NAPE/AFSCME member Cody Warren is a Maintenance Repair Worker at Peru State College. In November, a student reported that she had been harassed by a man driving through town, and provided a general description of the offender. The general description led management to believe that Cody was the offender.
Cody received a formal Notice of Allegations. He was surprised because he had nothing to do with the situation, and in fact, wasn’t even in town when the incident occurred. This was a case of mistaken identity that could have had serious consequences. As a union member, Cody did the right thing and reached out to NAPE/AFSCME immediately.
Our field staff representative reviewed the Notice of Allegations with Cody and helped him prepare his response in which he would deny the allegations in their entirety because they were not true. Our union representative also helped him in producing evidence that showed the allegations were not true.
After helping Cody thoroughly prepare for the meeting, our union representative then attended the pre-disciplinary meeting at Peru State College as Cody’s representative. As a reminder, employees are always entitled to representation at pre-disciplinary meetings; no one should ever attend a pre-disciplinary meeting without representation. After the pre-disciplinary meeting, the allegations were dropped. Cody’s union representative also helped him make sure the Notice of Allegations was removed from his personnel file.
If Cody had not appropriately addressed the allegations at the pre-disciplinary meeting, the result could have been formal discipline up to and including termination of employment. Cody was wise to invoke his right to union representation throughout the disciplinary process. He also took advantage of the membership benefit of having access to NAPE’s professional staff representation in workplace matters. A full-time NAPE staff member assisted Cody with every step of the process. If you or a coworker are facing potential discipline, please contact us right away for assistance.