Policy 5-111: Corrective Action and Termination Policy
for Staff Employees

1. Purpose:
   1. To ensure that the corrective action process is administered in a fair and conistent manner and that any action reflects the severity of the behavior.
2. References
   1. Policy 5-203, Staff Employee Grievances
   2. Policy Appendix 5-111, Corrective Action and Termination Policy for Staff Employees
3. Definitions
4. Policy
   1. Scope
      1. This policy applies to all permanent staff employees of the University of Utah who have satisfactorily completed their probationary period.
      2. Temporary and probationary staff employees are not included within the scope of the policy as they are designated "at will" employees and, as such, may be terminated by the University without advance notice and without staff employee grievance rights. They do have grievance rights if they believe they have been subjected to illegal discrimination as outlined in Policy and Procedures 5-210.
      3. Before any corrective action is taken the Employee's immediate Supervisor or Manager will make sure one of the following conditions has been met: 1) the employee was made aware of the expectations of the job as outlined in the job description and as communicated in the hiring, orientation and performance evaluation processes, or 2) the behavior, in the reasonable opinion of the immediate Supervisor, is such that no reasonable person should expect to receive prior warning.
   2. Application of the Policy
      1. In determining the level of corrective action which may be taken, consideration will be given to both the actual or potential impact and to the consequences of the behavior. The factors which will be considered within the decision making process will include:
         1. Physical/Safety Issues
         2. Service Impact
         3. Financial Implications
         4. Resultant Disruption Level
         5. Violation of University or Department policies, Procedures, or standards
         6. Violation of Law
      2. The level of corrective action will be the result of an evaluation of each current incident based on the following factors:
         1. 6 factors listed above (actual and potential impact)
         2. Past history:
            1. previous corrective actions taken.
            2. the current incident need not be of the same type as previous incidents.
         3. The corrective action will fall into one of the following general categories of increasing seriousness:
            1. corrective actions based on a concern,
            2. substantial corrective actions or
            3. serious corrective actions.
         4. Supervisors or Managers, in consultation with Human Resources and others as deemed appropriate, will determine the category of seriousness. The decision will stand unless found during appeal to be arbitrary and capricious.
      3. Possible corrective actions include Written Warning, Final Written Warning, Suspension Without Pay, Demotion and Termination.
      4. In the event of future circumstances requiring corrective action, higher levels of seriousness will be assigned based on either violations of prior written warnings or the seriousness of future behavior.
      5. In some instances corrective action may be applied without prior warnings having been issued to the employee, depending on the nature and severity of the issue.
      6. Prior to imposing any corrective action of Written Warning, Final Written Warning, Suspension Without Pay, Demotion or Termination, supervisors or managers must consult with the Human Resources Department for review and approval of the action.
      7. Where institutional issues, rather than departmental issues, are involved, the appropriate institutional representative may take responsibility for any corrective action to be taken.
      8. The employee will be advised, in writing, of the corrective action being taken and the details of the relevant grievance process.
      9. Details of the corrective action Procedure are shown in Appendix 1 to this policy.