Does anyone know if this is illegal? It really seems like it should be.

If my company issues a 'coaching', I am required to send back an email acknowledgement of the issue, to include the alleged mistake, that I understand the correct way to do things, and that I know how to correct the issue going forward.

But they're completely wrong. I followed procedure correctly and the 'mistakes' I am accused of never actually occurred.

I'm assured that they'll look into it after I acknowledge it and that they'll just toss it if it isn't legitimate. But I don't see that side of the system so I have no way to know if that legitimately happens.

I'm in an at-will state, and I'm concerned that this is a strategy to have “cause for termination” on paper for all staff members, even if it's fictional, even if there's no intention to fire anyone, just so they retain the freedom to fire people instantly for absolutely no reason without having to pay unemployment.

I guess my only option is to refuse to acknowledge it and hope that that refusal is not considered a just cause for termination unless anyone has a better idea.

My direct supervisor is the most reasonable person in this company so I've been addressing it with her so far but she has no power whatsoever so I don't know how much good that will do.

As it stands I've left it on, “I'm not willing to admit to a mistake in writing in order to dispute whether I made that mistake. That's not a reasonable thing to ask me to do. I'm disputing this.”

Fingers crossed.

Update:

My manager got back to me, she and her manager have looked into the situation, agreed that I followed procedure correctly in both cases (this one's a double, not sure if I mentioned that), and they also agree that it isn't fair I should have to give a written confession to pursue a dispute. They've acknowledged that my concerns are valid, and they are evaluating a way to change policy to prevent this from happening in the future.

This is why you always stand up for yourself, people.

Thank you for your kind words of encouragement.