This audio conference was recorded on Tuesday - April 14, 2009

Credits:

This program has been approved for 1.5 recertification credit hours toward PHR and SPHR recertification through the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI). For more information about certification or recertification, please visit the HRCI homepage at www.hrci.org. The use of this seal is not an endorsement by HRCI of the quality of the program. It means that this program has met HRCI’s criteria to be pre-approved for recertification.

Description:

Few workplace disputes pose a bigger threat than retaliation claims and lawsuits. They’re a double whammy for employers: Not only have you allegedly committed illegal acts of discrimination, but you’ve also been accused of retaliating against the employees who called you out. Thousands of retaliation complaints are filed every year in federal and state courts and with regulatory agencies such as the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

The real kicker is that you can be held liable for retaliation even if it turns out there was never any underlying bias to begin with. And the fallout can be costly. In recent months, EEOC has announced headline-grabbing retaliation settlements with all types of employers: $244,000 from a car dealer, $462,500 from a dental practice, $500,000 from a major financial services company, and almost $1 million from a prep school.

In today’s punishing economy, employees are more tempted to pursue retaliation claims than ever before, especially if they’ve just been laid off or seen their expected raises and promotions disappear. Plus, three recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings have made it much easier for disgruntled workers (and their attorneys) to come after you for retaliation.

Order this in-depth audio conference recording on how to protect yourself.

Speaker(s):

Joseph L. Beachboard, Esq., is a partner at the Los Angeles office of law firm Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, PC. A longtime employment and labor relations attorney, he speaks regularly before human resources, personnel, and employer groups on cutting-edge employment law topics. He is a founding member and the executive director of the Management Employment Law Roundtable, a nationwide, invitation-only organization of management, labor, and employment attorneys. He earned his law degree at Vanderbilt University School of Law.

You and your colleagues will learn:

• The basic components of federal retaliation regulations, including plain-English definitions of “adverse action,” “protected activity,” and other critical terms
• The steps you can take right now to prevent retaliation claims before they occur
• How to review your existing antiretaliation policies to ensure that they’re consistent with the latest Supreme Court decisions
• Other steps you can take to shield your organization from liability in retaliation cases, beyond your workplace policies
• What you should do right away when workers file retaliation claims (including special situations such as claims filed by job applicants or former employees)
• Best practices for disciplining or terminating employees who have filed discrimination complaints but who have also violated other workplace rules or standards of conduct
• The critical questions to ask about your current workplace complaint procedures to reduce retaliation claims
• What you should - and should not - document in employee retaliation complaints
• How to train your frontline supervisors to prevent retaliatory actions and avoid making matters worse