Question: Our Director is selectively applying and enforcing one of our department’s policies. Two co-workers are being allowed to violate the policy. Everyone else, including myself, is being told we must comply with it or face discipline. I don’t think that’s fair. I want our employee organization to contact HR and tell them this is happening and request that the two employees who are violating the policy be disciplined. Is this something the employee organization can do for me?
Answer: The employee organization’s role is to represent employees who are facing discipline, not to inform management about employees who may be violating an employer’s policy. HR is responsible for enforcing the employer’s policies. Any employee who is accused of violating the policy may, as part of their defense, raise the issue about the policy being selectively enforced. That could serve as a basis to mitigate the proposed penalty.
Keep in mind, though, that sometimes an employer who must accommodate employees who need religious or medical accommodations will modify or exempt an employee who needs accommodation from an employer policy. Any accommodation is typically not disclosed to other employees. That may be the legitimate reason why a policy is not being applied to one person in the same way as others, and why you might not know of it.