Avoiding Discrimination

Discrimination is a word that conjures up fear,
anger, stress, and a whole host of negative emotions.
And complaints
of discrimination can severely damage businesses.
When faced with such a strongly negative situation,
many managers’ first reaction is often avoidance or denial:
“He couldn’t possibly have done that!” or “If
we wait a few days, the whole incident will blow over.”
Ironically, these reactions can make the situation even worse.

Whether the alleged discrimination has happened
or not, whether you think the incident warrants a complaint or
not, whether you think it was a one-time mistake, or whatever
other “whethers” you can think of, when an incident
is reported, it usually best to deal with it promptly.

Beyond the obvious moral objections to discrimination,
many countries provide strong legal protection for employees who
are discriminated against, and organizations ignoring or taking
insufficient notice of this protection face severe sanctions.


Avoiding a Poisoned Workplace
Just as important, however, discrimination in
the workplace creates an unfair and unpleasant working environment.
By ignoring it, you risk undermining the effectiveness of your
team and losing good team members: After all, who wants to work
in an environment where arbitrary discrimination and unfairness
are tolerated?

In order to deal effectively with workplace
discrimination, it’s important to understand exactly what
it means. Workplace discrimination is defined differently in each
country and jurisdiction, but the main principles are similar:

That employees, and applicants for employment, should be treated
fairly in their employment and advancement, based on their abilities,
and not based on arbitrary characteristics of color, religion,
national origin, sex, age, sexual orientation, or physical handicap.

No one ever wants to hear a discrimination complaint
but, even in the best of workplaces, these can happen. So, the
best way to protect yourself and your employees is to know how
to deal with the situation in the most proactive and positive
way available. The situation will unfold with or without your
cooperation, so it is best to get onboard early and minimize the
risks and damage as far as you possibly can.

Here are some of the essential steps to help
you do that:
Understand the Discrimination Laws that
Affect You
Discrimination issues leave no time to “play
ostrich” and “bury your head in the sand”. Even
if you are 100% convinced that discrimination could never happen
at your workplace, you could be wrong. Research the discrimination
laws that apply to you. It’s your responsibility to know.
If you gather the information for yourself, make sure you get
the latest information and keep it up to date. If someone else
in your organization is responsible, make sure they provide you
with information that clearly defines your responsibilities as
a manager or employee, and the rights of both employers and employees.


Tip:
For help in understanding discrimination laws that affect you, check out official government web-sites for your country, state and other jurisdiction. Here are some useful links for small businesses in the United States and the United Kingdom:

US: www.business.gov
UK: www.businesslink.gov.uk

If you can recommend good alternative sites in your own country, or if you have any comments on this subject or article, please let us know here .
Develop and Follow Your
Non-Discrimination Policy
Your first line of defense is a clear, properly-formulated
non-discrimination policy. When there is a clear policy in place,
you have a good starting point for determining whether or not
discrimination has occurred: A clear policy will detail the exact
procedures and protocols for handling the discrimination complaint.
Having a policy ensures that all cases are treated fairly. If
your company does not already have an effective non-discrimination
policy, it’s time to develop one (or persuade whoever’s
responsible to do so): This is the most proactive measure you
can take against discrimination.
When developing or reviewing your non-discrimination
policy, consider including the following steps and measures, as
you move forward with a discrimination complaint.
Register the Complaint
Once the complaint has been raised to you, you need to decide
who needs to handle it. If someone in HR is responsible, for example,
make sure you involve them straight away. Whether you handle the
complaint and investigation yourself, or someone else takes charge,
make sure you know how it should be handled, and keep abreast
of progress so you can actively support the people involved, whether
that’s the person raising the complaint, the ‘accused’
or anyone else who is affected.
The steps and tips that follow may apply to
you or the other person responsible for handling a discrimination
complaint:
Conduct a Thorough Investigation
You (or the other person handling the complaint)
should first talk with the ‘complainant’ to determine
the exact nature of the complaint and get the story from his or
her perspective. From there, speak to the person or people accused
of discrimination to find out:

What was said/done?
When did it happen?
Where did it happen?
What were the circumstances surrounding
the incident?
Is there a history?
Who else was involved or can comment first
hand on the incident?

Talk to all the other people involved including
anyone who may be a witness. Be sure to take detailed notes and
understand that these notes may be used in any legal proceedings
that may arise.

Tip:
It can be a good idea to review your interview notes with
the person you are interviewing to make sure you have written
everything down accurately and comprehensively.


The end goal is to discover what really happened so be sure to
consult impartial sources and gather physical evidence such as
notes or emails.
Document your entire investigative process.
What did you do? When? What sources did you consult for information?
This will be your evidence that you handled the complaint appropriately
and efficiently.
Act Quickly
Time is of the essence in any investigation.
You (or the person handling the complaint) should get as many
facts as possible quickly: The longer you wait, the less reliable
the information you get may become. Also, when you act quickly
you send the message that you take this seriously and that speedy
resolution is important to you.

Keep an Open Mind
Yes, even the most trusted, loyal, long-term
employee can be engaging in discriminatory practices. And, no,
you may not have the slightest hint it is happening. Whenever
you get a complaint of discrimination you need to assume that
it may have happened and then take the steps necessary to determine
what actually did occur. The most serious mistake you can make
is not to investigate because you just can’t believe the
allegation could be true.
When you are in investigation mode, be sure
to remain impartial. If you allow yourself to take sides before
you have all the facts, you risk skewing all the information you
gather. There is a strong tendency for people to blame the person
who has complained because he or she upsets the status quo in
the office. You may not even be aware of this natural bias, but
it can get you in a lot of trouble.
Tips to remember here are:

Treat the complainant and the accused
equally and as you always have.
Do not retaliate against either party through
obvious methods such as termination, demotion, discipline, or
pay cuts. Any such action needs to be carried out in a measured
way following fair investigation.
Guard against subtly changing work responsibilities,
or not including either party in regular work functions.

Act Confidentially
When someone makes a discrimination complaint, the last thing
you want is rumors and gossip going around. Employees will begin
choosing sides and the whole situation has the potential to devastate
your workforce. Even worse, allowing incorrect or unfair information
to circulate can irreparably destroy the reputations of either
party and can open you up to defamation lawsuits.
If you insist on confidentiality at every step
of the process you can curtail much of this destructive chatter.
You have to follow this rule yourself and ensure that you only
involve those that need to know or that have legitimate information
to bring to your investigation. Some tips to improve confidentiality
include:

Make sure your notes are secure
Hold meetings behind closed doors
Explain the need for confidentiality with
everyone you speak to
Institute consequences for breeches of such
confidentiality

Be Compassionate
Both or all parties in a discrimination complaint
are likely to be feeling angry, vulnerable, anxious, frustrated,
and afraid all at the same time. By recognizing the difficulty
each is facing you show that you care and that you truly desire
to set things right, whatever the outcome might be. Certainly
you need to make sure the complainant feels heard and satisfied
that you are going to act. Don’t forget, though, about the
needs and feelings of the person who accused. He/she is going
through an equally difficult time, and whether the allegations
turn out to be true or not, he or she deserves respect and compassion
throughout the process as well.
Work With External Agencies
if Applicable
Depending on the nature of the discrimination, the employee may
go to a government agency to file a complaint as well. In such
cases, it is advisable to get legal or other professional advice.
Within reason, you will want to allow agencies access to the materials
and information they need to do their job: After all, this agency
has the same goal as you do – to uncover the truth. Your
professional adviser will help you work most effectively with
the agency, and help you manage any risks that you or your organization
may face as a result of the discrimination.
Effect Resolution
When the complaint has been fully investigated,
you need to take action and remedy the situation. Depending on
your policy and local laws, this may involve disciplinary action
up to and including termination, should discrimination have been
proved to have taken place. You may also need to determine an
appropriate consequence for a false complaint. The remedies for
either party should be clearly outlined in your non-discrimination
policy so it is “simply” a matter of following through
and applying the policy fairly, appropriately, and promptly. Finally,
document your actions in your investigative notes and keep the
information on file for future reference.

Key Points
Discrimination complaints are the stuff of managers’
nightmares. They can be handled effectively, however, when you
are well-prepared and take a proactive approach to dealing with
discrimination in your workplace. Certainly, the goal is to prevent
such behavior from occurring, but unfortunately even the most
well-intentioned people sometimes make regrettable mistakes.
As a manager or employer, however, you
cannot afford to make the mistake of thinking discrimination will
never affect you: There is no excuse for not being well prepared.
Take time now to review or develop a solid non-discrimination
policy and include in it a set course of action, in case of an
investigation. By doing so you will protect your employees, your
team, yourself, and your business.