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So What So You Do?
There is no magic pill, but here are the best ways to minimize exposure to religious discrimination and harassment claims:
- Train, and retrain. Supervisors must be made aware of their obligations when employees ask for a religion-based accommodation, or when they witness a religion-based course of conduct that may collide with work rules, or when they witness religious harassment by fellow employees. There is nothing more valuable than having a front line representative who knows how to recognize and stop problems before they get started.
- Make sure your HR representatives are sensitized to and educated in the issues that will arise, so that they can work with the company to structure pre-arranged responses to predictable issues – Saturday and Sunday work schedules, issues arising from dress codes, conflicts arising out of diversity programs, and so on.
- As in the sexual harassment context, every company must have a complaint and investigation procedure that encompasses religion-based claims. The procedures must meet certain legal standards. A powerful defense can be founded on an employee’s failure to take advantage of a company’s complaint procedure, particularly when it can be shown that had the employee done so, the problem could have been nipped in the bud. A similar defense can be mounted when an employer can show that it quickly and competently investigated the complaints brought to its attention.
Good luck, and let us know if we can help.
Counsel Consulting Group LLC helps companies throughout the United States avoid employment and HR-related claims and liabilities. CCG assesses existing policies, procedures and problem areas; it provides customized liability-avoidance training to managers and executives; and it designs and implements business techniques that reduce employment liability risks on a long term basis. CCG also offers specialized workshops for managers and HR executives, customized consulting in focused employment-related areas, and CD-ROM and web-based training alternatives. For more information, contact us at info@powelltrachtman.com and visit our website at www.counselconsulting.com.
Powell, Trachtman, Logan, Carrle & Lombardo, P.C. is a full service law firm with offices in suburban Philadelphia, PA, Harrisburg, PA and Cherry Hill, NJ. Powell Trachtman represents a variety of commercial enterprises, entrepreneurs and business executives in respect to their litigation, litigation avoidance planning, business formation, business transactions, estate and tax planning, and other needs. We are also approved defense counsel for numerous insurance carriers in matters pertaining to professional malpractice, products liability, employment practices, directors and officers liability, and many other fields. For more information, contact us at info@powelltrachtman.com and visit our website at www.powelltrachtman.com.
