"I am being sued and I did not touch anyone."

Weaker economy spurs increased litigation

This is the statement I heard on the other end of a call today that I received from a referral. This business owner has had his business for 30+ years and never been sued or had a complaint raised against him. He now is spending wasted energy stressing over this issue and spending a LOT of money for attorney to respond to this frivolous claim.

Reality: As our economy becomes weaker, there will be an increase in litigation. There will be more discrimination and harassment claims filed. There will be more people looking to “make a big hit” off of an employer. You have to protect your business now more than ever – not only against theft but also lawsuits.

History: This business owner had hired two interns for part time positions in an effort to give them a “hand up” to gain experience and earn some income. The net of the story is that these two people filed a baseless lawsuit that this business owner now has to defend. Their attorney has asked for paid leave of absences for both because they are fearful of the environment.

Are you as vulnerable as him? Preventive measures are key. Do you have an HR firm working to protect you? We have assisted 100’s of business owners over the past 10 years to prevent lawsuits from occurring. Areas you need to be looking at now:

Do you have an updated harassment policy that includes: What harassment is with examples given; an escalation process and an investigation outline? Have your employees signed off on receiving and acknowledging this policy? Is your harassment policy posted? When was the last time you held a non-harassment training for your staff? Do you use “honey”, “girls” as ways to describe the females in your office? Are there slang words being used to describe ethnic groups? Are you tolerating inappropriate jokes, posters, calendars, etc in the work areas? If you are not sure about any of the above – call us today to find out how we can keep you and your Company out of trouble. There are many things this employer could have done pro-actively that would have prevented from a lawsuit even being filed. Call us today to learn more about the way we can “equip you and your business” so this does not happen to you.