A company officer who administers disciplinary action that does not follow labor agreement procedures risks which consequence?

• A. Violating federal leave regulations
• B. Interfering with the chain of command
• C. Losing collective bargaining negotiations
• D. Having a grievance lodged against her or him

Answer: (D)

In a unionized workplace, discipline must follow the collective bargaining agreement’s established steps and procedures. When a company officer administers discipline without honoring those procedures, it breaches the contract and the process designed to ensure due process.

Because of that breach, the employee or the union can file a grievance asserting that the discipline was not applied according to the agreement. The grievance triggers a formal review of the action, and the remedy can include reversing or modifying the discipline, reinstating the employee’s status, or providing other contractually required remedies. This is why the most likely and direct consequence is that a grievance is lodged.

Federal leave rules, the chain of command, and losing collective bargaining negotiations aren’t the immediate outcomes tied to bypassing the contract’s discipline procedures. The contract violation primarily leads to a grievance under the labor agreement’s procedures.