Not sure if this would fall under discipline or overtime as it relates to both.

My office currently places employees on steps of discipline after each time they have an unexcused absence. Each step is administered by the employees’ direct supervisor generally within 1-2 days after the unexcused event. Recently we had an issue of an employee who was placed on “a step” 15 minutes before they actually are scheduled, and there was no overtime paid to the employee. This is a call center setting so our pay and scheduling is done in 15-minute intervals. In addition to this taking place prior to the start time the employee does not recall this “meeting” and there is nothing with their signature stating they agree to this.

Receiving the pay for the 15 minutes is not really an issue, but the fact there is a step that could lead to additional discipline up to and including termination. The HR office has been very little assistance with this. Is there any recourse the employee has to protect themselves from this happening again or reverse the one that has been entered in their file?

Sorry for such a long post, wanted to get as much information as I could, hopefully someone can offer a little guidance.