Memo

Topic 1

As the manager of a large division of a healthcare organization, the appropriate decision to take regarding the employee who has been absent for a while and also arrested for DUI should be termination. The co-workers should understand the background of the issues that inform the decision of termination. 

Regarding the issue of the employee who has been absent from work due to arrest for a DUI and other personal matters, it is important to highlight certain important facts about the case. First, the employee has had previous absence based on legitimate illnesses and hospitalization. He has a good profile in the organization and has been performing excellently in his area of specialization. However, the recent absenteeism from duty has serious implications for the organization. His co-workers have filed complaints that they are overworking and the human resource department has to pay for the overtime budget to cover for the employee’s absence. 

The employee is on contract terms of ‘at will employee’ which in law gives the liberty to the employer to fire an employee at any time and for any reason. The employer does not require a good cause to fire any employee on a contract basis of ‘at will.’ The only exceptions in applying the regulations no ‘at will employment’ include certain federal and state laws on discrimination of race, religion, or gender; engaging in illegal activity, and exercising particular legal rights. However, in this case, the employee was arrested for DUI, and no exception applies to him. The employer basis his firing orders on DUI which involves operating a vehicle while impaired. The reason for terminating the employee is that he was convicted of a crime related to him and impairs his ability to perform his duties. The employer is within rights to terminate the employment based on the DUI.

The organization policy on ‘at-will employees’ is that the employer has the right to terminate any employee even without probable cause. As such, the employer has full knowledge of the issues affecting the said employee, but at the same time must protect the interests of the organization. It is important to realize that every employee has a duty of adhering to the organizational policies in place and a breach of them may result in termination of employment. The organizational policies are clear that all the employees have an ‘at will contract’ and that the employer may wish to terminate them at any time and without any good cause. As such, the decision to terminate the employee holds based on the policies and facts of the matter.

Topic 2

The case presented involves an employee who has been having personal and family issues that led to his absenteeism from work. As a manager of a large health care organization, I am concerned that the absenteeism affects the daily business operations and also overworking the employees in the respective department. The employee is considered as good and has had previous absences that were legitimate for illnesses and hospitalization. He is also known for having consistency in his work performance and has even sacrificed in the past for the benefit of the organization. However, regarding the conduct of the employee, the impacts to the organization are significant to the extent of having to pay for over time workers. In light of the issues highlighted, the employee has been arrested for a DUI, and the arrest caused his absenteeism from work. Thus, it is right to determine that the employee ought to be terminated based on the issues as mentioned earlier.

The co-workers should understand certain aspects of the offense made by their colleague and also their rights based on the ‘at will’ employment contracts.  The fact that the employee was arrested for driving under the influence means that he must have been intoxicated or operating under the influence of a drug which may impair their physical and mental capabilities. It is an offense to drive under the influence of any alcohol or other drugs and an employee arrested for such a crime cannot suggest that his/her behavior does not impact his performance on the job. It is important for the employees to tell their employers about the DUI offenses to ensure that they are not disqualified later when the truth is known. An employee who is arrested for DUI offense stands a chance of losing his/her employment since the organization may not condone such behavior. The employer may terminate the employee from work solely based on the arrest of DUI, and not other reasons that caused the absence from work. It is important to understand the organizational policies regarding DUI and also the ‘at will employment’ contracts which give much liberty to the employer to terminate any employee at any time even without good cause.

The fact that the employee is employed ‘at will’ complicates the matter for him since he is warranted to termination at any time even without good cause. As such, the employer does not have a legal obligation to withhold the employee but act according to the decision of terminating him. The issues of work absenteeism are well outlined in the organizational policies and employees should seek for leave to notify the employer of their intention to be absent from work. As such, the organizational policies are clear on such issues, and the employee cannot plead his case based on the reasons for his absence. ‘At will’ employment contracts do not give full rights to employees and thus should be handled cautiously on the part of the employee.                   

Sherry Roberts is the author of this paper. A senior editor at MeldaResearch.Com in affordable custom research papers. If you need a similar paper you can place your order from legitimate essay writing service services.