A lot of Chicagoland businesses are subjected to allegations of wrongdoing levied at them by disgruntled employees who have been disciplined or let go. When those allegations involve workplace discrimination, the stakes can be especially high.
After all, if you don’t properly defend yourself in one of these cases, then you could end up having to pay out significant compensation, and your businesses reputation can be tarnished. So, how do you effectively defend against allegations of workplace discrimination?
Commonly utilized defenses to workplace discrimination
To defeat a workplace discrimination case, you need to show that you used a non-discriminatory purpose to take action against your employee. This might include any of the following justifications:
- Poor job performance that’s hopefully reflected in their yearly performance appraisals.
- Consistent absenteeism.
- Lack of merit justifying promotion or assignment to a more favorable position.
- Failure to adhere to company policies.
- Refusal to provide reasonable accommodations due to an undue hardship those accommodations placed on the business.
You can also protect your business by having a strong anti-discrimination policy in place and clear reporting procedures. If the individual who claims to have been discriminated against violated these policies, then you’re in a good position to point out that the issue may not have been as severe as the employee claims them to be.
Also, be prepared for the plaintiff in your case to call co-workers as witnesses to corroborate their story of discriminatory behavior. If you can attack the reliability of these witnesses and their testimony, then you might be able to reduce their impact on the outcome of your case.
Develop a strong defense when you’re facing workplace discrimination allegations
You can’t afford to sit back and let a workplace discrimination case play out without protecting your interests. So, if you’re accused of treating an employee unfairly, get to work gathering helpful evidence, anticipating the plaintiff’s arguments, and crafting the overall legal strategy needed to protect your business.
