Sleeping employee claims she was praying - can we fire her? 09-07-2005

An employee who has been with the company for 2 years was reprimanded by her Supervisor for "sleeping" at her desk during work time. The employee claims that she wasn't sleeping--she was praying--and therefore should not be disciplined for such conduct. This employee, who sits in a fairly visible area, has never been seen "praying" before, nor has she asked to be given time during the day to do so. This employee has had other performance/behavior problems and may be headed for more serious disciplinary steps but we don't want to have discrimination issues.

Rita Risser replies:

If she has other issues, I would just focus on them and ignore this incident. If she is found sleeping again, have two supervisors go up to her and gently try to get her attention. If she is really sleeping, it should be obvious. Have them document the objective, verifiable facts ("I shouted your name and you did not respond") and then terminate.

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