Management Buzz 11/01 The case against employers winning discrimination lawsuits and how to rally your employees after a layoff
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences 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
- Keller and Heckman LLP
(202) 434-4182, www.khlaw.com - Praendex Inc.
(800) 832-8884, www.praendex.com - Richard C. Whiteley
(617) 723-8889, www.whiteleygroup.com
