Practical Tips to Avoid Employment Lawsuits

Lets face it: anybody can sue for anything. There’s no guardian at the courthouse that sits there prohibiting people from filing frivolous or meritless lawsuits. That means that the trick to avoiding litigation is in doing things that make it less likely that people will sue.

And while you can’t control the whole world, one group of people you at least have some control over are your employees.

That means that there are things that you can do as a company to minimize the number of potential lawsuits you face. And while “following the law” is an obvious tip for avoiding getting sued, there are other things you can do to minimize lawsuits, or at least, ensure that you have the best chance at a successful outcome, when and if these lawsuits do get filed against you.

Have a Chain of Command, and Make Sure Employees Know

This is probably at the top of the list: have a chain of command that aggrieved employees know that they can complain to. Make sure that the way and process employees report violations like harassment or discrimination is well known to your employees.

Whatever employee you designate to take these complaints should take every one seriously. Even if there is ultimately no finding of any wrongdoing, have it documented what the investigation involved and what was found by the investigation.

Have Trainings

Yes, many employees don’t like sitting through training—especially for harassment or discrimination, since most employees know well enough not to engage in these kinds of activities.

But regular training does multiple things. It of course teaches employees what kind of behavior can lead to liability, but it also shows employees (and possibly a court, if it comes to that) that you care about them and you take these matters seriously.

And stay on top of developments in the law. That training video you found on ebay from 1989, or a video from a TikTok influencer, probably isn’t giving the correct and most current legal information. Many local employment law attorneys would be more than willing to conduct a training for your company as well.

Be Nice People

Yes, employees who are harassed or discriminated against will complain, and they have a right to do that. But often, the difference between trusting you to handle it within the company, or taking the matter to court, hinges on whether that employee feels like he or she matters, like you care about him or her, and whether the employee feels like there is an environment of cooperation and compassion in the workplace.

Regular Meetings

Regular meetings or evaluations will often yield things that employees wouldn’t normally voluntarily report.

Tom may not report all the insulting age jokes his co-workers are making to him, but if he’s in a regular status meeting with a superior, he may mention those things. These meetings give you the chance to find potential, otherwise unreported problems, and cut them off before they lead to litigation.

We can help you with practical tips to avoid litigation and liability. Call the West Palm Beach commercial litigation lawyers at Pike & Lustig today for help with your business or employment law case.