In a recent decision the California Appellate Court determined that an employee who was terminated for refusing to sign a disciplinary notice had committed misconduct under the Unemployment Insurance Code, and thus was not entitled to unemployment insurance benefits.
In this case, the Plaintiff was advised he was being disciplined, and suspended for two days without pay, following an incident with a client. He was presented with notice of the disciplinary action, and the form included a signature line which stated: “Employee Signature as to Receipt.”
The employee expressed concern that if he signed it he would be admitting that the incident occurred. The employer assured the employee that his signature was only an acknowledgment of receipt not an admission of any wrongful conduct.
The employee continued to refuse to sign the form, and was told that a signature was mandated by company policy and if he did not sign the disciplinary notice he would be terminated for insubordination. He continued in his refusal to sign and was terminated.
The employee then filed for unemployment insurance benefits, but his claim was denied due to “misconduct”.
After a lengthy series of appeals, the case was heard by the California Court of Appeal, Third District, which affirmed the trial court’s decision supporting the denial of benefits. In its decision, the court noted that Labor Code Section 2856, provides:
“An employee shall substantially comply with all the directions of his employer concerning the service on which he is engaged, except where such obedience is impossible or unlawful, or would impose new and unreasonable burdens upon the employee.”
The Court found that the employer’s directive did not impose a duty that was both new and unreasonable, thus the failure to sign the disciplinary memo, without some showing that he had good cause to believe the employer was lying about the reason for the signature, violated his obligation to the employer.
The Court found that there was substantial evidence of the determination that the refusal to sign the disciplinary memorandum was misconduct under section 1256 and not a good faith error in judgment. The claim for EDD benefits was denied.
What Should I Do?
-
Follow all company policies and procedures for implementing disciplinary action in a fair and impartial manner;
-
Document all disciplinary action and the reasons for such action;
-
Present a written Disciplinary Notice to the employee for their signature advising that the signature is an acknowledgment that the employee has been told of the disciplinary action and that the employee has a right to submit a rebuttal, but the signature does not indicate agreement or an admission of wrongful conduct.