Employment Termination Policy Review

Summary

In Illinois, employment is generally at-will, allowing termination for any non-discriminatory reason. However, company policy or employment contracts may influence how warnings are managed. If the company did not follow its own policy, there could be grounds for wrongful termination. Review your companys policy on warnings and termination for more clarity.

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On Monday, */*/* **** worked half of her shift and then . **** called in for her entire scheduled shifts on */*/* and */*/*. She had her regularly scheduled day off on */*/* then called in again on */*/* stating she wanted to take a FML day for that day. **** has received corrective citations for attendance/absenteeism on */*/* verbal warning, */*/* first written warning and */*/* second warning which included a *-day suspension. **** is also not currently on an approved FML. **** had previous approved FMLs from */*/*-*/*/* and */*/*-*/*/*. **** was mailed a letter from CMH Human Resources on */*/* outlining the approval period per the FML paperwork she turned in for her most recent FML. This noted her approved FML was from */*/*- */*/* continuous then intermittent until */*/* which was for up to * times per month for 1 day per episode. ****'s FML ended on */*/* therefore there is no protected leave in effect for the week of */*-*/* and she did not have accrued time off available for these days. As stated in her previous corrective citation on */*/*, absenteeism jeopardizes the overall ability to provide adequate patient care and places a severe burden on the hospital and co-workers. Action to be taken. (If suspension, indicate the number of days of suspension and date the employee should report back to work.) Due to continued excessive absences with no available accrued time, **** is being terminated from her position effective immediately. -- With my verbal warning being on */*/* and the first written warning being on */*/*, was I rightfully terminated? Should those warnings have come off my employee record/file?
Hello ****. In Illinois, employment is generally "at-will", meaning employers can terminate employees for any non-discriminatory reason. However, company policy or your employment contract may dictate how warnings are handled. You could potentially have grounds for wrongful termination if the company did not follow its own policy. Can you share more about your company's policy on warnings and termination?