How Employers Can Prevent Discrimination Complaints
How Employers Can Prevent Discrimination Complaints
Employers in New Jersey and Pennsylvania will deal with a wide variety of employee issues in the course of running a business, including issues pertaining to alleged discrimination in the workplace. Yet it is essential for employers to know that there may be ways to prevent employment discrimination and subsequent lawsuits. While some discrimination cases may be unavoidable, your business can take certain steps to help avoid discrimination allegations and complaints, including federal complaints filed through the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and state complaints filed through the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights (DCR) or the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC).
If your business is not already taking the following steps, you should seek advice from an employment defense lawyer in New Jersey and Pennsylvania about preventing discrimination lawsuits.
Create a Clear Workplace Policy Concerning Employment Discrimination
You need to have a clear policy in place concerning employment discrimination. Your policy should specify the types of language, behaviors, or actions that may constitute unlawful discrimination, including sexual harassment and retaliation. Your policy should outline the process you have for employees to report discrimination and how your business will respond to alleged incidents of discrimination. Employees should all receive a copy of the policy and should indicate that they have read and understood it.
Conduct Trainings for Managers and Supervisors Surrounding Workplace Discrimination
Managers and supervisors should be trained to identify potential workplace discrimination, and they should also receive training for working with employees who allege discrimination in the workplace. By training managers and supervisors, you can get ahead of discrimination complaints and lawsuits.
Require Employee Discrimination Training
Just as managers and supervisors should receive training to identify workplace discrimination and to take steps in response to it, all employees should also receive discrimination training. Employees should have a clear understanding of what types of language and behavior in the workplace are unlawful. In requiring meaningful employment discrimination training for all employees, you can also begin to develop a culture in which fairness is valued and employees enjoy working in a workplace free of discriminatory concerns.
Respond Quickly and Effectively to Employee Complaints
As an employer in New Jersey or Pennsylvania, it is critical to respond to any employee complaint or allegations concerning workplace discrimination promptly and effectively. If an employee makes allegations about discrimination of any type in the workplace or alleges that your business has engaged in retaliation, you need to take the complaint seriously and respond to it in an appropriate manner. As you respond to the employee’s complaint and conduct a workplace investigation, you should keep a detailed record of your actions in the event of a lawsuit.
Contact an Employment Defense Attorney in New Jersey and Pennsylvania
If your business is facing a discrimination complaint, or if you need assistance taking steps to avoid a discrimination lawsuit, one of our experienced employment defense lawyers can help. We serve employers throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Contact Thomas Paschos & Associates, P.C. for assistance and to learn more about the services we provide.
