After logging nearly two decades in the field as a highly paid consultant, and university professor teaching and training Human Resource (HR) professionals from all walks of life (at every level of their careers), the saddest thing I see in this country today is clearly a lack of training for today’s leaders.
I have traveled this entire country, north, south, east, and west, training professional on how to stay out of legal hot water, and I’ve witness firsthand the onslaught of lawsuits being filed against untrained and unsuspecting managers, leaders, and supervisors all across the country; and it’s getting worst not better (there is a reason for this that is unprecedented in this country!).
Supervisors are like sitting ducks at a shooting gallery for these money hungry, money grubbing attorneys in every city and town in America (you should know that I’m Pro Employer/Pro Employee).
Why do you think this is? Well, a great part of the blame can be placed squarely on the backs of the company. More often than not, supervisors are asked to take on added roles and responsibilities within the organization, but are given very little training how to lead in today’s work enviroment- especially from a legal perspective.
When you look at the word Supervisor it seems to imply that there is something SUPER about that person’s VISION. Well, it’s not. Supervisors have to be trained on every aspect of their new responsibilities- including the legal aspects of dealing with today’s employees.
Here is one legal land mine every Supervisor should know when dealing with employees today.
Supervisors cannot just make up rules as they go along. There are specific legal policies that must be adhered to . If the company has a policy that says everyone is to be at work at 8:00am- then everyone who comes through those doors at 8:01 is late-period. A Supervisor can’t say I like John, but Bill and I don’t see eye-to-eye, so I’m going to put more pressure on Bill than I do John.
So this supervisor decides to write Bill up for being late- but lets John slide. You will be absolutely shocked how often this scenario is played out in everyday in businesses across the country, but in more subtle ways.
When one employee is treated differently than another- the legal term is called “disparate treatment or discrimination” and employees can sue the supervisor (hence the company) for such ‘discriminatory” acts.
Now, more subtle acts may include treating a person differently because of their race, color, origin of birth, disability, age, sexual orientation, religion, gender, and more.
THIS IS DANGEROUS GROUND FOR ANY AND ALL SUPERVISOR.
If you are accused of DISCRIMINATION as a supervisor- what are the proper legal steps you should take? Not what you think- has your company trained you to know this? After all, you are the person being sued.
The discussion is now open… ask any question you wish.
