HAHN AGENCY, INC.
Employment
Practices Loss Control:
Responding to Requests for Information.
Dealing with governmental agencies, attorneys or other third parties requires
special attention. Handling official documents also requires extreme care.
Missteps can create liability even when the organization may have initially
violated no employment law. The following guidelines are recommended:
- Personnel and medical information should be kept confidential arid only
made available to those within the organization who have business-related
reasons to see the information.
- Any telephone calls or correspondence from Federal or state
anti-discrimination agencies or the Department of Labor should be referred
to a designated officer for response. Managers or supervisors should not
attempt to respond to these inquiries on their own.
- A designated officer should immediately he notified if representatives of
governmental agencies such as the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration ("OSHA"), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
("EEOC") or the Department of Labor visit the organization.
- No inspections or interviews of employees by governmental agencies should
be permitted without approval of a designated officer. Typically,
representatives of governmental agencies will not inform organization
representatives of their rights or that any statements taken can be used
against the organization in later legal or administrative proceedings.
- Copies of any documents or statements ultimately given to governmental
agencies, such as the EEOC, OSHA or the Department of Labor, should be kept
in a separate file so that they can be retrieved at a later date, if
necessary.
- Charges of discrimination from governmental agencies or lawsuits should be
marked with the date of receipt and the name of the employee who received
them and forwarded immediately to a designated officer of the organization.
- No personnel or work records relating to the employee concerned should be
destroyed after a charge of discrimination has been received from a
governmental agency. Lawsuits should be handled in the same way. Materials
that may be relevant to the charge or lawsuit should be segregated in a
separate file so that they will not be inadvertently destroyed because of
document retention policies. Managers should notify a designated officer of
the organization of the documents' existence.
- Managers should not discuss charges of discrimination with the employees
bringing them. Even well-intentioned conversations with the employee may
lead to a feeling that management is "retaliating" and to the
filing of additional charges of discrimination with the government agency.
- Responding to information requests or "demand" letters from
attorneys representing employees or former employees requires knowledge of
employment laws and litigation strategy. Thus, only designated officers or
legal counsel should prepare the organization's response. Those responding
must weigh the deterrent value of a thorough retort citing pertinent details
against the possibility that it will only amount to an advance disclosure of
the organization's case. Some employees or former employees are determined
to litigate and may only change their stories if fully advised of the facts.
Employment
Practices Loss Control
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