Discrimination Charges

Cindy Hanna

We recently won 2 discrimination charges. Both charges were bogis charges. Disgruntle employees for termination. I would like to know if there is anything a company can do when the EEOC finds the company did not discriminate to the former employees? These charges cost a lot of time and money. I have never experienced this before. I appreciate your expertise.

Don D

You can suck it up and move on. Not meaning to sound harsh, but that's the most prudent advice I can give you, having gone through a hundred just like yours. It is against the law to retaliate against someone for them having filed a charge with the EEOC. You really don't want to go there. The EEOC does not wrap up cases with a finding of 'Bogus'. You may know it's bogus but that's not a finding they arrive at. They issue a right to sue letter generally. x:-)

Down_the_Middle

Don's right. File the info away and use it for your advantage the next time a "charge" is threatened. I previously worked for an org where we averaged 15-18 charges/year (and never received a probable cause determination) and after > 100 of them, employees still felt their case was different. It's a cost of being in business and if you continue to do things right, your chances of having this erupt into mass allegations, is minimal. Congrat's on the 2 recent cases.

Crout

I agree completely with Don, and would add that your management needs to sit down and do an analysis as to how your company can avoid EEOC charges in the future. Obviously the ex-employees had an ax to grind. What could have been done at the company level to prevent the charges? Perhaps nothing, but it won't hurt to ask the question.

Cindy Hanna

Thank you for your expertise. I thought there was nothing we could do but, I thought I would ask. The company could not have done any thing different.

A lot of company's from what I hear just pay the ex-employee money so they would drop the charges. It is alot cheaper to pay them off than to pay a lawyer. What do you think of that? I would not do something like that. It is the principle.

ritaanz

I know "Its the principle" thingy. Or is it resentment that the ex-employee had the audacity to file a charge? Having been through these more times than I care to count, it is best to look at each situation. If I know that the employee will take a settlement which is a mere fraction of the legal costs and packup his tent and go away, I take ADVANTAGE of it and gladly make a contribution to his robbery fund. x:-)

Gillian

By all means, try to find out why the charges occurred. Generally, there are reasons why, and oftentimes if boils down to a perception of unfair treatment and when that occurs employees will complain one way or another. In our neck of the woods, there was a secession ballot in the elections where a part of a city wanted to leave and create their own city. A supporter for keeping the thing together said something that I though was astute, escpecially coming in a political debate. He said "we really need to find out why they wanted to secede so that it doesn't happen again".

Don D

Didn't Lincoln say something like that in 1863?

Gillian

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 11-06-02 AT 05:43PM (CST)[/font][p]I think so. You are working awfully late, aren't you?

Theresa Gegen TX

Anything you do the ex-employees would be retaliation for filing a charge. I suggest that the company be very careful about giving out negative references on these employees or about talking to other employers about the fact that they filed charges.

Many companies handle EEOC responses in house (without an attorney). I would not suggest you do so for the first few that you have to address, but as you get more experienced, you can do more in house (for example, you could assemble the complete response, and have the attorney do a quick review, which will save the company a lot of money, since the attorney will not have to pull it all together on his own).

Good Luck!

Paul in Cannon Beach

Recently I had the opportunity to listen to an attorney who represents employees in these types of claims. She gave this list as the most common employer mistakes which cause employees to seek legal action:
1. Don't inform employees about the organizations internal policy for dealing with complaints.
2. Fail to investigate promptly and thoroughly employee complaints
3. "Force" the employee to seek an attorny by being stubborn, rude, etc.
4. Withholding information from employees causing them to be suspicious
5. Don't listen to employees

As it was mentioned before, it often comes down to employees feeling offended. You might have done the "right" things, but its possible you didn't do them the "right" way.

Paul

Don D

Now Gillian; Be Kind. I'm not really the 'antigillian'. x:-)