How To Professionally Handle Discrimination Complaints In The Workplace

It can be very stressful for an employer to receive workplace harassment or discrimination complaints.

Discrimination complaints can lead to a tense work environment, long drawn out investigations, and possible lawsuits.

How an employer handles workplace discrimination complaints can sometimes make the difference between running a successful business and running the business into the ground.

Mishandling a workplace discrimination complaint can lead to employee relation problems and lawsuits, but taking the time and effort to handle the complaint professional can actually improve employee relations and therefore business.

Here are some tips to help employers better handle discrimination complaints in the workplace:

1. Take every complaint seriously!

Often times, employers don’t want to believe that it’s possible that their employers are being discriminated against within their company and by people they may have hired! However, it’s important to always look into complaints anytime they arise. Not doing so could result in a lawsuit.

2. It’s really hard for an employee to come forward with a complaint, especially if the complaint involves harassment or discrimination.

If an employer automatically dismisses the employee’s complaint then that employee may start suffering emotionally and their quality of work may decline greatly. Or worse, some employers get mad that their employee has complained and that leads to other legal problems.

3. More legal could arise problems if an employer retaliates against an employee for complaining.

It is illegal to retaliate against an employee for complaining of harassment or discrimination. This means that an employer cannot punish an employee for complaining. This includes firing them, demoting them, threatening them, cutting pay, or even giving them worse schedules.

4.If an employer won’t take a complaint seriously, the next step for an employee is typically to contact the EEOC and file a formal complaint or to hire an attorney.

Basically, they begin the process of filing a lawsuit. However, if an employer takes the time to hear the complaint and investigate seriously, they could avoid a lawsuit all together and better put their employee at ease.

5. Show your employees that you’re serious and that you have a zero policy for discrimination or harassment.

Conducting a swift and effective investigation into the matter will instill confidence in your employees. Get to the root of the problem and find out what the complaining employee’s true concerns are. Interview the accuser. Then take that a step further and  look beyond the interviews and find evidence that will point to one story being true over another, such as emails, schedules, and witness interviews. Make sure to keep written records of all your information.

Take the time to educate yourself on harassment and discrimination laws. Read up on the company’s policies regarding discrimination.

6. Decide on an action to take against the person who acted wrongly.

After your investigation, if you’ve determined that the person being complained about did in fact commit a wrong, then decide on an appropriate punishment. Will you fire them, demote them, give them a warning, or have them take additional training classes on discrimination?

7. Cooperate with the EEOC if they’re conducting an investigation.

Cooperate, but also protect yourself. If the EEOC is involved, you may want to hire an attorney to represent your company interests. While you want to be professional, you also don’t want to provide them with evidence that works against you.