Attorney Marcia K. Schultz of Carlsmith Ball Law Firm shares some tips on how to deal with these issues.
Recruiting
In recruiting applicants for a certain position, Schultz said employers must place advertisements and post announcements of the job requirements in the workplace as well as a variety of areas to give more people access to the job vacancy.
“You must not restrict your advertisements and announcement in a few places where only a few people or only one segment of the population can see it,” she said.
Interviewing
Schultz advised employers that when interviewing applicants, they should plan out what they will ask.
“Design your questions to be behavior-based questions to get an idea how an applicant responds to a situation,” Schultz said.
Employers should also know how to handle sensitive areas and interview hot spots, like refraining from asking an applicant how old he or she is, or if he or she has children that may be a hindrance for her or him coming on time to work.
Schultz said employers must not ask applicants about how much salary are they hoping to get if hired.
“You can use your human resources office in interviewing applicants,” she said.
Hiring
Schultz said in hiring applicants, employers must avoid pre-conceived ideas about an applicant and base the hiring instead on the ability of the applicant to perform the essential functions of the job.
“Don’t make promises that you can’t make,” she said.
Not all applicants will get hired for the job so sending rejection letters should be done in such a way that will not keep the applicant hoping for something that is not there.
“Do not tell the applicant that you will keep their applications on file for future hiring but instead, you can ask applicants to re-apply if future posts are available,” she said.
Discipline
At some point in the workplace, the employer may have to implement discipline and possible termination when necessary. When this happens, Schultz said employers must follow a checklist for discipline and termination so as not to violate any law.
A few questions to be considered:
• Have you investigated properly?
• Have you interviewed appropriate parties, including employees?
• Have you checked if it is a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason?
• Was the employee progressively disciplined?
• Is the discipline consistent with past cases?
• Are there any risks?
• Could this be retaliation?
• Have you consulted human resources?
Termination
When a reason for disciplinary action is found, Schultz said employers must ensure privacy and confidentiality, be blunt and specific but compassionate, set performance goals for the future, and remind the employee that future disciplinary action could result if he or she does not modify her conduct.
Employers must not also negotiate a lesser penalty or call a termination a “lay-off.” If it comes to the situation where an employee must be terminated, Schultz said employers must arrange for out-processing in advance, and have the human resource office conduct an exit interview.
Quick tips for other situations
To deal with other workplace situations, Schultz said employers must practice effective communication, maintain confidentiality, get help from others, and continue educating themselves to be better employers.
