Corrective Action

Geneva always encourages its employees to develop and perform to their fullest potential. When an employee’s performance or conduct does not meet established standards, measures will be taken as deemed appropriate to support the employee in correcting the behavior or improving his/her performance. The School has developed the following general procedure for addressing most behavior or performance issues that may be used on a case-by-case basis.

Nothing in this policy provides any contractual rights regarding employee discipline or counseling, nor should anything in this policy be read or construed as modifying or altering the employment-at-will relationship between the School and its employees.

Note: The School does not restrict itself from altering its approach to corrective action as circumstances warrant, in the HOS’s sole discretion or as determined by the Geneva Board of Trustees. These are samples of two common exceptions to the corrective action process, of which employees should be aware.

• Misconduct or other serious behavioral issues, including but not limited to circumstances involving risk to students or other employees, will ordinarily be addressed promptly and firmly outside of the process described in this section.
• In the case of employees who are new to the school, the School and the employee may quickly determine that there is a misalignment between the employee’s skills and interests and the school’s needs in the position. In these cases, plans to resolve this misalignment ordinarily may be handled promptly and separately from the process shown in this policy.

Step One—Oral and Written Warning(s)

When a performance or conduct issue arises, a conversation between the supervisor and the employee will address the conduct at issue and allow the employee the opportunity to correct and address the deficiency. The supervisor is expected to clearly describe expectations and steps the employee must take to improve his/her performance to resolve the performance problem.

The supervisor and Human Resources may prepare and present written documentation of the oral warning to the employee. Additional written warning(s) may be issued at the discretion of Administration.

Step Two—Final Warning

If the employee’s performance does not improve with one or more oral or written warnings, the supervisor and Human Resources may provide a formal final warning to the employee with a documented performance improvement plan. The plan will outline the specific steps of corrective action the employee is required to take and the consequences of continued failure to meet performance expectations, which may include suspension and/or termination of employment.

The performance improvement plan will require the employee’s immediate and sustained corrective action. The employee will be allowed to review the plan and will be asked to sign an acknowledgement of receipt. A final warning is optional and may not be feasible as referenced above, such as in cases of serious misconduct or repeated failure to abide by prior warnings.

Step Three—Separation of Employment

If the employee’s conduct and/or performance does not improve as required, the School may choose to terminate the individual’s at-will employment; terminate the employee’s contract or not renew the employee’s contract for the following school year as provided in the employee’s contract. If no action is taken to renew an employee’s contract, it terminates at the end of the current contract period.

Appeals Process

Employees can present information to dispute the discipline or corrective action as referenced above that the School Administration has used to issue disciplinary action. The purpose of this process is to provide insight into extenuating circumstances that may have contributed to the employee’s performance or conduct issues while allowing for an equitable solution.

If the employee does not present this information during any of the step meetings, he/she will have five (5) business days after each of those meetings to present such information to the supervisor and Human Resources. New information will be reviewed by the appropriate supervisor, the HOS and Human Resources to determine whether revisions to the discipline or corrective action are justified or should be revised. The decision of the supervisor, Human Resources, and the HOS is final and is not appealable.

Suspension of Employment

Some performance, conduct or safety incidents are so problematic and harmful that the most effective action may be the temporary removal of the employee from the school. When immediate action is necessary, such as to ensure the safety of others or to conduct an investigation, the HOS may suspend the employee at any time in the best interest of the School.

Depending on the seriousness of the infraction, the employee may be suspended without pay in full day increments consistent with Federal, State and local wage and hour employment laws. Employees may not substitute or use paid time off (PTO) in lieu of the unpaid suspension. In compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), unpaid suspension of employees is typically reserved for serious misconduct such as workplace safety or conduct issues.

Documentation

The employee will be provided with copies of all progressive discipline documentation, including all performance improvement plans. The employee will be given the opportunity to sign copies of this documentation attesting to his/her receipt and understanding of the corrective action outlined in these documents.

Copies of these documents will be placed in the employee’s official personnel file.