Project Seven

This case involves possible insubordination and failure to compete assigned duties, each of which impacted the client's image and good will with the public. This upscale men's clothier relies on repeat business as a result of the goodwill it has with its clients. The loss of one customer because of a bad experience could have a domino affect with several customers.

The tailor at one of his stores worked for the previous owner as a designer, which was considered a higher position than a tailor. When the store was sold to the current owner because of financial difficulties, the new owner retained this employee in a tailor's position. The employee showed signs that he had been bitter about the sale and his position, but had chosen to stay.

One Saturday, a salesman sold a suit to a frequent customer who had a dinner on Tuesday where he was scheduled to receive an award from the city for good citizenship. The dinner and the suit were very important to this customer.

The tailor in question fitted the customer for the suit and told the customer and the salesperson that he would have the suit ready by Tuesday. On Sunday, the tailor removed the suit out of the tailoring rotation because he had pressing to do. He told a coworker "we are not going to do this suit". He complained to the coworker that the customer knew he needed a suit and decided at the last minute to buy it.

On Tuesday, the sales manager requested the suit so that it would be ready for pickup for his customer and the tailor told him it wasn't ready. He complained that he had too much work, therefore he couldn't finish the suit. An argument ensued and the tailor told the sales manager, "I am not going to do the suit." The tailor also said he had a scheduled doctor's appointment and was leaving at 12:15 on Tuesday for a 1:30 appointment.

As a result, the suit was not ready for the customer. The sales manager made arrangements for an outside tailor to alter the suit but it was not ready when the customer came to pick it up. The customer was very angry and said he wouldn't shop there again.

The client called Northeast HR for Hire and asked us to investigate and assist the sales manager in determining whether the company was in a position to terminate the tailor. We discussed the case and spoke to the employees who were witnesses to the exchanges between the customer, the tailor and the sales person.

Our consultant reviewed the facts in the case. He also reviewed pertinent factors that could potentially lead to liability for the client, such as: the employee's length of service, protected class, discrimination, and mitigating factors for the behavior. This employee of one and one-half years who was aged 60 in a workforce all over age 40 didn't qualify as being in a protected class. Since this employer has over 20 employees, the Americans with Disabilities Act could apply. We reviewed the possible reasons for the doctor's appointment and specifically questioned the supervisor as to whether he was told "why" the employee was going to the doctor. Of particular interest was whether or not this was a scheduled appointment or a result of the argument that morning. We also reviewed any history of problems that the supervisor had had with this employee. According to the supervisor, there were other instances, but none were documented in writing.

In cases like this, the behavior described above would not be considered a terminable offense under normal working circumstances. However, since this particular workplace deals with the general public and relies heavily on its reputation in the community the impact of the behavior is more severe.

After reviewing the case we agreed that the termination was justified and we advised the supervisor as to the best way to handle this termination, including:

• Advising the employee of his termination in private
• Remaining calm and low key and suggesting that neither party was happy with the situation and the work relationship just wasn't working out
• Waiting until the end of the business day when there were no customers in the store
• Gathering all personal and business belongings to be removed or returned
• Reviewing the potential for violence and how to react to it
• Methods by which the supervisor should address the termination with other employees and assess the impact it would have on other employees

Finally, we recommended that the supervisor describe the problems and the termination process in his own handwriting in order to document his recollection of the entire incident.

Resolution:

The supervisor and employer were faced with a difficult situation which could impact not only their customers and the company's reputation, but also their other employees. By retaining the services of Northeast HR for Hire, the employer was able to deal with a difficult employee in an objective, decisive manner while also complying with applicable labor laws. Our consultant was able to assess the situation, devise an appropriate plan of action and assist the employer in resolving a difficult termination.