Worker-Owner Collaborative Discipline and Termination

Document ID GIR002	Title Worker-Owner Collaborative Discipline and Termination	Print Date 11/03/2022
Revision 1.2	Prepared By Sean Anderson – Co-op Manager	Date Prepared 11/02/2022
Effective Date 11/03/2022	Reviewed By  Membership and Board of GIR	Date Reviewed 11/02/2022
	Approved By Membership and Board of GIR	Date Approved 11/02/2022

Policy: Get It Right Educators’ Cooperative shall employ a progressive disciplinary procedure to alert worker-owners and employees to failures to deliver essential duties, and offer corrective action.

Procedure: This policy applies when any worker-owner has cause to believe that a fellow worker-owner or employee is in dereliction of their assigned and accepted duties, has engaged in misconduct, or is otherwise exhibiting unsatisfactory work performance.  Such actions may include, but are not limited to:

1. an action or omission of the Employee which constitutes a willful and material breach of, or failure or refusal (other than by reason of the Employee’s disability) to perform the Employee’s duties under their Agreement which is not cured within fourteen (14) days after receipt by the Employee of written notice of same if such action or omission is capable of being so cured;
2. habitual insobriety or use of controlled substances (other than under the supervision of a licensed physician);
3. habitual absenteeism;
   1. ‘Habitual absenteeism’ or ‘excessive absenteeism’ is defined as three (3) or more instances of unexcused absenteeism in any ninety (90) day period.  Absences can be excused by a manager up to twenty-four (24) hours in advance of the absence.  For emergency situations, an absence can be excused by a manager up to the beginning of the time of the absence.  Absences cannot be excused after the absence begins.
4. fraud, non-disclosed self-dealing, embezzlement or misappropriation of funds or property or breach of trust in connection with the Employee’s services;
5. conviction of a felony or conviction of any other crime or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude;
6. gross negligence in connection with the performance of the Employee’s duties, which is not cured, to the extent that the same is curable, within fourteen (14) days after receipt by the Employee of written notice of same; or
7. failing to notify the Employer within one (1) business day of the Employee committing any of the terminatable offenses described under subsections (1) through and including (5) or taking inaction in the case of gross negligence under subsection (6).

When such dereliction is substantial enough as to cause harm to fellow worker-owners, employees, their school site, and/or the cooperative as a whole, the following procedure shall be utilized. Although the procedure is intended to be progressive and sequential, the cooperative may, at its discretion, move immediately to any of the steps below based on the severity of the dereliction.

1. The worker-owner with the concern shall include an action item, in closed session, on the next scheduled meeting of the cooperative, unless the worker-owner with the concern believes that the infraction is significant enough to warrant an emergency meeting of the cooperative, which may be called by a simple majority of the co-op membership.
   1. In this closed session, the worker-owner with the concern shall raise their concern, with a commitment to dignity and care, and from a position of curiosity not judgment.
   2. The worker-owner or employee that is the subject of the concern shall have due opportunity to respond on the record in the meeting.
   3. A motion, as determined by greater than 70% affirmative vote of worker-owners present, excluding the vote of any worker-owner that is the subject of the concern, shall be taken to either:
      1. Offer a verbal warning, with recommendations of corrective action, recorded in the minutes of the closed session meeting but not published, entered into the employee’s file, or made otherwise public; or
      2. Submit a written warning using an approved form into the worker-owner or employee’s file, providing the worker-owner or employee that is the subject of the concern to include a written reply to the warning.
2. If, after a written warning has been issued and filed appropriately, concern continues to be raised by worker-owners, a Disciplinary Probation, with clear and achievable corrective action steps and a finite probationary period, may be placed on a closed-session agenda for a cooperative meeting, to be determined by greater than 70% affirmative vote of worker-owners present, excluding the vote of any worker-owner that is the subject of the concern, shall be voted on.
3. If, after a Disciplinary Probation has been issued, the misconduct, unsatisfactory work performance, or other dereliction of duty is not corrected to the satisfaction of a majority of co-op members, termination proceedings may begin.