Sticky Situation Need help before it gets out of hand
notHumanRoadblock
6 Posts
We have an EE that has been assigned to us who has claimed that she’s been retaliated against because of a memo, claiming racial discrimination, she sent 3 months ago to our HR team lead. In this most recent memo she's also stated there has been multiple instances of discrimination in HER own team and that the fact that she’s had no to very reduced duties in the past 3 months is a result of the memo sent earlier. There are other employees that have come forth that have either witnessed the discrimination or have been a part of the discrimination. This employee is out on FMLA related leave that a doctor has noted is stress related. She states that she and the witnesses don’t want anyone fired, only wants fairness and seems to be very cooperative in this situation. They haven’t sought representation or gone to the EEOC but I can tell our manager isn’t taking them seriously enough because she assigned the same HR staff member to lead this situation who didn’t IMO handle the first one correctly (no follow up with other area manager, no follow up on racial claim) and she is dragging feet on this one like she did previously (The only reason she replied to her in less than a week is because the lady went to our legal dept. first). I like the company I work for but this sounds like things can get out a little out of hand if not handled correctly.
Also the EEs that came forth said there are other witness's to racial discrimination but they don't want to come forth because they think they will be retaliated against also (they said they witnessed the first ladys reduction in work load). The witness's that have come forth want us to do a comprehensive questioning of all of the team members to corroborate their story. We don't agree and think we should only stick to the people who've come forth and leave it at that.
Any Help would be appreciated.
Thanx
Also the EEs that came forth said there are other witness's to racial discrimination but they don't want to come forth because they think they will be retaliated against also (they said they witnessed the first ladys reduction in work load). The witness's that have come forth want us to do a comprehensive questioning of all of the team members to corroborate their story. We don't agree and think we should only stick to the people who've come forth and leave it at that.
Any Help would be appreciated.
Thanx
Comments
John Vering
MO. co-editor
816-472-3114
There are many questions I would ask prior to offering an opinion: What was the conclusion of the first investigation? What is the prior performance evaluations on the complaining party? Does that party have any current disciplinary action? How large is the group in question? What ability, knowledge and skills does the investigator or even the HR department have in conducting investigations? Is there a history of unreported bias in the department or the plant? Is the department or plant organizied? What exactly is your role in all of this and who have you talked to in HR? I am not seeking actual answers but all of these are relevant issues.
"What was the conclusion of the first investigation? "
Nothing (that's why I don't think management is taking them seriously). No follow up with her, No feedback Nothing. There was an agreement that the HR dept would talk to the other area manager but nothing happend with that either. The lady followed up about a month ago via E-mail (I recieved a copy of it) but the other area manager has not responded.
"What is the prior performance evaluations on the complaining party?"
They've all been here more than a year and they all have moderate to good ratings
"Does that party have any current disciplinary action?"
None. Matter of fact from what I got from the supervisor their team and customer feedback is documented and very good.
"How large is the group in question?"
5 people, 4 Black and 1 h1 b
"What ability, knowledge and skills does the investigator or even the HR department have in conducting investigations?"
From what I've seen so far (I was transfered to HR from another team) they don't have any. They have a very lax way of going about these claims. The fairly (80k plus) is mostly minority when it comes to engineers and other technical staff.
"Is there a history of unreported bias in the department or the plant?"
No but I can see there are some minoritys who've been working in a supervisor role who've never been promoted to a supervisor title. Also I think their supervisor has not been promoted to a supervisor title even though he is in a supervisor role therefore I know he has missed some valuable sensitivity training.
"Is the department or plant organizied? "
No 90% of the department is technology EE.
"What exactly is your role in all of this and who have you talked to in HR?"
I am assisting the team lead in mediation of this situation and we are attempting to meet their needs (peer reviews and oversite of work being handed out). I want to know how to raise this to another attention level without being looked at as a traitor because I'm new to the team.
Thank you very much for you help.
Your company may want to consider bringing in an outside person to conduct the investigation.
One final thought for your management team. Class actions are on the rise. Class actions are costly in terms of money and timel. Now is the time to find out what the true facts are.