To write up an employee for not following directions, first decide whether they refused or simply failed, then build a document that names the specific instruction, the date and method it was given, what the employee did instead, the policy or business reason behind the direction, the corrective action required, and the consequence if the behavior continues. The write-up may later be read by an unemployment examiner, an EEOC investigator, or a jury, so specificity and consistency matter more than tone.
Decide First: Insubordination or Performance Gap
Before drafting anything, figure out which problem you have. An employee who heard a clear instruction, understood it, and deliberately ignored it is insubordinate. An employee who tried to comply but fell short because of unclear expectations, inadequate training, or a skills gap has a performance problem. The corrective path, the penalty, and the legal exposure all turn on this classification.
Insubordination typically justifies stronger disciplinary language and can support harsher consequences earlier in the progressive discipline sequence. A performance gap usually calls for a structured improvement plan with measurable goals and a reassessment date. Label a performance issue as insubordination and you look unreasonable if the employee challenges the write-up. Label insubordination as a mere skills deficit and you undercut your ability to terminate later if it happens again.
Gather the Evidence Before You Draft
The most common mistake is writing from memory and filling in details later. Start by identifying the specific policy, handbook provision, standard operating procedure, or direct instruction the employee failed to follow. If there is no written expectation the employee should have known about, the document starts on weak ground.
Then pin down the instruction itself: what you told the employee to do, when, how you communicated it (email, verbal, project management tool), and whether they acknowledged it. Document the gap between what was directed and what actually happened. Pull the corroborating pieces: witness accounts, emails or messages showing the instruction was delivered, time-stamped task logs, or photos of incorrect work.
If digital evidence like chat logs or system-monitoring data is part of the file, confirm your company has a written policy telling employees their use of company systems may be monitored. Federal law generally permits monitoring on company systems when notice has been given, but personal accounts accessed on company equipment raise privacy questions, especially where attorney-client communications may be involved. Stick to evidence from company channels your monitoring policy clearly covers.
Run a consistency check before drafting. Has anyone else in the organization committed a similar infraction and received a different outcome? Inconsistent discipline is the easiest thing for a plaintiff’s attorney to find, and it can turn a routine write-up into evidence of discrimination. If one employee was suspended three days and another got only a verbal warning for the same conduct, there needs to be a documented reason for the difference.
Check for Retaliation Risk First
This is the step managers skip. Before finalizing the write-up, ask whether this employee has recently filed a complaint about harassment, discrimination, or unsafe working conditions, or participated in an internal investigation, an EEOC charge, or any other protected activity. If yes, you are in sensitive territory regardless of how legitimate the discipline is.
A retaliation claim has three elements: protected activity, a materially adverse action by the employer, and a causal connection between the two. A write-up can qualify as a materially adverse action. The EEOC has said timing alone can establish causation, meaning discipline that follows shortly after protected activity can shift the burden to you to prove the write-up would have happened anyway.1U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Enforcement Guidance on Retaliation and Related Issues
You can still discipline an employee who has filed a complaint. You just need documentation showing the issue predated the complaint, that similar conduct has been addressed the same way with other employees, and that the discipline follows your progressive discipline process. Loop in HR or employment counsel before issuing any write-up to someone who has recently engaged in protected activity.
What the Write-Up Must Contain
If your organization has a disciplinary template through HR software or a form maintained by HR, use it. Consistent formatting makes it harder for anyone to argue you singled the employee out. If there is no template, build the document with these components.
The header carries the employee’s full name, job title, department, the supervisor’s name, and the date the write-up is issued. Below that, list the date, time, and location of the incident. Then write a factual narrative covering three things: the instruction that was given, how it was communicated, and what the employee actually did instead. Be specific. “You were told to complete the safety checklist before starting the machine on March 12 and did not do so” is useful. “You have a pattern of not following directions” is vague and invites challenge.
Reference the specific policy or handbook section that was violated. If the instruction was not tied to a written policy, explain the legitimate business reason behind the direction. Note any prior verbal or written warnings on the same issue, with dates. That establishes the progressive discipline history that supports escalating consequences.
The corrective-action section states any penalty being imposed and lays out exactly what the employee must do going forward. If you are implementing a performance improvement plan, set concrete goals with a deadline, typically 30, 60, or 90 days depending on the complexity of the change. Spell out what happens if the benchmarks are not met: the next step in the discipline process, up to and including termination. “A final written warning will be issued, which may result in termination” gives you more protection than “further action will be taken.”
Close with signature lines for the supervisor, the employee, and a witness. Add space for the employee to write comments; this shows good faith and may be required in some jurisdictions. Include a line clarifying that the employee’s signature acknowledges receipt of the document, not agreement with its contents.
Word Choice Decides the Unemployment Claim
If the employee is eventually terminated, the language in your write-ups will be the central evidence in the unemployment insurance claim. State agencies draw a hard line between misconduct and poor performance, and the distinction determines whether benefits are paid and whether your organization’s unemployment insurance account is charged.
Termination for misconduct, meaning a willful, deliberate disregard of the employer’s rules or interests, generally disqualifies the employee from benefits. Termination for poor performance, where the employee tried but could not meet standards, usually does not. Write-ups using “refused,” “intentionally disregarded,” or “chose not to follow” build a misconduct case. Write-ups saying “struggled to meet expectations” or “was unable to complete the task” describe a performance gap that likely will not block benefits.
To support a misconduct finding, most state agencies want to see documentation that the employee knew the rule, was previously warned, had demonstrated the ability to comply in the past, and nonetheless chose to violate the standard. Each write-up in the file should carry the date, a detailed description, a reference to the policy, and a clear statement of what happens next.
Wage Law Limits on the Penalty You Can Impose
The corrective-action section often includes a penalty: a formal warning on its own, loss of a discretionary bonus, or an unpaid suspension. Federal wage law restricts what you can actually impose, and the rules differ depending on whether the employee is exempt or non-exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
For exempt (salaried) employees, the general rule is that pay cannot be reduced based on the quality or quantity of work. Unpaid suspensions are allowed only in full-day increments, only for violations of workplace conduct rules such as harassment or violence policies, and only if the organization has a written policy that applies to all employees. You cannot suspend an exempt employee without pay for a performance shortfall like failing to follow a project instruction; that kind of deduction can destroy the exemption and expose the organization to back-overtime liability.2eCFR. 29 CFR 541.602 – Salary Basis
For non-exempt (hourly) employees, unpaid suspensions have more flexibility, but deductions cannot push earnings below minimum wage or cut into overtime already earned. State laws may add restrictions, prohibiting certain payroll deductions entirely or requiring written consent before any deduction. Decide the penalty before drafting the write-up, and confirm with HR that it is legally permissible for that employee’s classification.
Delivering the Write-Up
Schedule a private meeting in a closed office or conference room. Never deliver a write-up in front of other employees. If the employee works remotely, a video call is acceptable, held in a private space on both ends; send the document electronically before the meeting so the employee can read along, and have them sign and return it digitally or by mail.
Walk through the document point by point: the specific instruction that was not followed, the evidence, the policy it violated, and the corrective action required. Keep the tone factual. This is a notification, not a negotiation. Let the employee respond and note their comments, but avoid getting drawn into a debate about whether the direction was reasonable; that belongs in a separate meeting or an appeal process if your organization has one.
In a unionized workplace, the employee has the right under federal labor law to request a union representative before participating in any investigatory interview they reasonably believe could lead to discipline. These are Weingarten rights, and under current NLRB rules they apply only to union-represented employees.3National Labor Relations Board. Weingarten Rights If a union employee makes this request, you must grant it, give the employee the choice to continue without a representative, or end the interview. Proceeding over a valid Weingarten request is an unfair labor practice.
At the end of the meeting, ask the employee to sign. If they refuse, do not escalate. Write “Employee refused to sign” on the signature line, note the date, and have a witness (ideally another manager or an HR representative) sign and date the form confirming the meeting took place and the document was delivered. The refusal does not invalidate the write-up.
Filing, Retention, and Follow-Through
Submit the original signed document to HR for the employee’s personnel file, and give the employee a copy. Roughly a third of states have laws requiring employers to provide employees access to their personnel files upon request, and several of those states allow employees to submit a written rebuttal that gets permanently attached to the disciplinary document. Allowing a response demonstrates fairness and can strengthen your position on review.
Federal law sets a floor on retention. The EEOC requires private employers to keep personnel and employment records for at least one year from the date the record was created or the personnel action occurred, whichever is later. For an involuntary termination, records must be kept for one year from the termination date.4U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Summary of Selected Recordkeeping Obligations in 29 CFR Part 1602 State and local government employers face a two-year minimum. If an EEOC charge has been filed, all related records must be kept until the charge is fully resolved, including any litigation and appeals.5U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Recordkeeping Requirements Keeping disciplinary records at least three years is a practical benchmark, giving you a complete progressive discipline history if issues escalate.
Upload a digital copy to your HR system so it is available for future reviews, promotion decisions, and any legal proceedings. Then do what you wrote. If you set a 60-day improvement plan, schedule a check-in at day 30 and a formal reassessment at day 60. If you promised consequences for continued non-compliance, deliver them if the behavior repeats. A write-up that is not followed by actual monitoring signals to the next reviewer, or to a judge, that the organization did not take its own process seriously.