When suspended from work regarding incident with myself and another employee, are both parties to be suspended until resolved?

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When suspended from work regarding incident with myself and another employee, are both parties to be suspended until resolved?

I had an altercation with another employee, however I am the only one to be suspended until further notice. Why is the other person able to continue working?

Asked on June 14, 2009 under Employment Labor Law, Ohio

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 14 years ago | Contributor

Are you civil service (and covered by civil service rules), or union (and covered by a collective bargaining agreement)? Or does your company have a strong employee handbook setting out the policy of what to do in this case? If there is something in writing governing suspensions, what to do when there is an altercation with another employee, etc., then the company needs to follow it.

Otherwise, business have substantial discretion in how they discipline employees, including suspensions and firing. If the company concludes that you should be suspended but not the other employee, there is little you can do about it (in the absence of a contract, civil service rules, etc.), *unless* there is reason to think that the company is discriminating against you on account of a protected category--i.e. if you were suspended because of your race, religion, age, etc., then you may have a claim for discriminatory treatment.

Last possibility would be if the company suspended you but not the other person for some improper reason--the other employee kicked back salary, is in a romantic relationship with a supervisor, you're being punished for having been a whistleblower, etc. *If* you are being treated differently because of such an improper reason *and* you feel you can prove it, you may be able to state a claim.

However, again, absent a contract or other rules, discrimination, or other improper motive, companies can treat employees differently.


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