A termination checklist usually asks yes-or-no questions about documentation and stops there: is there a written warning on file. That question misses what actually decides a case. A warning that is real but 338 days old, with two positive check-ins logged since, is a materially weaker file than a 338-day-old warning with nothing contradicting it, even though both answer the yes-or-no question the same way. And a decision that lands nine days after an employee's accommodation request is a different case than one landing nine months after, regardless of how solid the paperwork otherwise looks.
The Documentation Completeness Check computes two gaps in days before a decision is treated as final: staleness in the documents behind the stated reason, and proximity to the most recent protected activity on file. Clark County School District v. Breeden held that a temporal-proximity argument needs a gap "very close" in time, naming three- and four-month gaps too long alone, and a 20-month gap no evidence of causality at all. A nine-day gap sits well inside the range that counts, before either decision was communicated.
At Marloe Logistics, a fictional 240-person warehouse software company, Grant Feola's file held a 338-day-old warning with two positive check-ins logged since. Flagged, then cleared the same week once a fresh, dated incident replaced it, with discharge following three days later. Ines Castellanos requested a medical accommodation on 3 August 2026; the memo naming her role for elimination is dated five days after that request, and her termination was scheduled nine days after it. Flagged, paused, and routed to legal review, since no document supporting the stated reason predates the request.
Employee Termination Checklist Template