Minor Offenses Major Work Workplace People Punished Businesses

People like to say, "The punishment should fit the crime," meaning that minor offenses should be punished in minor ways, and "major" (big; important) offenses should be punished in major ways. Most large businesses categorize their employees' workplace misconducts in terms of minor and major offenses.

Typical minor offenses include "tardiness" (arriving late), taking "excessive" (too many or too much of something) breaks (short periods of time when one is not working), taking longer lunch breaks than "permitted" (allowed), and poor "timekeeping" (reporting how many hours one has worked). Other minor offenses involve interactions with customers and/or other employees, such as "rude" (not polite) or "aggressive" (threatening) words or behavior. "Still other" (additional) minor offenses involve "violations" (not following of rules) of policies, such as violations of safety procedures, misuse of equipment, or refusal to "obey" (follow the instructions) of managers or supervisors. In most cases, these minor offenses result in an "oral" (spoken) warning and/or a written reprimand.

Major offenses, also known as instances of "gross misconduct" usually result in harm to people or property and often are violations of the law. For example, "assaulting" (physically attacking) another employee or making someone feel unsafe would be considered a major offense. Stealing property from the company, or committing "fraud" (lying and stealing) would also be major offenses. Likewise, coming to work in an "inebriated state" (under the influence of drugs or alcohol) is unacceptable. Businesses may have their own policies for dealing with such major offenses, or they might "bring in" (involve) "law enforcement authorities" (police and related agencies).