If you operate a business, chances are potentially high that you may face a claim made by an employee at some point. This is true even if you are a diligent owner and implement reasonable company policies because some things are simply beyond your control. Fortunately, there are certain factors under your control, and our focus in this post will be the methods you can take to minimize employee claims.
Types of Claims You May Face
As an employer, there is a variety of possible claims which can be made by employees against your business. Your employees can make a claim of unpaid overtime in violation of the FLSA. An employee with a disability can make a claim that you failed to provide reasonable accommodation in violation of the ADA. If you don’t prevent harassment of employees, you run the risk of facing a claim of a hostile work environment. Bottom line, there is an assortment of possible claims which can be made against your business by employees. These are just a few examples, but there are many others:
#1: Implement & Enforce Anti-Harassment Policies
Employers must develop and enforce anti-harassment policies, both for the sake of morality and as a legal protection against your business. Any type of workplace harassment is both horrendous and a potential liability for you as a business owner. For example, you learn that a manager has been communicating inappropriately with a worker, sending harassing text messages and phone calls; further suppose that this was occurring in the workplace, and during work hours. As a business owner, this can potentially lead to a claim against you as the employer.
#2: Develop Lawful Hiring & Termination Policies
Another priority employers will want to implement is developing comprehensive hiring and termination policies. If you fail to create fair hiring policies, you can face claims from potential employees rather than actual employees. This can be the case, for instance, if you pass over a candidate with a disability because you refuse to provide reasonable accommodation. You can also face claims for discriminatory hiring practices. No matter how committed you are to equal opportunity employment practices as a matter of principle; the fact remains that, unless you implement clear and effective policies, you allow a greater possibility for these types of claims.
The same is true when it comes to termination policies. Michigan is an at-will state, which means that employers don’t need to show cause to terminate an employee. However, employees still cannot be terminated for discriminatory reasons, or for other “protected” reasons, such as those provided by the ADA.
#3: Create a Safe Work Environment
This priority is even more important when considering the current situation regarding COVID-19. As an employer, you have a duty to provide a safe work environment for your employees. This means that failure to implement certain safety policies can potentially leave you open to liability for certain types of safety related claims which may also apply to COVID-19. You want to make sure that you observe all applicable precautionary measures pertaining to COVID-19 plus everything else you need to do in order to promote a safe working environment as a general rule.