It is impossible to entirely eliminate the risk of a claim for unlawful discrimination. In America, anyone can sue anyone for anything. However, the courts and administrative agencies charged with handling discrimination claims have various procedural devices available to dispose of frivolous claims prior to trial. In order to minimize the risk of discrimination claims and maximize the prospect for early resolution of non-meritorious claims, employers should consider the following insights from an attorney who has handled numerous cases on behalf of both employers and employees. First and foremost, in any personnel decision the employer must put himself in the shoes of the employee, and should proceed upon the assumption that the employee is at least suspicious, if not altogether paranoid.
Perception is everything.
If an employee within a protected classification is given reason to believe that he or she is being treated differently from other employees not within the same protected classification, the employee is part way toward making out a viable claim of discrimination. Avoiding the appearance of unequal treatment can be particularly tricky in light of the many potential groups or combinations of groups whom an employer can be accused of discriminating either for or against. For example, in one workplace there may be a perception that younger women are favored at the expense of older women. In another workplace, there might be the perception that younger female workers women are being harassed by older men who are not being called to task for their boorish behaviors. There is no failsafe insulation against the filing of a discrimination claim.