Question

UNITE is a union that was established in the late 1800s to represent workers in the hospitality industry, including restaurants, hotels, foodservice, and gaming organizations. The union is very active in gay, lesbian, and transgender issues. Employees enjoy the protections that are offered by working at a unionized establishment, however they are concerned about rights to privacy as they relate to mandatory testing in the workplace.

If a company follows the progressive discipline rule, what type of discipline should be used if it is verified that a worker brandished a knife during an argument with another worker. And the offending worker’s performance record was impeccable up until that point?

Written warning

Informal discussion

Discharge

Disciplinary layoff

Answer 1

Issue & Rule

So the main issue here is, a worker has brandished a knife to another worker during an argument that occurred in the workplace. The company he works usually follows a progressive discipline rule. It does not matter whether he was impeccable in the past or not. What matters the most is the safety of other workers and the customers. Issues in anger management or an intention to bring a weapon into a workplace are needed to be addressed as quickly as possible.

Application

Violently brandishing a weapon is a crime and it leads to imprisonment for up to one year. As per the scenario his act was verified so it must be reported to the police for further legal actions. Regardless of the background of the worker who carries a knife and uses it to threaten others, should be terminated immediately.

Conclusion

A company that advocates progressive disciplinary rules cannot apply it here instead of following the legal procedures by filing a complaint. Application of any such rules in crimes like this can create chaos in workplaces and eventually causes physical injuries to workers.