Guidelines for Handling Discrimination and Harassment Complaints
Reduce your legal risks by dealing with discrimination and harassment complaints quickly and carefully.
Most employers are anxious when faced with discrimination and harassment complaints. And with good reason: Such complaints can lead to workplace tension, government investigations, and even costly legal battles. If the complaint is mishandled, even unintentionally, an employer may unwittingly put itself out of business.
If you take the complaint seriously, however, and follow a careful strategy for dealing with it, you can reduce the likelihood of a lawsuit and even improve employee relations in the process.
Here are some basics rules to follow if you receive a complaint of discrimination or harassment:
- Keep an open mind. Many employers have a hard time believing that discrimination or harassment could be happening right under their noses. As a result, they often fail to investigate complaints, assuming that they could not possibly be true. Unfortunately, failing to investigate a complaint is a surefire way to land in court. Investigate every complaint you receive. Don't come to any conclusions until your investigation is complete.
- Treat the complainer with respect and compassion. Employees often find it extremely difficult to complain about discrimination or harassment. They feel vulnerable and afraid. This can have an impact on the quality of their work, and it can also lead them to seek outside assistance from lawyers. When an employee comes to you with concerns about discrimination or harassment, be understanding. An employee who feels that you are taking the problem seriously is less likely to escalate the issue to a government agency or to court.
- Do not blame the complainer. You may be tempted to become angry at the complaining employee for the fact that you must now deal with the specter of discrimination and harassment in your business. But don't forget that the complaining employee is the victim and not the cause of the problem. If you allow yourself to become angry at the employee, you open yourself up to claims of illegal retaliation (see next tip, below). You also run the risk of polarizing your workplace, damaging morale, and lowering productivity.
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