Being Honest with Employees

If you cannot tell the employee your reason for action in a direct, plain, and unvarnished manner, that is a sign that something is wrong and must be fixed before you take a final step and implement your decision. This places a premium on having all the facts at your command and, if any assumption has been made, that you are satisfied that it was correct.[*] This makes it difficult, if not impossible, for the plaintiff to discredit the employer’s reason for taking action.

[*] An employer may make an honest mistake and not be guilty of employment discrimination; however, the employer has the burden of satisfying a jury that there was an “honest mistake.”

Imagine a scenario in which an employer has been sued for age ...

Get The Employer’s Legal Advisor now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.