Reference no: EM133136499

You are the HR manager at a nonprofit that provides childcare for medium- to low-income residents in your community. Your direct service staff (cleaning and childcare) is predominantly made up of women who do not have much higher education experience. While your organization pays direct service staff above minimum wage, even full-time employees' wages fall below poverty levels. However, the organization does pay for all full-time employees' health coverage and offers paid sick and vacation time. The majority of direct staff also have small children and receive childcare services at a discounted rate.

Direct service employees, especially the childcare staff, must be punctual to ensure the clients' needs are met. As clients are dropping their own children off before going to work, there needs to be sufficient staff present to care for the children, per state regulations. One of your full-time employees, Carla, has become a favorite among parents and children. Carla has her associate's degree in Child Development and has experience with curriculum development for toddlers. Parents highly value her skills, she shares her knowledge with other staff, and she helps out with any assignment. Carla was always a model employee; however, Carla's manager has reported that Carla is now habitually late and cannot be depended on to be at work on time. The manager has discussed the importance of being on time to Carla, but issues continue. While the manager values Carla's work, they note that they need someone who can be on time, as Carla's lateness creates a burden for other staff.

You review the employee handbook and note that an employee can be terminated for tardiness if the complaint has been documented three times, with no correction on the employee's behavior. The manager states that Carla's lateness has been documented twice. However, she was late again that day, and if the manager documents it, then Carla could be dismissed. Because of Carla's skills and popularity among staff, parents and children, the manager does not want to lose Carla but is at a loss of what to do.

You arrange a meeting with Carla to discuss the situation. Carla admits to being late but explains that she is the primary caregiver for her husband, who was recently injured at work and had limited mobility. While she tries her hardest to arrive at work on time, sometimes his care takes longer than planned, causing Carla to be late. Carla needs the job as the insurance helps provide vital medication and care for her husband. She loves her job and working with the organization and understands the necessity for timeliness but admits that this is difficult because of her situation. She also notes that her husband is expected to fully recover in 6-8 months and will no longer need her care.

You meet with the manager and executive director to discuss Carla and her future with the company. What are some of the options that you would present at the meeting? Detail your justification for your top two choices to resolve this issue.