NAPE Steward Sarah Jane Teetzel works for the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission in Omaha. Starting in March of 2021, Sarah Jane went on leave for an unforeseen medical condition. Because of the unexpected leave of absence, Sarah Jane was a few cases short of reaching her quarterly case goal for January through March 2021 as a NEOC Investigator.
Upon returning to work in July 2021, Sarah Jane was served with a Notice of Allegations for failing to meet her quarterly case goal from January to March 2021, even though she was absent for a large portion of that quarter. Sarah Jane reached out to NAPE right away, and was represented by a NAPE Field Representative in a pre-disciplinary meeting.
Despite the extenuating circumstances, Sarah Jane was disciplined with a written warning. A grievance was soon filed with the help of NAPE field staff, arguing that since Sarah Jane unexpectedly missed the very end of the quarter, she was unable to complete cases that were in progress, effectively cutting off any opportunity for her to reach the goal for that quarter. The grievance was resolved with the NEOC agreeing to remove the written warning from Sarah Jane’s personnel file.
No employee should be disciplined for circumstances outside their control. If you are ever being disciplined, reach out to a NAPE Steward or contact our office as soon as possible for assistance.