have this conversation

The most important legal conversation supervisors should have is with their human resources department regarding the subject of proper documentation. This is an area where supervisors cannot afford to go wrong. When you are ordered to appear in court to answer and defend a lawsuit brought by a one-year employee, your paperwork cannot have any gaps. The number one reason companies and their supervisors lose employee-filed laws is poor documentation and record keeping.

And this won’t change any time soon, because managers and supervisors simply won’t take the time to (1) understand the importance of properly documenting incidents and events at work as they happen and then (2) actually documenting those incidents and events. . . Once managers and supervisors enter the courtroom to answer the charges against them, they are held to a much higher standard than if they were just another employee.

Play offense, not defense

Your documentation of the event in question, whether it be sexual harassment, age discrimination, gender discrimination, or any other incident, looms large in that courtroom. The attorney for the employee who is suing will systematically try to dismantle what the supervisor is saying, so documenting it is the best offense you have in a lawsuit and the only defense you have in a court of law. What this means is that managers and supervisors must take the time to document every incident that occurs under their supervision. Remember; Every document you handle as a supervisor can and will be used against you in a court of law.

Taking the “when to go to court” approach to documentation ensures that enough time is allowed to preserve dates, timelines, people involved, and what was said and done, before, during, and after the incident in question. This is an effective offensive strategy. In contrast, a documentation approach, if we go to court, places little importance on the preservation of this important documentation. With this approach, managers believe that if they ever get to court, they will be able to remember events and moments, and simply explain things. Of course, you can imagine that these are managers who have never been in a court of law.

It’s not the place to go to school

Go to court without solid documentation and you will be fighting an uphill battle to win your case against that employee. There are three laws when it comes to documenting; (1) document everything, (2) document everything, and (3) document everything. Follow the three documentation laws to the letter, and you’ll be among the rarest of managers and supervisors going to court to answer charges brought by an employee; a manager who wins his case.

conclusion

The most important legal conversation supervisors should have is with their human resources department regarding proper and correct documentation. This is an area where supervisors simply cannot afford to be wrong. Your documentation of incidents and events in question will take pride of place in the courtroom.

© 2014 Cubie Davis King. All rights reserved internationally.