An employee was reprimanded, based on a disciplinary matter. He was given a Personnel Action Notice, which is a common personnel practice, and was asked to sign it as acknowledgement, and not in any way as an admission of wrongdoing on his part. He refused to sign it, and was fired for insubordination.
In early July, the California Supreme Court came down with an important ruling that is likely to influence the actions you when terminating an employee.
The Supreme Court decided unanimously that the employee’s refusal to sign a Personal Action Notice was not “misconduct” sufficient to disqualify him for UI eligibility purposes. As a result, it was initially decided that he was terminated for “misconduct.” This also made him ineligible for unemployment insurance payments.
Our recommendation, should you encounter a similar situation: following the employee’s refusal to sign, put a note in the file, noting that he/she refused to sign, but do not discharge solely on the basis that “refusal to sign” was equivalent to insubordination. Our best advice to our business owners, when in doubt, call your counsel to discuss.
The information presented is not intended to be, and does not constitute, “legal advice.” Because each situation varies, and only brief summary information is provided here, you should not use this information as a basis for action unless you have independently verified with your own counsel that it applies to your particular situation.
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