Guide to Preventing Employee Discrimination Claims

Educate, educate, educate

Most managers know who is protected by discrimination laws, but may not know what actions are illegal.

I recommend: The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sets out the details on how small business comply with discrimination rules. Get tips on educating your staff from Employee Benefit News. EEOC will also train your staff at your office or get on-site or online training from private education company AHI Workplace Compliance Training Center.

Investigate and document

Document every complaint you get. Investigate it thoroughly and get legal counsel if necessary — legal help early in the game when you suspect a significant problem will prove a smart move if a lawsuit develops.

I recommend: See the checklist from Nolo on how to react to and investigate a discrimination claim. Or get training from Trainup to teach your managers best practices on discrimination investigation.

Mean what you say

A policy with no teeth will certainly come back to bite you. It does no good to have a policy, conduct training and then don't enforce the rules. Do not take lightly unacceptable behavior, clearly explain to the employee that if he or she does not stop the behavior, you will be forced to let them go. Let an offender off the hook and you could put your business at risk.

I recommend: Create an anti-discrimination statement for your company so your intentions are clear – see a sample employee handbook anti-discrimination statement from hrVillage. See tips on disciplining employees from FindLaw.