Preventing Discrimination & Harassment Claims

By Rick Dacri, Dacri & Associates LLC

Discrimination and harassment claims are rising at an alarming rate, paralyzing managers who fear their own employees will sue them. The result, when faced with a difficult employee performance problem, managers recoil and act defensively, or they take no action at all. Both strategies are bad.

It is understandable that managers react this way. Discrimination claims have risen over the last ten years with no let up in sight and the cost of litigation, settlements and lost time is skyrocketing. Managers fear that it is not a matter of if they will face a discrimination case, but rather when it will occur. Organizations must be prepared to defend themselves against these types of accusations.

There is good news. The courts look kindly on those managers and organizations who take positive steps to prevent the likelihood that discrimination and harassment cases will arise in the first place.

Organizations that have in place clear policies, train and educate their managers and employees, have consistent management practices that address discrimination and harassment issues, and nurture a respectful workplace culture, will find that discrimination and harassment claims become rare or never occur at all.

Where Are You Vulnerable?

According to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the top five categories of discrimination in order of cost settlement were:
1. Race Discrimination
2. Sex Discrimination
3. Retaliation
4. Age Discrimination
5. Disability Discrimination

How Can You Protect Yourself and Your Organization?

There are four key strategies to eliminate claims of discrimination and harassment:
1. Invest heavily in management training. Train all your managers annually in employment law basics, communication skills, and how to treat employees with respect.
2. Review all your human resource practices. Focus on hiring, promotion, discipline, layoffs/termination, performance appraisals and documentation.
3. Have a broad anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policy. The courts and the EEOC interpret having no policy negatively. Include a complaint procedure, language discouraging inappropriate behavior, and language alerting employees that all employees should file claims promptly.
4. Follow your state law guidelines. Multi-state employers must know all state laws to ensure compliance.

Employers have a right to their business. There are no laws preventing you from doing so. For the most part, you can operate your business as you deem appropriate. Employers have every right to expect their employees to come to work every day, on time, to perform the job they were hired to do. You should set clear work expectations, and you can hold them accountable for their performance. And if things do not work out, you have a right to discipline and, if necessary, terminate.

Employees have rights too. They have a right to work in a safe environment, to be paid for the hours they work, and to work for an organization that is free of discrimination and harassment.

Frankly, when employers do the following three things consistently, they will find that most of these harassment and discrimination issues disappear.
1. Set clear expectations for employees
2. Hold employees accountable for meeting expectations
3. Take care of your employees by treating them with respect.

Remember:
Employers have a right to hire, promote, transfer, evaluate, discipline, layoff and terminate.
Employers do not have a right to discriminate, harass, retaliate or terminate wrongfully.

Managing is never easy and not knowing the law makes it harder. Harassment and discrimination claims can devastate your organization. Understand your obligations under the law or get professional help to assist you. Follow the guidelines outlined above and you and your employees will be able to work in an organization that is respectful and free of all forms of harassment and discrimination.

Rick Dacri is an organizational development consultant, coach and featured speaker at regional and national conferences. Since 1995 his firm, Dacri & Associates has focused on improving the performance of individuals and organizations. Rick can be reached at 1-800-892-9828, or rick@dacri.com