Discrimination in hiring and/or permitting discrimination to affect the terms and conditions of your workers’ employment is one of the thorniest ethics problems facing businesses and professional practices today. Discriminatory practices can cause reputation damages to the company, loss of productivity, and loss of the dollars that you will spend to resolve discrimination charges, whether they are warranted or not. Make no mistake about it – discrimination can be a subtle but deadly drag on your business’s reputation and brand which affects recruiting and customer attitudes. You can reduce your business’ risk by taking a few simple concrete steps to address the issue.

You may think that your employees inherently understand that your company is a competence-based employer and that being honest and fair goes without saying. Ethics is not just common sense anymore. Like every other aspect of your business, addressing discrimination dilemmas requires thoughtful, legally-compliant policies, and training. Just ask the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency that enforces anti-discrimination laws for the federal government. The EEOC handled more than 76,000 charges of discrimination during FY 2017 (the last year statistics are available). That number does not include the charges of discrimination filed with state fair-employment agencies.

Following the guidelines below can help you to spot problems early on by encouraging reporting and settlement of discrimination issues in-house, and will help keep government agency audits and investigations at bay.

Have a Clearly Written Anti-Discrimination Policy

Discrimination is not only ethically wrong; it is illegal. Protect your business with a legally-compliant and enforceable policy against discrimination. There are several matters that should be addressed in any business’s anti-discrimination policy. First, there should be a clear statement that discrimination based on race, nationality, age, sex, religion, and disability will not be tolerated, either in hiring decisions or in the day-to-day operations of your company. Second, the policy should explain that your business makes reasonable accommodations for the disabled within the hiring process for applicants and for employees. Third, make certain that your policy explains how to report an issue and how to report discrimination charges. Finally, your policy should outline the consequences of discriminatory acts.

Train Managers on the Anti-Discrimination Policy

Once you have an anti-discrimination policy in place, it is important to train managers on how to react when an employee makes a report of discrimination. Many managers’ first instinct is to quash the problem and hope it will go away. Managers must be trained about how to take a discrimination report, who to involve in the report, and how to deal with the reporting employee. Managers don’t inherently know what to do when faced with an employee making a sexual harassment allegation, for example, against another manager. Should she separate the employee from his or her boss or put the accused on administrative leave? How your manager reacts to discrimination charges is the beginning of what should be a clearly defined process aimed at resolving the complaint presented as fairly and rapidly as possible. Moreover, part of your company’s onboarding process should including a discussion with new employees that covers your policy and how to make a report of discrimination, and should also make clear that the employee making the charge will not be retaliated against.

Consistently Enforce Your Anti-Discrimination Policy

Every report of discrimination should be documented, quickly addressed by a competent investigator, and each investigation should result in factual findings regarding the charge and recommended punishment based on company progressive discipline policies.  And should the need arise, your company’s policy, training programs, and investigative efforts will be important evidence to show the public, federal auditing agencies, and juries your company’s commitment to ethical anti-discriminatory practices.

Wells Law, LLC is here to assist you in the development of cost-efficient, compliant policies and procedures for your professional practice or business. Click on the hyperlink to contact us or to learn more about the services we can provide for you and your business.