Effective Employment Policies: Learning the Easy, or Hard, Way.
Even when a small business, office, clinic, manufacturer is operated by an owner who has not a discriminatory bone in their body, allegations (made in good faith, or otherwise) can arise. If an employer (1) has a solid policy in place -- including procedures for addressing discrimination complaints; (2) strictly follows those policies & procedures; and (3) makes certain that the policies are disseminated among its employees and that they receive in-depth training regarding same, then the odds of an employer spending an extraordinary amount of time and money "dealing with" an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Charge of Discrimination or lawsuit in the U.S. District Court, are significantly diminished.
Avoid the "Horror Stories"
I offer these true tales as reminders: any size company can lessen its chances of being put through an EEOC investigation or Federal litigation when it keeps its policies up-to-date and makes sure that its employees are adequately acquainted with those policies.
* A clinic in Alabama sued in U.S. District Court for wage discrimination and discrimination in termination based on race. The clinic contacted me after it was sued. It had no anti-discrimination policies, no employee training. I represented the company for almost 2 years it took to go from initial lawsuit through trial. At the end of the trial the jury came back with a verdict for the defense, for my client. Although my client eventually prevailed, the expense incurred and time devoted to this complex litigation was not something the clinic would want to repeat.
* A small construction company, also sued in the U.S. District Court for race-based discrimination and retaliation arising out of a termination. Very similar scenario to the one above: no policy, no training, and, alas, about 2 years of litigation costs and expenses. On the eve of trial, in 2007, the case settled for a nominal, "nuisance" amount. The company hired me after the lawuit was filed.
* A young restaurant employee goes to the EEOC charging that her manager sexual harassed her. The restuarant hired me to defend it. It had no policies in place, no training, prior to the woman's filing the EEOC Charge. The Charge was eventually dismissed and the employee chose not to file a lawsuit. At the end of the day we were able to make the thing "go away," but only after about 6 months of EEOC investigation.
* In early 2010 Jack Marshall Foods, Inc., an Alabama KFC franchisee, agreed to pay $1,052,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by the EEOC claiming the employer tolerated male employees openly describing sexual desires and interests with female employees and engaged in unwelcome sexual conduct including touching and groping (at its Monroeville, Alabama, restaurant). "Under the publicly filed consent decree, Jack Marshall Foods is required, in addition to providing monetary relief, to give training to its employees; post a notice of the settlement at the Monroeville store; maintain records of discrimination complaints; and report such complaints to the EEOC, together with any actions taken in response, for two and one half years." (quoting the EEOC's April 15, 2010 Press Release).
Even when a small business, office, clinic, manufacturer is operated by an owner who has not a discriminatory bone in their body, allegations (made in good faith, or otherwise) can arise. If an employer (1) has a solid policy in place -- including procedures for addressing discrimination complaints; (2) strictly follows those policies & procedures; and (3) makes certain that the policies are disseminated among its employees and that they receive in-depth training regarding same, then the odds of an employer spending an extraordinary amount of time and money "dealing with" an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Charge of Discrimination or lawsuit in the U.S. District Court, are significantly diminished.
Avoid the "Horror Stories"
I offer these true tales as reminders: any size company can lessen its chances of being put through an EEOC investigation or Federal litigation when it keeps its policies up-to-date and makes sure that its employees are adequately acquainted with those policies.
* A clinic in Alabama sued in U.S. District Court for wage discrimination and discrimination in termination based on race. The clinic contacted me after it was sued. It had no anti-discrimination policies, no employee training. I represented the company for almost 2 years it took to go from initial lawsuit through trial. At the end of the trial the jury came back with a verdict for the defense, for my client. Although my client eventually prevailed, the expense incurred and time devoted to this complex litigation was not something the clinic would want to repeat.
* A small construction company, also sued in the U.S. District Court for race-based discrimination and retaliation arising out of a termination. Very similar scenario to the one above: no policy, no training, and, alas, about 2 years of litigation costs and expenses. On the eve of trial, in 2007, the case settled for a nominal, "nuisance" amount. The company hired me after the lawuit was filed.
* A young restaurant employee goes to the EEOC charging that her manager sexual harassed her. The restuarant hired me to defend it. It had no policies in place, no training, prior to the woman's filing the EEOC Charge. The Charge was eventually dismissed and the employee chose not to file a lawsuit. At the end of the day we were able to make the thing "go away," but only after about 6 months of EEOC investigation.
* In early 2010 Jack Marshall Foods, Inc., an Alabama KFC franchisee, agreed to pay $1,052,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by the EEOC claiming the employer tolerated male employees openly describing sexual desires and interests with female employees and engaged in unwelcome sexual conduct including touching and groping (at its Monroeville, Alabama, restaurant). "Under the publicly filed consent decree, Jack Marshall Foods is required, in addition to providing monetary relief, to give training to its employees; post a notice of the settlement at the Monroeville store; maintain records of discrimination complaints; and report such complaints to the EEOC, together with any actions taken in response, for two and one half years." (quoting the EEOC's April 15, 2010 Press Release).
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