Nathaniel M. Glasser, a Member of the Firm in the Labor and Employment practice, in the firm’s Washington, DC, office, was quoted by SHRM.org, in “Insubordinate Employees May Deserve a Second Chance,” by Allen Smith.
Following is an excerpt:
Nathaniel Glasser, an attorney with Epstein, Becker & Green in Washington, D.C., said that openly berating a supervisor or responding violently to a direct order may give rise to immediate termination. But “where the insubordination is simply an ill-advised expression of an unbending difference of opinion, a second chance may be warranted.”
Different Types of Insubordination
Employers must show three things to prove insubordination when a worker refuses to follow an order, Glasser said:
- A supervisor made a direct request or order.
- The employee received and understood the request.
- The employee refused to comply with the request through action or noncompliance.