Handbook Terminology: "Corrective Action" or "Discipline"?

Question

A former colleague of mine recently had an attorney review her company's employee handbook, and the attorney suggested she remove references to "Corrective Action" and replace them with the term "Disciplinary Action." I've always heard that the use of "discipline" is not only archaic, it puts the manager in the position of being parental/authoritarian, rather than in the position of progressive employer - but I'm no attorney.

Can anyone recommend a white paper that discusses the pros and cons of the use of either terminology?

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

The two terms are different. Corrective action -- that would be when a step is taken to correct the action. For example, if the person who makes a mistake now has to take x steps to correct the mistake.

Disciplinary action -- something for discipline. An example would be probation, suspension, etc.

If the steps are disciplinary, then disciplinary action should be used. This makes it clear that it is intended to discipline the individual, not just make things right.

Answer 2

I think both are used extensively. They mean pretty much the same thing, though corrective action sounds a bit less punitive than disciplinary action. It sounds like the lawyer thinks a more authoritarian phrase works better.