Being sued by an employee can be a business owner’s worst nightmare, costing significant money and time. However, you can potentially avoid this risk if you follow a few hiring best practices and avoid the common errors below.
Lack of Employee Handbook:
This is the simplest problem to fix, but many employers still do not have any handbook or manual containing the policies and procedures of the company.
Lack of Adequate Anti-Discrimination Policies:
Make sure you understand all the applicable laws. Without anti-discrimination policies that adequately address ALL of the provisions, employers leave themselves wide open for a lawsuit.
Insufficient or Inaccurate Performance Evaluations:
From probationary assessments to yearly reviews, honest and accurate evaluations must be completed to accomplish three objectives: (1) legal compliance and documentation; (2) administrative uses and (3) developmental uses.
Insufficient or Erroneous Documentation of Personnel Decisions:
“If it is not documented, it did not happen,” goes the saying. Even if an employee was warned about their actions, attitude or performance on multiple occasions, once the lawsuit is filed the employer is exposed if there are no documents.
Lack of Adequate Investigation Procedures:
This is a HUGE issue in litigation. Courts have repeatedly admonished companies for not conducting an objective investigation in the instance of a complaint of discrimination, harassment or retaliation. Know your laws and procedures in terms of who should conduct the investigation, when it should be conducted, and how it should be conducted.
Failure to Apply Company Policies/Procedures in a Uniform Manner:
Many disgruntled employees file charges with the authorities simply because they feel they have been treated differently than their coworkers in terms of enforcement of policies and procedures. As a result, companies are forced to spend money defending a charge that could easily have been avoided.
Inadequate Response to Initial Claim:
In many cases, handling an initial claim properly and in a timely manner can eliminate the risk of any future lawsuit. When the response is not appropriate, increased damages in a subsequent lawsuit are possible.
Having comprehensive policies and procedures in place and access to competent legal assistance, can go a long way to helping your business avoid the nightmare of a lawsuit. That will save you time, money and stress.
Joining a TAB Board can also help you save time, money and stress. Learn how the collective wisdom of a peer advisory board can help your business!