HR is told to document everything, but poorly worded documentation can end up helping the other side. Plaintiffs' attorneys read your records closely, looking for anything that supports their case. This 60-minute webinar on documenting misconduct shows how to word your documentation so it stands up in court.
You'll learn why documentation matters when you need to convince a jury that you made the right decision, whether the employment-at-will doctrine helps, and which myths employees and jurors tend to believe.
The session covers the traits of good documentation, the worst mistakes and common pitfalls in performance and disciplinary records, using email to document, and how long to keep records.
- Write disciplinary actions that support your case in court
- Distinguish between performance problems and misconduct
- Apply the ABCs of documentation
- Explain the goals of every disciplinary procedure
- Document termination decisions
- Whether the employment-at-will doctrine helps with documentation
- Myths employees and jurors believe
- Pitfalls in performance and disciplinary documentation
- Characteristics of good documentation
- The worst documentation mistakes
- Using email to document
- Recordkeeping requirements for keeping documentation
Good documentation helps you win in court, bad documentation helps you lose, and no documentation leaves you exposed. Documentation has two jobs: to coach the employee and to show that termination was the only option left after every other step was tried.
The session suits HR professionals and generalists, supervisors and in-house counsel.
- Human resource professionals.
- Supervisors.
- Human resource generalists.
- In-house counsel.
Susan Fahey Desmond is a partner with McGlinchey Stafford, PLLC which has offices in 33 states across the country. She has been representing management in all areas of labor and employment law for over 35 years. A noted author and speaker, Susan is listed in Best Lawyers in America and has been named by Chambers USA as one of America’s leading business lawyers
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