5 Things Not To Do If You Want To Run Your Own Firm And Not Get Sued By Your Own Employees
Why have a sexual harassment policy? It will never happen to you, of course. But just in case, you better be prepared.
Ah, the pleasure of being your own boss! And bossing others!
You can bill 2,000 hours per year — or not! You can work on a brief today — or not! You can go to work today — or … go to the movies! What’s not to like?
If the above are your only thoughts, then there’s everything to like. Go for it!
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Well, there’s also getting clients — but they’ll come, right? Just hang out a shingle! (But what if you are the 20th floor?) And, anyway, you’ll go to parties and networking events and the clients will flock to you! Like your Mom told you, “You’re great — you’ll have so many clients that you won’t know what to do with them!” Yep — that’s the ticket!
But what if they don’t come? What if they don’t like you? What if they think you’re a dork (just like your brother said)? What if…
Yeah, but your friends like you! And clients will too!
Okay, okay. You’ve gotten beyond these initial fears and anxieties about going it alone. You’ve conquered the “I’m a fraud” obsession. You are now up and running! And, indeed, you are getting clients, albeit slowly and only small matters like house closings and drafting a will. But you will grow … and become a force to be reckoned with! Maybe eventually become an Am Law 100 firm! Or maybe Am Law 200? Is there an Am Law 100,000?
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Well, at some point you gotta become an employer. You know — the boss! The Man (or Woman)! I said here some time ago when: “No one ever said it would be easy.” More importantly:
“We are told that lawyers are terrible businesspeople and managers, but we don’t have to be. We know how to practice our profession, we know how to study and learn what we have to, and so there is no reason why we cannot become good businesspeople and managers. But first we need to know what it takes to be an employer, and not just a lawyer, and how to avoid becoming entangled in the very disputes and lawsuits that we advise others about.”
Okay, this was a long-winded way of getting to the point — that is, I’m giving you the first of many lists of things that you should know as you grow, as inevitably you will!
A list! We love lists! They’re so easy!
I’ve written before that not everything is reducible to a simple list. But an entry on a list should at least be a beginning — it should be thought provoking, maybe a reminder or a prompt to further exploration and action, or at a minimum, a quick mental checklist.
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Today’s list is about … workplace sexual harassment policies. Sexual harassment is, of course, something that is roiling workplaces worldwide as never before. I know, I know … you’ll never have that problem as an employer. Not you. But just to be on the safe side, consider the following stupid things I’ve actually heard employers say about having a sexual harassment policy — employers just like you will be.
Take these examples as a list of what not to say or do.
- “My employees are just out of college and obviously learned right and wrong there. They’re college grads, for heaven’s sake! If I have a written sexual harassment policy it will mean to them that I don’t trust them to do the right thing, which is not the message I want to give. Let them be adults and they will act like adults.”
Whew — talk about putting your head in the sand. A startup or other enterprise which employs those just out of school is ripe for all manner of sexual harassment.
- “If I have such a policy, I will then need an employee manual, and all the other unprofitable accoutrements of an old school business. Why waste money on problems that don’t exist now?”
Shortsighted, to be sure. Preventive law will ultimately save you a fortune. Don’t scrimp now on the essentials.
- “My employees are collegial — and I like that. Makes them more productive. Some water cooler jokes, or ‘locker room banter,’ is healthy and just a chance for them to release some stress. No one will take offense, or misinterpret what may simply be a bad, off-color joke.”
Guess he doesn’t really know people or the workplace environment. Or the law. Or the #MeToo movement.
- “Why have a policy when all of my employees know that I don’t like my employees sexually harassing other employees.”
From the top down, I always advise, one should be a model of compliance and anti-harassment behavior. People look to the boss and tend to emulate his/her behavior. But sometimes that is not enough.
- “If I have such a policy then I will be held to it if there is a claim made — better to have no policy and then if, God forbid, I get a claim, I can always argue that I am not liable since there was no sexual harassment policy that was breached.”
Not good, as a matter of law. Better to have at least a little understanding of sexual harassment law when you start your firm.
Takeaway
Why have a sexual harassment policy?
It will never happen to you, of course. But just in case … you better be prepared.
Richard B. Cohen has litigated and arbitrated complex business and employment disputes for almost 40 years, and is a partner in the NYC office of the national “cloud” law firm FisherBroyles. He is the creator and author of his firm’s Employment Discrimination blog, and received an award from the American Bar Association for his blog posts. You can reach him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter at @richard09535496.
