When employees bring charges or discrimination to management’s attention, it is essential that management avoid actions that can be construed to be retaliatory.
What must you know?
- You must be careful about any changes in job assignment, duties, work schedules, work locations, etc., after an individual has made a charge of harassment or discrimination in the workplace. As the US Supreme Court has stated: “Context matters. A schedule change in an employee’s work schedule may make little difference to many workers, but may matter enormously to a young mother with school age children…A supervisor’s refusal to invite an employee to lunch is normally trivial, a non-actionable petty slight. But to retaliate by excluding an employee from a weekly training lunch that contributes significantly to the employee’s professional advancement might well deter a reasonable employee from complaining about discrimination.”
- Managing employees while CONSISTENTLY utilizing metrics-based performance standards and clearly documenting that process is critical. Without this record, a bright yet poorly performing employee can file a discrimination claim in anticipation of any discipline and then claim retaliation when the discipline is actually initiated.
- You need to review your discrimination policy to ensure that retaliation will not be tolerated, claims will be thoroughly investigated and that workers will be treated consistently and fairly. This policy must be communicated clearly and regularly to all employees.
To avoid costly litigation and payouts, management must ensure that it takes every claim of discrimination or retaliation with the utmost seriousness, that each claim is thoroughly investigated, and that the employee is satisfied that the investigation and the outcome was fairly concluded.
The alternative will be painful and costly for both your managers and your company.
Business Ethics: Constancy in a world of change
Unprecedented change is affecting our business and personal lives. Does this mean personal and professional ethical values are changing too?
The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO) formed under the direction of the Treadway Commission (a gathering of public and private sector representatives asked to study fraudulent business activity) identified integrity and ethical values as a primary component of organization success.
Business Ethics: Constancy in a World of Change is a half-day seminar that helps participants to understand the role of ethics in business dealings and gain a greater appreciation for strong moral principles that not only minimize corporate liability, but ultimately, maximize company profitability.
For more information about Business Ethics: Constancy in a World of Change and other BAI seminars, workshops and services, call us today at 801.444.9919 or email us at amiller@gotobai.com.
