There are many things you can do as an employer to protect your employees. If a claim of discrimination has been filed against you, it is important that you take immediate action to investigate the claim and in many cases defend yourself from the allegations. It is not always clear cut as to what can be done against discrimination so having a competent employment law consultant on your side can help to navigate the minefield.
Anti-Harassment & Anti-Discrimination Policies
You can also do what you can do with workplace discrimination as an employer by implementing anti-harassment policies and procedures which reflect the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. This part of the act makes it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against someone because of their race, sexual orientation, gender, religion, or other similar criteria. The first rule to remember when making an anti-discrimination policy is that no one is above the law. No one should be favored over another because of previous conduct. Even if someone is a friend, co-worker or a family member, they still deserve to be treated fairly. It’s essential to go to an employment law services for UK companies, or look for a similar service in your country, to ensure that you are not breaking any law.
Another thing you can do with workplace discrimination as an employer is implementing anti-discrimination policies for your employees. Your policy can outline that your company has a policy of terminating anyone who engages in discrimination on religious grounds, gender, age, disability, or anything else. This is extremely important to any employer considering how important diversity and equal opportunity is in today’s society.
Give some training about diversity and equal opportunity to your employees. There are often misconceptions among employees that there is no need for this type of training, but studies have shown that people do not learn things very well until they are required to take them. Give employees a few minutes of your time every day to learn about how different people think and act. This will greatly benefit your company’s work force in the future.
Be Well-Informed & Educated
You will want to be sure that you are fully educated on your employment law. Every state has different laws regarding these issues, so you want to make sure that you fully understand what they are. Take the time to attend seminars or classes at local universities or even learn more by watching online videos. If you are having problems understanding the law, then you should probably hire a lawyer to help you out. There’s even a 24 hour employment law advice line you can call anytime. Most employment lawyers have years of experience dealing with these issues, and they will be better able to help you than you can on your own.
The last thing you want to remember when you are trying to figure out what can you do with workplace discrimination as an employer is that it doesn’t always have to come up in the workplace. Sometimes you might be surprised by how much you can do with a simple email or phone call to ensure that your company stays on top of all of the legal issues that may come up.
There are plenty of examples of employers who were faced with false claims of discrimination, but who found ways to handle the situations in the most professional manner possible. It might be time to learn more about some of these policies and practices so that you can make sure your company does everything it can to be proactive when it comes to the employment law.