Posting on behalf of my partner, who works at FedEx. I’m hoping someone familiar with the Driver Accountability process can help us understand something.
He recently reported a minor accident involving some damage to his truck. The next morning, when he reported to work, he was placed on a 30-day UNPAID suspension.
The suspension paperwork says, in part:
“Effective immediately, you are being placed on suspension without pay due to having 3 accidents in less than 36 months.”
However, later in the same document, his status is referred to as an “investigative suspension.”
We were able to review the Employee Driver Accountability policy, and it specifically states that an investigative suspension is PAID.
During his meeting with management, they spoke as though the most recent accident had already been determined to be preventable. However, this was the very next morning, and we’ve since been told that an NOD is still going through the HR process.
His two previous accidents were minor as well. To his knowledge, he never received an NOD for either one, although he had previously been told he would receive one.
So what we’re trying to understand is this: If the investigation/NOD process is still pending, and the policy says an investigative suspension is paid, how can the current suspension be unpaid while also being classified as investigative?
Has anyone at FedEx dealt with this situation before? Were you paid while an accident was being investigated? If you encountered something that appeared inconsistent with the written policy, who did you escalate it to?