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Seven Reasons Why Employers Lose in
Court Employers
lose the majority of the cases that go to trial. Here are some of the main reasons why this is the case: 1.
The jury
pool – Very few jurors have ever held an executive or managerial position. As result, the jury box generally consists
of people who will judge your company from the perspective of the employee, not
the employer. Like many employees, they have an "all bosses are villains and all employees are victims" mentality. 2.
Employers
focus on justifying rather than taking responsibility – When we make a mistake
- we should admit it. There is no
justifying the fact an employee hired on to bring value to your company
is now suing you. 3.
The failure to
document – As every employment attorney tells their client: document, document,
document. Judges and juries expect to
see proof of poor employee performance – in writing.
4.
The company
has disciplined inconsistently - Whether the company is big or small, the lack
of consistent treatment is guaranteed to generate juror mistrust. 5.
Somebody
gets caught lying – Employers will often ignore, bury or deny conduct they
consider potentially damaging.
Disclosure of this conduct by plaintiff’s counsel will prove
devastating. Catch someone lying just
once and you can instruct a jury that everything they say lacks credibility. 6.
They never
received or signed the agreement – The employment contract, the confidentiality
agreement, the employee handbook, and the mediation and arbitration agreement are nowhere to be found in
the employee’s file – if they exist at all. 7.
An overly
aggressive approach – Whether on the plaintiff or defense side, jurors dislike
an overly aggressive presentation of the case.
They are particularly sensitive to an attack on non-party
witnesses. The fact is, there are many more ways to
lose at trial, and employers are doing it all the time. Even if you “win” one of these cases you
lose. And when you lose - you can lose
real big. The best defense against these
claims are strategies and tools designed to prevent the filing of claims in the
first place! How The HR That Works!
System Prevents Lawsuits While Increasing Productivity |