Some
of the most expensive discrimination cases against employers
in the last year resulted from managers who said the wrong thing
at the wrong time — remarks that carried more weight than
even the best documentation.
Good
documentation is always crucial. But two cases in particular
underscore the idea that managers need to be aware that what
they say really does matter — and could become part of
damaging testimony in court.
Case: Marcus et al. v. PQ Corp.
Total damages paid by employer: $6.2 million
The
details: Two employees, ages 61 and 57, got laid off by a Pennsylvania
chemical manufacturer. The two dragged the employer into court
and charged they’d been targeted because of their
age.
The
company’s case had a solid foundation. Funding for the
two positions had been eliminated, and so there was a strict financial
reason — and no discriminatory basis — for the
layoff. The ex-employees argued that the company had manipulated
salary budgets so that the older employees would be the first
to go.
It
looked like a stalemate — which is generally good for
a defendant employer — until the court heard testimony that
one manager remarked that the company needed “to get rid
of some of these old farts.” And another manager had told
the two laid-off employees that company needed more “young
blood.”
Those remarks ended up being the tipping point in a ruling
for the employees — that the company had “willfully” discriminated.
Case: Blount v. Stroud
Total damages paid by employer: $3.3 million
The details: During an investigation of workplace discrimination,
an African-American female employee who had no involvement in the
case stepped forward to present her observation as a witness to
the alleged discrimination. After that case was settled, the woman
who spoke up was fired.
She charged her firing was part of a pattern of discrimination
and retaliation by the employer. The employer pointed to documented,
less-than-stellar performance and behavior by the employee as the
basis for letting her go. Normally, such documentation is a game-saver
for an employer.
And
it might have been for this employer, until the fired employee
pointed to remarks by her managers after she spoke up during
the investigation of the other case. Examples: One manager
told the woman, “You don’t know what you’re up against.” Another
said the company could “cause you not to exist.”
Hearing those remarks, the court ignored the documentation and
found in favor of the fired employee.
December 11, 2009 by Jim Giuliano
Posted
in: Communication, Discrimination, HR Training, Management, Special
Report, Terminations
Please
contact Fern
Powers PHR, , 215-563-5520 to
discuss a customized leadership training that includes
code of conduct, ethics, retaliation, communicating with
employees, using the performance management appraisal as
a positive tool for the company, department and individual
and more to benefit your company’s bottom line while
teaching your manager’s to stay out of harm’s
way!
