Although many legal standards exist based upon the specific issue raised, lawsuits brought by employees against their employer generally boil down to whether or not the employer's conduct was fair. This applies to decisions across the board such as hiring, firing, demoting, or restructuring. Decisions employers must make every day. Two of the simplest ways to show fairness is to (1) have a well written Employee Handbook tailored to your company; and (2) follow a documentation process for important decisions such as hiring, promoting and firing employees.
The Employee Handbook should outline the basic rules your company will follow. This handbook will provide ample notice to your employees of the rules and any consequences for not adhering to them. The key for employers is to expend the resources up front to ensure that all policies adopted are valid and will indeed be followed. Do not adopt policies that are too detailed for your business climate. Have a lawyer review your handbook before it is adopted to make sure the policies are well written and legally sound. And when decision time comes, follow your policies.
Finally, documentation of major decisions affecting an employee, such as hiring or firing, not only help provide your management team with the correct standards to use in assessing an employee, it also provides much needed proof of the decision making process should it ever be called into question. Use forms that call for objective criteria based upon an employee's performance of necessary job duties. Counsel your management team to assess without excess - meaning not everyone can rank excellent in every aspect of his or her job. Take the time to work with your employees to notify them if they are not meeting your standards. When it comes time to make a tough decision, accurate documentation will usually make it a little easier.
