After an employee threatens a discrimination lawsuit against you, it is important that you develop a plan for dealing with it. Although there is a possibility that the employee might not follow through with his or her threat, you need to be prepared in case he or she does. If you have been threatened with a lawsuit, here are some tips for what you should do next.
Review the Employee's Personnel Record
Ideally, your human resources department should be keeping personnel records for each person who is employed by your company. The records should not only information such as his or hire date, it should also include information about any performance issues that occurred and the employee's attendance record.
One of the best defenses you have against an employee's claims of discrimination is his or her personnel record. If you were forced to take action against the employee or he or she was not promoted, you can use your records to explain exactly why.
For instance, if the employee is claiming that he or she was overlooked for a promotion due to age, you can use any performance issues that were documented, such as evaluations and write-ups, to shoot down an age discrimination claim. Your documentation could show that he or she was simply not qualified for the position.
Respond to All Notices in a Timely, Professional Manner
A mistake that is commonly made by some employers is that they fail to respond to lawsuit notices in a timely manner. Worse yet, some respond in a flippant manner because they feel there is no merit to the claims of the employees. Whether you ignore the notices or respond in a poor way, you could hurt your chances of winning the lawsuit that is being filed against you.
The first step in filing a discrimination lawsuit is notifying all parties of the intent to sue. If you receive this notice, you need to take it seriously and respond immediately. The intent to sue will likely include a demand letter that states you need to pay a certain amount to settle the matter.
Before the date stated in the letter, you need to confer with your lawyer to explore your options. If you are willing to negotiate, the lawyer will start the process. However, if you dispute the claims of the employee, you will need to formulate a response to his or her accusations. For more information, contact a professional like Mohajerian A Professional Law Corporation.
Share15 May 2017
