Legal Issues in Supervision
Do you ever get the feeling that supervising people in today’s workplace is like navigating a legal minefield? Many supervisors are concerned that daily business decisions regarding employees will backfire into a legal problem. Terminations, corrective actions, decisions about employee leave and even daily supervisory tasks like directing employees on correct work attire and attitude on the job have been the source of legal challenges by disgruntled employees.
Another source of supervisory concern involves compliance with the many laws that make discriminatory conduct unlawful. These include state and federal laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex, age, race, religion, disability and other bases. Supervisors who are confident that they acted without discrimination often lack confidence that investigations, disciplinary actions and day-to-day decisions regarding employees will pass legal review if an employee makes a complaint of discrimination.
The laws themselves give limited practical guidance for supervisors on how to deal with day-to-day issues. Some of the laws have supporting regulations developed by agencies such as the Department of Labor and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. While these regulations include detailed recommendations of how to comply with the nondiscrimination laws, many times the courts who eventually decide employee legal complaints are not required to apply the regulations as if they were law. As a result of legal interpretation issues, much of the practical guidance to supervisors on compliance with the law is developed by lawyers and human resources professionals who review existing court decisions along with any regulatory guidance provided by agencies. The professionals attempt to meld the sometimes differing points of view into practical guidance. Even these practical guidelines do not cover every situation.
There are no guarantees that a particular course of action will always prevent employee lawsuits but you can adopt good practices and habits that will minimize the likelihood of unexpected legal challenges to your supervisory actions:
Accept that legal compliance is necessary to your success as a supervisor. Understanding regulations and legal requirements may be a chore at times but it is a necessary part of the supervisory role. Just as it is part of your job to protect company assets such as equipment, it is part of your job to protect the company from liability.
Actively support a culture of respect and professionalism in the workplace. Managers and supervisors need to lead by example to set the workplace tone of respect for co-workers. Lawsuits happen when people perceive that they have not been treated with respect and dignity. When respect is part of the organization’s culture, fewer legal issues arise.
Understand and implement appropriate policies. If you don’t understand a policy, the employees you supervise probably won’t either. Ask questions. Get clarity. Apply policies consistently. Follow your organization’s procedures for disciplinary actions including seeking appropriate consultation. If you aren’t sure about something, ask human resources or senior management. If it is an action that has a potential for legal liability, the organization may choose to seek legal counsel before proceeding.
Maintain appropriate documentation of all employee corrective actions. Don’t just focus on carefully documenting actions involving employees you think may be trouble down the road. Consistent and effective application of company policies is best demonstrated by good documentation in all the employee actions, not just the actions involving a particular employee.
Attend training on legal and regulatory issues. Training on sexual harassment prevention, drug-free workplace, diversity, and employment law related matters equips you to better do your job. The Employee Assistance Program (EAP), a program of The Village Business Institute, can help your organization identify training needs and can provide training on a variety of issues.
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