Page 50 - Investment Advisor July/August 2021

THE COMPLIANCE COACH

By Thomas D. Giachetti

Five Ways Employers Can Avoid

Discrimination Actions

Training employees is as important as finding talent.

ssisting with employment- Giving a troubled employee a stellar
related matters is a part of our review is likely to be problematic if the
A regular work for advisory firms. employee asserts that their employment
Recently I discussed these issues with my was terminated for discriminatory rea-
partner, Scott Unger, who advised me of sons. It’s difficult to tell the jury that you
the top five employment-related consid- let the employee go because they were
erations for an advisory firm employer: not performing when reviews contra-
1. Have a well-drafted employee dict that story.
handbook. A well-drafted employee 5. Don’t underestimate importance
handbook will assist employees with of discrimination allegations. Upon
finding the answers to their questions receipt of an allegation of discrimina-
along with setting forth your company’s tion, set forth orally and in writing,
philosophy, guidelines, benefits, poli- your company’s anti-retaliation policy.
cies and procedures. It also will provide Remind everyone that it is unlawful to
employees what is expected of them. nation. Yearly anti-discrimination train- retaliate. Explain what could constitute
For example, the Financial Services ing is likely to help any organization if it retaliation. Under both federal and state
Industry is required to have policies and is ever accused of engaging in unlawful law, retaliating against someone who
procedures in place to protect custom- discrimination. asserts they witnessed, or was the victim
ers’ nonpublic personal information. 3. Create and implement policies of discrimination, is a separate unlaw-
In addition, the handbook should and procedures for reporting dis- ful offense. In other words, even if the
set forth policies and procedures for crimination. Employees should not only employee’s claim of discrimination is
ensuring compliance with both state understand when they should report not credible or sustainable, retaliating
and federal privacy rules. Moreover, the allegations of workplace discrimination, against them for asserting the claim will
handbook should state your company’s but also to whom they should report it. trigger a violation of the law.
policies and procedures relating to ensur- You should provide multiple options Also important is to take effective
ing compliance with both federal and when it comes to making these kinds remedial steps to stop discrimination.
state employment laws. Having policies of reports. It is also extremely impor- Your company should carefully and
and procedures in place (and adhering tant to communicate these policies and thoroughly investigate all accusations.
to them), likely will aid your company in procedures in your written employment Often it is recommended that the inves-
defending a state or federal employment handbook and during the yearly train- tigation be conducted by an outside
discrimination lawsuit. ing. It also is recommended that you law firm or investigator, to avoid alle-
2. Hold yearly anti-discrimination place information concerning your com- gations of bias. While the investigator
training. Yearly anti-discrimination pany’s anti-discrimination policies and may not be able to completely decide
training will help employees understand procedures in breakrooms. factual disputes, their recommenda-
their obligations under the law. The pur- 4. Honest and regular performance tions should be followed carefully.
pose of this training includes: commu- reviews. If an employee is having any Deciding to ignore the investigator’s
nicating to employees that work-place kind of problems and/or issues, it is crit- recommendations can be problematic
discrimination will not be tolerated; ical that it is reflected in performance and lead to liability.
teaching them what is discriminatory; reviews. If that employee were to later
explaining the consequences of engaging sue for discrimination, then there is at Thomas D. Giachetti is chairman of the
in discrimination; and outlining where least documentation as to the non-dis- Investment Management and Securities
to report discrimination if they see it or criminatory reasons why your company Practice Group of Stark & Stark. He can be Adobe Stock
believe they were subjected to discrimi- decided to terminate their employment. reached at [email protected].

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