Basic
Employee Rights at UC
Do you know your Rights under Weingarten and Skelly?
What are Due Process and Progressive Discipline?
Your
right to be represented in a meeting with management is not only
part of our contract, it is also a legal right based on the Weingarten
decision issued by the United States Supreme Court in 1975. The
Weingarten decision says that an employee may be represented by
the union at an investigatory interview with the employer when
the employee believes that the interview may lead to disciplinary
action. The employee must request that a union representative
be called into the meeting with management, and there must be
a reasonable belief that discipline may result from the meeting.
The right to representation exists even in cases where no discipline
does result from the meeting, only that the employee has reasonable
belief that it may happen.
Your
Right to Due Process!
The Corrective Action / Discipline and Dismissal
article of our contract outlines a procedure for due process in
cases involving discipline and dismissal. These rights are further
guaranteed by an important legal case, the 1975 The California
Supreme Court decision known as the Skelly Decision, that guarantees
due process for employees faced with discipline or dismissal.
First of all, the Skelly case states that all permanent public
employees have a property interest in their job, and therefore,
that job cannot be taken from them without the due process guaranteed
by the United States Constitution. The decision lists the steps
the public employer must take including notices of the proposed
action, reasons for the proposed discipline, a copy of the charges
and the material upon which the action is based, and the right
to respond to the charges.
Progressive
Discipline
An important concept related to due process is
the principle of progressive discipline. Progressive discipline
means that an employer attempts to correct an employee's problem
with a process of notification, education, and discipline, if
necessary, that starts less severe, moving to more severe if the
problem is not corrected. When an employee is dismissed the employer
must show that the discipline reflected the principle of progressive
discipline. For example, if an employee is late he/she cannot
be fired the first time this happens. The employee must be notified
of the problem with discipline resulting if the lateness continues.
The discipline must at first be of a type that is less severe,
with additional warnings, using dismissal as a last resort. Cases
of severe misconduct are exempt from this rule.
Things
to Remember when you are Called into a Meeting
When called into a meeting that turns into something
that is disciplinary, you should request that a representative
be present. If they insist to continue, don't say anything, but
instead listen and take notes. Try your best to stay calm, don't
show how upset you may be, and don't answer any questions or make
any comments. Just politely tell them that you will be happy to
respond to their questions, accusations, or anything else when
your union rep is present.
Request
that you would like to continue the meeting another time after
you had an opportunity to contact your CUE Representative.
