Employee Refuses to Sign Disciplinary Forms: How To Deal With This?

One of your employees had a poor performance lately, or their conduct was against the rules and the policies of the company. As an employer, it is your job to document that employee’s behavior or poor performance and to draft a disciplinary form.

There is just one thing missing – your employee’s signature.

This is where things get complicated. In some cases, the employee may refuse to sign the disciplinary form. On the other hand, the employer may threaten to fire the employee if he or she refuses to sign the form, causing more complications and “breaking the law” in a way. Here is how you should deal with the situation following your employee’s poor performance or misconduct.

Always Be Upfront!

At the beginning of the disciplinary meeting, try and explain to your employee what is going on. Your employee needs to understand that you will analyze everything that has happened in the previous period (a month, a week, a few days), which lead to the moment.

Be sure to provide your employee with enough time to review the disciplinary form, before you ask for their signature. Once the employee has reviewed everything, he or she will sign the form.

In some cases, the employee may refuse to sign the form. A Los Angeles Employment Law Attorney advise you and every other employer struggling with the same issues to approach the employee with full honesty and to explain to them the situation they are in. If they do not want to sign the form at the end of the meeting, you could ask them to write that they are “refusing to sign” and that they have read the entire thing.

Use “The Right” Words

Careful wording is key to dealing with the situation. You have to pay attention to the following two things:

• The way you craft the disciplinary form
• The way you approach your employee about it

When you start making the form, one thing that usually helps is leaving an empty space for the employee to write their own comment. That way, the employee will more likely agree to sign the form, as they have left their own thoughts about the whole matter.

Also, when you approach your employee about the disciplinary meeting and the form itself, you have to choose the words carefully, not to provoke the employee or create confusion.

Legal Help Is Essential

If you have no idea how to deal with the situation, consider getting legal help. If the attorney is present at the disciplinary meeting, he or she could explain to the employee what their rights are, and help both sides find common ground.

Even if you are an employee who does not agree with the disciplinary meeting, you could consult with Employment Law Attorneys in Los Angeles and see what you can do about it. If there is a way to deal with the situation legally, attorneys will help protect your rights. Be sure to give them a call whenever you are able to.

Why some women didn’t speak up about workplace discrimination. Is it Confidentiality agreements?

Over the past decade, many famous actresses have been victims of sexual harassment and workplace discrimination. This has inspired other women across the world to speak up and seek legal help if they are caught in the same situation.

However, over the past few years, things didn’t go as planned. According to statistics provided by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, one in every four women is a victim of workplace discrimination. Additionally, only 25 percent of all victims will actually do something about it.

But what is the true reason why some women don’t speak up about workplace discrimination?

We talked to some previous victims of sexual harassment and workplace discrimination, and this is what we found out.

Not Knowing Who To Blame

Majority of workplaces have a general lack of knowledge, education, and training when it comes to recognizing and acting against workplace discrimination and sexual harassment. At the same time, there are many stigmas surrounding women and sex. So when a woman becomes a victim of workplace discrimination, she doesn’t know who to blame. Was it a suggestive joke issued by a coworker, or a comment stated by the employer? Either way, the result is the same.

Sexual harassment is a serious problem in California, and if you ever find yourself in a situation where you were a victim of workplace discrimination, you should immediately contact to Workplace Discrimination Attorneys in Los Angeles. Don’t wait to act, as you may have a limited amount of time to file a discrimination claim.

Fear Of The Consequences

Many women live in fear that if they speak about workplace discrimination, they will lose their current employment and get dragged through the mud for the next few months. As most of the working women are focused on their career and its development, coming out and speaking publicly about a workplace discrimination case doesn’t seem like an option.

In 2017, every fifth woman reported a sexual assault or harassment behavior. About 80 percent of them said that nothing has changed since they made it public, and about 16 of them said that their situation got even worse. Only 4 percent of them were able to find justice and receive compensation for everything they have been through.

For that reason, many women would rather stay quiet and move on than speak up and report sexual harassment at the workplace.

Some of them would rather save their careers and do whatever it takes to succeed. If it means staying quiet, well then be it so.

If you are a victim of workplace discrimination, you have every right to seek justice. Contact to Los Angeles Workplace Discrimination Attorney immediately, and let them help you seek and receive justice. You could receive a substantial compensation and protection against any future retaliation from your employer. If you lost that current job position, do not worry, it won’t affect your future employment. Do the right thing, and don’t let anyone else mistreat you again.

Overtime Regulations: Are You Ready for the Big Pay Change?

Is your business actually ready for the new overtime regulations that would raise the salary limit below which employees would qualify for overtime?

A lot of business owners complain that the new overtime rules in the U.S. would put a significant strain on their budgets, as more workers would automatically qualify for overtime once those regulations take effect.

Our employment law attorneys here at the Rager Law Offices have good and bad news for you. The good news is that you don’t have to make major changes in your company’s policies just yet, as the new overtime rules were suspended last year (they were supposed to take effect in December 2016).

But the bad news is that the Department of Labor is actively appealing the suspension, and they seem really determined to actually implement those major overtime regulations.

So you might want to consider whether or not you’re ready for the new overtime rules that may come into effect soon (or not).

What would new overtime rules bring?

Under current overtime regulations, employees earning less than the minimum income ($455 a week) are eligible for overtime pay.

Under new overtime rules, the minimum income would be raised to $913 a week, meaning many more salaried employees would be eligible for overtime. For the sake of comparison, $455 a week is $23,660 annually, while $913 a week is $47,476 annually.

What the new overtime regulations mean is that salaried employees earning less than $913 a week would have to receive pay for hours worked over 40 hours in a week.

Note: the overtime rules change would not affect executive, administrative, and professional employees whose weekly income exceeds $913, as they would still be exempt from overtime.

If this sounds confusing and the overtime rules don’t make sense, consult our employment law attorney to have a better understanding of what those new overtime regulations would mean for your particular business.

Call our Los Angeles offices at 310-527-6994 or fill out this contact form today to schedule a free initial consultation.

How overtime would be calculated under new rules

Let’s say you have an employee who works 45 hours in a workweek. What would be his total pay for the week and would he qualify for overtime if he was paid $12 per hour?

The formula to calculate total pay for the week is as follows:

• Regular pay rate $12 x 40 hours = $480, plus


• Regular pay rate $12 x 1.5 (overtime) x 5 hours = $90, equals

Total pay for the week: $570.

Under current overtime regulations, the employee would be exempt from overtime as his weekly income exceeds $455. Meaning: he wouldn’t get those extra $90 under current rules.

Under new overtime rules, the employee would qualify for overtime, as his weekly income ($480) is way below the proposed minimum income of $913.

Would the new overtime rules put a strain on your budget? They might. However, do keep in mind that some employees are considered to be exempt from receiving overtime pay.

While you don’t necessarily need to change your company’s policies now that the new overtime regulations have been suspended, it would be a good idea to introduce certain changes in order to prevent the new rules from exhausting your company’s budget.

Contact our Los Angeles employment law attorney to discuss your best options and become better prepared for new overtime regulations. Call us at 310-527-6994 or fill out this contact form for a free case evaluation.