Employee-Proposed Discipline: How Well is it Working?

Abstract

Using data from 298 disciplinary action records of employees with the City of Albuquerque (New Mexico) Public Works Department from 1995–1999, the researchers examined the use of employee-proposed discipline as provided for in two collective bargaining agreements. Unlike punitive discipline, which typically involves managers coercing employees into changing conduct or job performance, an employee-proposed discipline policy encourages workers to take responsibility for their actions by allowing them to propose their own discipline. Results of the study indicate that employee-proposed discipline is being used in approximately 40 percent of the disciplinary actions and that the management acceptance rate is about 60 percent, even though the discipline proposed by employees was more lenient than that recommended by management.