Read the following scenario and discuss the actions you would take in detail. Play out the scenario. Be sure to include the laws that you need to comply with in the scope of your analysis.

You are the manager of a large customer service department for a high end retailer with an online presence, a very profitable and successful company. Your location is in the Bay area, just outside San Francisco, CA. The customer service representatives (reps) in your department take calls and use a computer for ordering and resolving issues on orders. It is a high stress job. You measure productivity with the time reps are in the phone system and with the number of orders taken and complaints resolved.

Steve Li is an American citizen of Asian descent. He is 42 years old and has been an employee with your company for 15 years. Steve has been won the Top Rep award for your department 5 out of the last 10 years. In the last 6 months his performance has plummeted. He has had some absences, which is unusual for him, but not enough to cause corrective action.

You sit down with Steve to begin your first corrective action discussion regarding Steve's poor performance.

When you begin discussing his metrics, Steve tells you that he has been diagnosed with a serious medical condition that is interfering with his ability to type as quickly as he used to. He can't quit his job because he needs the insurance and there are no other jobs out there that pay as well as this company. Your location is in the Bay area, just outside San Francisco. He has a wife and four children to support. Plus, he doesn't want to lose the generous vacation benefit. Steve begins to cry and tells you that the stress of this discussion is making him feel ill. .