For Subscribers

Management Buzz 11/01 The case against employers winning discrimination lawsuits and how to rally your employees after a layoff

By Chris Sandlund

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Unlimited Liability

Pray that an employee doesn't drag you into court for adiscrimination lawsuit. Should you lose, the recent Supreme Courtruling in Pollard v. E.I. Dupont means you'll be payingmore.

In the case, an E.I. Dupont employee sued the company fordiscrimination after it fired her. She had refused to rejoin thecompany after taking medical leave for psychological help aftersuffering sexual harassment on the job. The jury awarded her thelegal maximum amount of compensation for lost wages: $300,000.Pollard's attorneys argued that the cap on lost wages did notcover "front pay"-income lost from the time shedidn't rejoin Dupont until she found a comparable job. TheSupreme Court agreed with Pollard.

"This case sends an unfortunate message to employees thatthe sky's the limit," says Manesh K. Rath, an employmentlaw attorney at Keller and Heckman LLP in Washington, DC. Althoughhe maintains aggrieved employees won't receive much extracompensation, you still need a thorough anti-discrimination policy.You won't pay front pay, after all, if you don't get suedupfront.

Fond Farewells

Uneasiness can paralyze your remaining staff after a layoff.Experts recommend the following to rally the troops and moveon.

Respect the doomed. Be compassionate with those youax, and don't speak ill of them afterward, says Richard C.Whiteley, author of Love the Work You're With (Henry Holt). Otheremployees will gauge you by how you treated their formercolleagues-and question how you feel about them if you trash-talkothers.

Be frank. Explain why the company ran intodifficulties, says Dennis LaRosee, senior vice president ofPraendex Inc., which provides employee behavioral testing. "Ifthere's a dirty veil to hide a mistake that was made, thesepeople will see through it," he says.

Paint your vision. "People need a track to thefuture," says Charles H. Bishop Jr., author of MakingChange Happen One Person at a Time (Amacom). "Whatmanagement has done [with a layoff] is interrupt it." Now youmust reveal a new vision that addresses the problems that put yourfirm in its current state.

Feel their pain. After a group meeting announcing thelayoff, says Whiteley, meet with individuals so they can voiceconcerns that they might not express in front of the group.

Build on accomplishments. "What's importantin a recovery program is early wins," says Whiteley. Meetingtough milestones in the first weeks after the layoff gives people asense of accomplishment again.


Business writer Chris Sandlund (csandlund@entrepreneur.com)works out of Cold Spring, New York.

Contact Sources

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Business News

'Largest Data Breach in History': Apple, Google, and Meta Passwords Reportedly Among 16 Billion Stolen in Massive Hack

"Massive datasets" have been emerging every few weeks, according to a new report.

Business News

Amazon Tells Thousands of Employees to Relocate or Resign

Amazon says the move to bring teams together will make them more "effective."

Growing a Business

How to Stop Overthinking and Start Moving Your Business Forward

Business success requires quick decision-making — not long, drawn-out consensus-building. The risk isn't as great as you think, so make a decision and get moving.

Starting a Business

'I Got the Feeling I Was Hitting the Glass Ceiling': This Entrepreneur Quit Her Corporate Job to Start Her Own Agency. It's Projected to Make $31.5 Million in Revenue This Year.

Jaqi Saleem, founder and CEO of Qualified Digital, explains how she built a boutique agency that does what businesses 100 times its size can not.

Business News

Tech Billionaire Announces Inheritance Plan for the More Than 100 Children He's Fathered

In an interview with French news magazine "Le Point," Telegram founder and billionaire Pavel Durov explained how he intends to dole out his fortune.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.