Effective Employee Discipline: A Case of the Internal Revenue Service

Abstract

The role of employee discipline from a management, employee, and union perspective is examined using the Internal Revenue Service as a case study example. The concept of discipline is defined and contrasted with punishment. Also, two discipline models — progressive discipline and positive discipline — are compared and contrasted. A hybrid discipline model used at the Internal Revenue Service is discussed; the roles and responsibilities of management, the union, and the employee in the discipline process are included also. In particular, the roles of IRS managers and the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) are outlined. Results from the recently released IRS/NTEU National Equal Employment Opportunity Task Force Report are highlighted. Several discipline pitfalls are outlined including: cultural diversity issues, tolerance of poor performers, and lack of managerial training. To make the disciplinary process fairer and less stressful for managers and all employees, recommendations from the IRS/NTEU report are presented.