What would you do if...?

Question

you are a supervisor for a company that likes to hire 'challenged' people. You hire one to clean buildings your company has a contract with that seems like a really good worker at first.

Later on, you find out that he is only working a small portion of his shift and spending the rest 'somewhere else' and putting down full-time hours. Customers and others are complaining to you about dirty bathrooms. (Where was that guy you hired? He said he would be right back but he never returned.) You confront him and he lies to your face that he was there the whole time and only left for a minute.

You tell your boss you want to fire him and he tells you that such a person needs to be 'dealt' with but not fired. He is an alright guy in his book. He's just misunderstood.

Meanwhile, this nut threatens to tell everyone that you've been spying on him and telling him how to do his job and spreading lies about him. He has rights!

You realize that his threats are insane because nobody is fooled by his 'act'. The evidence is clear.

I told my husband that he should just let it all fall on his bosses head and nevermind about spying if the crackpot isn't going to get canned like he deserves. I could cost my husband his job eventually. He should probably quit but this is the most he's ever made in his life and is proud of his work. What do you think?

Answer 1

hes a lier(challenged guy)and hes threatens your husband i think he should comfront his boss about it or just quit but it doesnt seem like his fault seems like the bosses and the challeged guys fault

Answer 2

Is he the "challenged" persons supervisor?  If not, STAY AWAY FROM HIM.  He has made his concerns known and fulfilled any obligation he had.  

If he is the person's supervisor, review the employee handbook.  What process does the handbook lay out for employee discipline.  Follow it to a T.  Document your steps to your supervisor.

If hubby's sup. wants him "dealt with," follow the procedure laid out in the handbook for verbal warnings.  Have a witness in the office for the warning and send a memo to his sup. detailing the specifics.  

Follow the handbook and document your steps!!!

Answer 3

Well for a mentally challenged worker he seems to know the system pretty well.  I would start by documenting everything and giving him verbal warning first then depending on your companies discipline policies go to written just like everyone else.  If it continues I would get the boss involved and call a meeting to see if this situation can be worked out.  If the boss is determined to keep the worker there is nothing you can do except maybe find another job.

Answer 4

If your husband is the supervisor of this fellow, he needs to stop running scared.  Some of the challenged ones use their disability as a club to con employers into keeping them.  Many employers will not take necessary steps to discipline or terminate a challenged person for fear of a Complaint of Discrimination.  In reality many people (challenged or not) file Complaints of Discrimination with the EEOC / the state's Human Rights office.  Probably less than 75% of those that file ever get anything from that complaint.  

Again, if your husband is the supervisor, he needs to treat this employee just like any other employee.  He MUST document each and every complaint.  In this case each customer and others who complained should have their complaint documented in writing.  Use this written documentation to: 1. Show the boss that this employee is ripping off the company AND 2. To discipline the employee.  If the company your husband works for has a progressive discipline policy he must follow it to the letter.  If the company does annual performance reviews these written complaints should be included in the review as evidence of poor performance.  

Most companies will have the supervisor sit down with the employee and a member of the HR department to discuss complaints such as these.  That meeting will be documented in writing and the employee will probably be given a written warning that unless his performance improves he will be terminated.

If your husband has NO supervisory authority with this person he may want to advise the customers with complaints to put them in writing and send them to the manager or HR.  Other than that if he is not tasked with supervision, he should not act as a supervisor.  

As for the threats this person is making, your husband should persue that as a complaint / threat against his person.  He needs to put this in writing with what was said, date, time, witnesses and formally present it to HR or his boss.