By Mary Wright, Editor, HR Gazette
There are dozens of federal and state laws, and hundreds of regulations that apply to relationships in the workplace. Society for Human Resource Management says that 3 out of 5 companies are sued annually by former employees. The California Chamber of Commerce reports that 80% of these companies feel victimized by unfair, frivolous lawsuits. One-half of the employers sued spent more than $50,000 and one-third of them spent more than $100,000 to defend themselves. This figure does not even include the cost of settlement or verdict, nor the opposing counsel’s fees if the verdict goes against the employer.
USA Today says that more than 450 employment lawsuits are filed in the US every day. The fastest -growing categories are: (1) Retaliation; (2) Sexual Harassment; and (3) Disability law violations. The number of employment cases filed in Federal Court has doubled since 1992. The average caseload for EEOC investigators has tripled since 1992. The EEOC currently has an 18-month backlog for resolution of discrimination cases.
- 1.4 MILLION lawsuits are filed annually in California.
- The Daily Journal reports that 91% of California employers reported lawsuits filed against them.
- 25% are employment cases.
These are scary facts. What, you are asking yourself, does this have to do with HR Forms? Simple:
A lawsuit is won or lost before it is filed.
Documents discourage lawsuits.
Documents create credibility and instill confidence in a witness.
The company with the best documents and most likable witnesses (typically) wins!**
So, what documents do you need? HR Forms.
Where do you get them? The HR Gazette’s HR Forms Club.
I will post a discussion about the use of a particular human resources document. The document could be any writing – from a handbook provision to an employee notice to a disciplinary form – that could be useful to an HR Professional. If, after reading the post, you would like a copy of the document in Word for your files, subscribe to the site and HR Gazette will send it to you. In fact, if you register, you will receive whatever document, provision, notice, etc. discussed in the post each week. At the end of the day, you could have a nice collection of HR forms.
**Of course, this is a generality and no guarantee. So, results may vary. Consult your attorney. No form is intended as legal advice to any reader.
