Unfortunately, legal disputes between employers and employees sometimes arise. Employment disputes can have adverse consequences for businesses due to the time and expense involved. As a result, businesses should evaluate options for resolving employment disputes as early as possible.
Common Types of Employment Disputes
Some of the most common examples of employer-employee disputes include:
- Discrimination, harassment, or hostile work environment claims
- Wage and hour claims, including minimum wage and overtime claims
- Alleged breaches of restrictive covenants, such as non-compete, non-solicitation, and confidentiality agreements
- Severance agreement disputes
- Wrongful termination claims
- Retaliation claims, including whistleblower retaliation
Many disputes between employers and employees arise from miscommunication or interpersonal conflicts rather than bona fide legal issues.
Preventive Measures to Minimize the Risk of Employment Disputes
One of the best ways for businesses to resolve employment disputes involves preventing those disputes from occurring. Companies can pursue various preventative measures to mitigate the risk of conflicts between employees and employers. Popular preventative measures to reduce the risk of employment disputes include:
- Drafting comprehensive, easy-to-understand employee handbooks or policies to help employees understand their rights and obligations
- Conducting appropriate training for managers and human resources representatives on matters such as legal compliance and conflict resolution
- Adopting open-door policies and performing regular check-ins with employees to encourage workers to bring issues to management’s attention as soon as possible
- Thoroughly documenting HR actions, including performance reviews or employee discipline
Informal Resolution Tactics
When issues develop into more serious disputes between employees and employers, businesses can leverage various informal resolution tactics to avoid involving legal counsel. These strategies may include:
- Conducting one-on-one meetings between managers and employees or informal mediation overseen by HR representatives
- Providing employees opportunities to have open dialogue in neutral settings (i.e., conference rooms or offices of managers from other divisions)
- Internal grievance procedures that enable employees to voice concerns without fearing retribution, such as methods that involve HR representatives keeping employees’ identities secret
Formal Resolution Methods
However, when an employee’s dispute escalates, a business may need more formal resolution methods to solve the issue and protect the company’s interests. These methods may include:
- Formal Internal Investigations – Businesses can conduct fair, impartial, thorough investigations of employee complaints to determine how to respond to an employee’s dispute and to create a record that can provide evidence for a legal case.
- Mediation – The parties may agree to mediation when an employee notifies their employer of a formal employment law claim. In mediation, a neutral third party called a mediator helps the employer and employee negotiate a potential settlement of an employment dispute.
- Arbitration – Many employment contracts contain arbitration clauses that require employees to pursue disputes with their employers through arbitration. Arbitration provides a confidential, trial-like method of resolving legal claims. Parties can present evidence and witnesses to a neutral arbitrator to decide the dispute. A party that prevails in arbitration can ask a court to enforce the arbitrator’s award.
- Litigation – As a last resort, parties may go to court to resolve an employment dispute. However, employment litigation can become expensive and disruptive for businesses.
When Should You Contact an Attorney
You should contact an employment law attorney when you learn an employee has a legal dispute. Signs that issues have escalated into a legal dispute may include taking action against an employee that could result in liability for the business, receiving a formal notice of claim from an employee, or becoming the subject of an EEOC or DOL investigation. Seeking prompt legal counsel can help you manage risk and ensure your business complies with applicable employment laws.
Contact Our Firm Today to Discuss Your Options
When your business faces a legal dispute with an employee, you need experienced legal counsel to help you resolve those legal issues and protect your company’s interests. Contact Surovell Isaacs & Levy PLC today for a confidential consultation with our employment law attorney to discuss your options for resolving disputes.
Posted in: Employment Law