Manager's Toolkit

Disciplinary Action

The university has established a disciplinary process to provide consistent application and equitable treatment of all employee. Tennessee State University encourages the principle of progressive discipline. Whenever disciplinary action is taken against an employee, the immediate supervisor is responsible for advising the offending employee of his/her right to the University's Complaint/Grievance Procedures, Policy 6.10, if applicable.

Generally, there are three main reasons that employees are disciplined: 1) below standard job performance, 2) violation of prescribed rules of conduct, and behavior that is damaging to the university, students or employees.

Types of Discipline include:

A. Oral Warning – usually for minor policy or behavior infractions. The supervisor may administer an oral warning without prior approval and record the date and other pertinent information for future reference.

B. Written Warning – usually for more serious offenses. A written warning shall also be given if it becomes necessary to reprimand an employee orally more than once within a six months period. If a written warning is decided upon, a record of the facts shall be made by the supervisor. The supervisor must have the concurrence of the department head before issuing the written warning. The written warning will be issued to the employee by his/her supervisor and a copy should be sent to the Office of Human Resources to be placed in the employee's personnel file.

C. Suspension (without pay) - This action may be taken to impress upon the employee the serious nature of his/her act or offense. This should be considered as a notice the employee is facing possible termination if the performance or behavior does not improve. The supervisor will consult the department head and the Human Resources Director before taking such action. When it becomes necessary to suspend an employee without pay, a probationary period may be warranted upon the employees return.

D. Termination -When an employee is recommended for termination for disciplinary reasons, the supervisor must write a recommendation with appropriate attachments and submit to the department director for approval before forwarding to the vice president who must write a separate recommendation to the president for approval of the action. This packet of information is presented to the Director of Human Resources for review and submission to the Director of Equity, Diversity, and Compliance before submission to the President for approval.

References:

Disciplinary Procedures, Non-Faculty, Policy 6.12

TBR Policy 5:01:00:00 defines Gross Misconduct.

For additional information regarding TSU's Disciplinary Policies and Guidelines, please refer to the TSU Personnel Handbook pgs. 47-51.

webpage contact:
The Office of Human Resources