Sometimes, no matter how hard HR tries, a manager will still make stupid decisions. But having good policies and dealing with problems quickly can help help keep legal risks at bay.
In a recent age bias case, the company hired a group of 20-something employees around the same time. The older employees in the department felt the younger folks were getting favorable treatment from their manager — there was even a rumor they were paid more.
One day, a screen saver appeared on a shared computer asking why young employees were higher paid than the people with more experience. In response, the manager made his own screen saver that read: “Because they are younger, dependable and more productive, that’s why!”
After that, one of the employees complained about age discrimination to upper management. Shortly after that, the manager told the higher-ups she should be disciplined for attendance violations, and she was suspended.
Then she sued the company. A jury awarded her $115,000 and the company appealed.
Who won?
The company won when the court overturned the jury’s decision.
Fortunately for the employer, an independent investigation showed the woman was in fact guilty of the attendance violations. Even if the manager raised the issue in the first place for biased reasons, upper management made the final decision objectively, based on the fact that she broke company rules.
Were that not the case, the manager’s irresponsible message on the computer could have gotten the company in serious trouble.
Cite: Furline v. Morrison
