Can an Employee Be Terminated for Insubordination to a Supervisor?
Insubordination is a form of employee behavior that may be easy to spot when it crosses the line into outright and audacious disrespect for authority. However, companies that don't take proactive measures to prevent insubordination may be exposing themselves to costly lawsuits. Proactive, instead of reactive, measures can provide justification for terminating an employee who exhibits insubordinate behavior.
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Definition
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There are varied definitions of insubordination, but one definition that's generally accepted refers to an employee's willful actions or behavior that blatantly disregards a supervisor's authority. For example, an employee who challenges a supervisor's authority, disregards a work directive and refuses to do the job she's assigned would, in most cases, be considered insubordinate. There's some gray area involved when an employee performs her assigned work, yet refuses to use a process her supervisor recommends.
Work Environment
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Depending on the work environment, the employee-supervisor relationship and the perception of authority, insubordination might not be a terminable offense because, according to how employees and supervisors interact, the dialogue that occurs between the two isn't considered insubordination. What's considered insubordination in one workplace may be simple employee-supervisor banter in another. In work environments where there's little delineation between employee and supervisor, or when the boundaries regarding supervisor authority are blurred, termination for insubordination can difficult to justify.
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Workplace Policy
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Justifying insubordination as a terminable offense calls for a workplace policy that lets everyone know what constitutes insubordination. Every instance of insubordination can't be listed or foreseen; however, a written policy in the employee handbook should cite examples of what the employer considers insubordination, as well as the consequences for insubordinate behavior. Only then can employees be terminated for insubordination without the employer fearing a lawsuit because it didn't tell employees what kind of behavior and actions constitute insubordination. Georgia employer, Lincoln Tile Co., learned its lesson about not having a written policy regarding insubordination when the employee it fired for insubordination -- even though the company warned the employee beforehand -- sought redress for the termination. The employee prevailed. The labor department's decision was based, in part, on the fact that Lincoln Tile didn't have a written policy about insubordination.
Progressive Discipline
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Companies with progressive discipline policies may find it easier to justify terminating employees who engage in insubordinate behavior. A written policy that prohibits certain actions and behavior, and its inclusion in the company's progressive discipline policy, can ensure that your company's terminations for insubordination are consistent with company policy. It also ensures that employees know the consequences of behavior that violates company policy. Enforcing progressively more serious disciplinary action each time an employee is insubordinate, culminating with termination when the employee violates the final warning, can protect your company from liability for wrongful termination.
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