Employers Must Have "Just Cause" For Discipline

4. Was the employer's investigation conducted fairly and objectively? Sometimes supervisors accuse workers of misconduct before getting all the facts. They may even ignore statements or evidence that points away from the person they want to accuse. The steward must investigate on his or her own to see if the company is ignoring some evidence or "railroading" the employee.

5. Did the investigation produce substantial evidence that the employee actually broke the rule? Just as with criminal cases in the courts, employers cannot rely entirely on circumstantial evidence or make judgments based on no facts or ambiguous facts. For example, finding contraband near an employee's workstation is not just cause for discipline; the employer must find evidence connecting that worker to the contraband.