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An anonymous note filled with racial hatred shows up on anemployee's desk. A worker persists in making sexually explicit"jokes" in front of co-workers. Another employee'slanguage is sprinkled with cruel comments about workers of certainethnic groups. What do you do? And don't say it can'thappen in your company.
"These incidents are very common," says Ann Mennell,an employment-law attorney with Foley & Lardner in Milwaukee.Just as there is still plenty of bigotry in our communities, thereare volumes of race and gender hostilities in the workplace.
"Prejudice still exists, and it shows up frequently inbusinesses," agrees Louis Penner, a psychology professor atthe University of South Florida in Tampa, who has extensivelyresearched bigotry and sexism in the workplace.
Learning to deal with these issues is critical to creating aworkplace that is comfortable--and therefore productive--foremployees. An all-too-common reaction, and one that often createsbigger problems down the road, is shrugging off such incidents."That's the usual managerial response: They ignore thebehavior and hope it goes away. But it rarely does," saysCindy Berryman-Fink, a professor of communications at theUniversity of Cincinnati and author of The Manager's DeskReference (Amacom Books).
Beyond the psychological damage your negligence may cause,burying your head in the sand can cost your business big bucks."Employees are ever more aware of their legal rights,"says Mennell. "And more and more lawsuits will be filed incases where workers claim to have been harassed on thejob."
Higher Source
An employee who feels victimized can lodge his or her complaintsagainst your business fairly simply. Typically all that'sinvolved is a visit to a state or federal civil rights or EqualEmployment Opportunity (EEO) agency, where the employee fills out ashort complaint form. Government officials then launch aninvestigation.
Defending a small business even at this stage can cost well intofive figures. But if the matter results in a formal lawsuit, thecosts can skyrocket. "A defense against even a simplecomplaint can cost a business more than $100,000 in attorney'sfees," says Mennell. In some cases, legal fees and damagestogether could well exceed $500,000.
Even if workers, not company officials, are the perpetrators ofrace or gender hatred, you're not off the hook. As the businessowner with the apparent power to control your employees, you areultimately responsible. "Employers typically say `But Ididn't ask or order my employees to do these things, and Ipersonally disagree with what they did.' But there is no legalprotection in that argument," says Dawn D. Bennett-Alexander,an associate professor of employment law and legal studies at theTerry College of Business at the University of Georgia in Athensand author of Employment Law for Business (Irwin). "Ifan event happens in the workplace, it's attributable tomanagement."
Letting hateful attitudes infiltrate your business can hurt morethan you may think. "Instances of hate affect many people inthe workplace, not just the obvious targets," says NancyHauserman, a professor at the College of Business at the Universityof Iowa in Iowa City. One nasty crack that receives minimalattention from management can get half your work force stewing, notonly creating low morale and an unpleasant work environment, butalso severely cutting productivity.
Finding A Solution
Exactly how should you deal with these issues before bigtroubles flare? Step one is to put in writing a zero-tolerancepolicy in your organization, says Berryman-Fink. That means tellingemployees that any acts of bigotry or prejudice will be immediatelyaddressed by management.
Extend the policy to minority- or gender-bashing jokes as well.Can comedy be construed as bigotry? Absolutely, warns Mennell."One offensive joke probably wouldn't be seen by a jury ascreating a hostile work environment," he says, "but ajury certainly can decide that enough jokes do in fact create ahostile work environment."
The bottom line: You have to stifle offensive jokes as quicklyas you do inappropriate comments. "If a worker makes a racistjoke and you overhear it, immediately say `That'sinappropriate. You can't say that here.' Never let suchremarks slide," says George Ferrell, an Ann Arbor, Michigan,business consultant who specializes in EEO issues.
What about anonymous messages? When messages are scrawled onwalls, clean them up immediately, says Ferrell, who has consultedwith businesses facing this problem. When the messages are aimed atone particular employee, investigate who did it. Even if you neverfind out who the perpetrator is, your investigation demonstratesyour sincerity in stamping out this behavior while alsodiscouraging repetition.
Another step, one taken by many Fortune 500 companies but rarelyby smaller businesses, is to build into every employee's reviewa section on diversity. Since discrimiation is a legal issue thatemployers can be sued for, it is important to determine how ableeach employee is to work with customers and co-workers of differentethnicities, races, nationalities or genders. "By includingthis in the evaluation process, you get a chance to deal verydirectly with workers on [legal] issues of race, ethnicity andgender [discrimination]," says Ferrell.
Lastly, as the boss, your best policy is always to model goodbehavior regarding diversity. This is especially crucial if yourbusiness finds itself in court. "Most juries will find evenone remark by an owner to be indicative of company policy,"warns Mennell. A jury might ignore a couple dozen slurs uttered byhourly workers, in other words, but when the boss speaks, itcounts, even if it's only one casual remark.
Time For Action
Take those steps, and you've gone far toward ridding yourworkplace of any expressions of bigotry--and toward protectingyourself against lawsuits. But that's not enough for you tobreathe easily. "Most court cases arise either because amanager did nothing or stepped in quickly and then stepped outwithout doing any follow-up to make sure the behavior actuallystopped," says Hauserman.
Cindy Lindsay, an organizational psychology professor at theCalifornia School of Professional Psychology in Los Angeles,outlines a multi-step response to a hate-motivated incident. Assoon as possible after the incident, sit down one-on-one with theoffending employee and:
- review the company policy on diversity
- explain why the comment or action was offensive
- clearly state what types of comments and actions areoffensive
- outline for the employee the conduct expected in thefuture.
Don't expect this one session to effect a cure. "It cantake a lot of reminders to get an employee to modify his or herbehavior," says Berryman-Fink. Make clear the risks thisemployee runs: "Ask [whether] it's worth losing [his orher] job just to keep saying a certain word."
Will you change your workers' attitudes? Not likely,according to Ferrell, but his message is nonetheless upbeat:"We won't change what a person says at a bar after work,but we can impact how he carries out his job in the workplace. Wewon't change attitudes, but we can manage behaviors--andthat's your responsibility as an employer."
Contact Sources
Foley & Lardner, (414) 297-5813, amennell@foleylaw.com
G. Ferrell & Associates, 251 Mulholland, Ann Arbor,MI 48103, (313) 663-1230.
