Protect Your Employees and Your Business From Discrimination Issues
Small business owners should be proactive in stopping workplace harassment.

By Lynn Bruner

Even with the heightened awareness in recent years about employment discrimination, it’s surprising how many small businesses still have not implemented even the most basic procedures aimed at protecting employees from illegal discrimination.

This is particularly true in the area of harassment, whether it be sexual, racial, ethnic or religious harassment. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) files more lawsuits on the issue of harassment than any other, and many of the companies sued are small businesses.

Business owners who protect their physical assets from fire or theft often fail to protect their employees from discrimination—and their business from liability. Small business owners and top managers get so busy with the technical side of the operation that they may fail to pay close enough attention to the human side.

Another reason for the proliferation of cases against small business owners is denial. Most company owners don’t intentionally allow illegal harassment of employees; they just assume it will never happen, particularly if the company is small.

Unfortunately, neither size nor good intentions are enough to prevent a company's employees from engaging in unlawful conduct. Harassment often flows from individual bias, and harassing behaviors may occur even when the company has distributed a non-harassment policy.

For this reason, business owners and managers must understand the kind of policies and practices that should be implemented to minimize the opportunity for harassment to occur, or to blunt liability, should it occur in spite of the company’s best efforts.

EEOC Education
A company should never assume that all its managers and supervisors know everything they need to know about sexual, racial and other forms of harassment.

People often become confused about what behaviors may be considered harassing, and rather than take the time to understand fully, they may simply dismiss the issue.

Having managers who do not fully understand the issues, or who think the issue is unworthy of their attention, can be dangerous to a business by increasing the employer's potential for liability. So training managers is key, as is accountability.

EEOC Training
But the burden for stopping harassment is not entirely on management. All employees need to be trained. The difference between "horseplay" and unlawful harassment should be explored in non-threatening ways, so that coworkers can examine their daily routines and identify actions they are taking that might lead to allegations of harassment.

Grievance System
Of equal importance is having an effective internal grievance system whereby employees can notify a responsible individual should they believe they are being unlawfully harassed.

Effective grievance systems recognize that the harassing person may well be the employee's supervisor, and should not require the employee to report first, or only, to that person. It may be wise, in some situations, to involve an outside party, such as an attorney, to whom the employee could report harassment or discrimination.

Dealing with Complaints
When complaints are received, employers should investigate promptly and thoroughly, and take immediate and appropriate corrective action by doing whatever is necessary to end the harassment and provide full remedy to the injured party.

Be Proactive—Seek Guidance
Small employers need to be proactive in seeking to eliminate harassment in their workplaces. For complete guidance on preventing harassment, or resolving problems once harassment has occurred, employers should review the policy guidance available on the EEOC's Web site at www.eeoc.gov. The EEOC has developed a section designed specifically for small businesses, where guidance is provided in clear, easy–to-understand terms.

Lynn Bruner is the director of the St. Louis District of EEOC, which covers the state of Kansas, Missouri, and part of Southern Illinois. For more information on the St. Louis District's technical assistance programs, readers may contact Lynn Bruner at , or the Outreach Manager, at .