Final answer:
e. The employee misconduct involves an illegal act.
An arbitrator would not consider reducing a penalty for an employee's misconduct if it involves an illegal act, as this is viewed as a serious violation that affects workplace integrity.
Step-by-step explanation:
The option that would NOT lead an arbitrator to consider reducing management's assigned penalty is e. The employee misconduct involves an illegal act.
Arbitrators may consider mitigating circumstances when determining if a penalty is appropriate, such as if the incident was unlikely to happen again, if management contributed to the problem, or if the employee was dealing with personal issues that affected their behavior.
However, if the employee's misconduct involves an illegal act, this is typically viewed as a serious violation that undermines the integrity of the workplace and may warrant the assigned penalty or even a stricter one.
An arbitrator would not consider reducing a penalty for an employee's misconduct if it involves an illegal act, as this is viewed as a serious violation that affects workplace integrity.