Market Areas > Human Resources > Retaliation

Anti-Retaliation Strategies: How to Safeguard Your Organization

Course Description:

Retaliation claims are on the rise. In fact, according to the EEOC, retaliation claims are the fastest growing type of claim filed and now account for more than a quarter of all actions filed.  And unlike any other category, the percentage of retaliation claims has increased an astounding 46 percent over the past decade.

Retaliation claims can stand on their own and could cost your organization hundreds of thousands of dollars in time, legal fees, and damages. Consider these recent cases where retaliation claims compounded already large monetary awards to successful plaintiffs:

• A New Jersey jury returned a verdict for more than $220,000 in compensatory damage and $1 million in punitive damages for an employee who filed age discrimination and retaliation charges in connection with two missed promotions;
• A female disc jockey was awarded $1.25 million in punitive damages because she was subjected to intolerable working conditions in retaliation for filing a charge of pregnancy discrimination with the EEOC;
• A Texas jury awarded $10 million in punitive damages to five employees claiming they were retaliated against for filing workers’ compensation claims; and,
• A federal jury awarded a Connecticut state investigator $2.7 million after finding the attorney general’s office retaliated against him for blowing the whistle on certain practices involved with joint state and federal investigations.

As an HR pro, it’s you’re responsibility to ensure your organization (1) understands how to take the necessary precautions to avoid violating the law in this area; and (2) takes the appropriate steps to prevent, or at least defend, frivolous claims.

Join CCM in this must-attend audio conference to find out how to minimize and ultimately eliminate the costly threat of retaliation claims.  In just 75 minutes, our legal expert will present step-by-step facts and action plans for policy development, employee training, as well as state and federal compliance advice.  You’ll also learn:

• How to create a written anti-retaliation policy that stands up in court
• Strategies that stop the behaviors that often land organizations in court
• What the key EEOC guidelines say about retaliation prevention
• How the Supreme Court’s June 22, 2006 retaliation decision effects your organization’s ability to fight retaliation
• How to handle an employee once a retaliation has been filed
• Techniques to train managers on the new ground rules for handling such claims
• What’s considered “protected behavior” for employees and how to handle it

Retaliation claims can be costly to defend, highly disruptive to your business, and expose your organization to considerable liability.  Take the steps you need today to prevent and effectively safeguard your organization from these risks.

Faculty:

Ashley D. Brightwell, Partner, Alston and Bird

Ashley Brightwell is a partner in the firm’s Labor and Employment Group. Ms. Brightwell has extensive experience litigating both single-plaintiff and class-action employment cases, occupational safety and health matters, and public accommodation disability claims.

Ms. Brightwell is a frequent speaker on topics related to the Family and Medical Leave Act, accessibility issues under the Americans With Disabilities Act, severance agreements, and litigation avoidance, having lectured at numerous continuing legal education seminars, meetings of national organizations, and management training courses. Ms. Brightwell also has authored publications on various employment-related topics appearing in The National Law Journal and other nationally recognized legal publications and is a frequent commentator on occupational safety and health topics for a publication for the pulp and paper industry.

MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE:

We're so confident you'll get what you want out of this conference that we'll refund every penny if you're not completely satisfied. No questions asked! It's 100% risk-free!

Pricing:

APPROVED FOR RECERTIFICATION CREDIT:

HRCI - Receive 1.5 recertification credit hours toward PHR and SPHR recertification through the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI). For more information about certification or recertification, please visit the HRCI homepage at www.hrci.org.