Page 108 - An Indispensible Resource for Being a Credible Activist

You know that waging a formal complaint or lawsuit against an employer can take
months or years and can be very costly and stressful on an individual and an entire family.
These warnings are not given to dissuade you from speaking up but merely to ensure that
you clearly understand what you may be up against. Even if your concerns are ultimately
proven to be true and your memos and other communications that raise these issues dur-
ing your tenure at the company are perfectly diplomatic, emotionally intelligent, and per-
fectly worded, do not have a blameful tone, and have the full intention of responsibly and
ethically partnering with your corporate leadership, you may still be unlawfully retaliated
against and wrongfully terminated.
However, as the HR professional in the company, you must realize that you do have cer-
tain advantages. You presumably have a global view of inconsistent policy application
resulting in disparate treatment to which other employees are not privy. You also know your
rights under the employment laws of your city, state, and country. You also know your com-
pany policies and know what your employee handbook says, and hopefully you have been
carefully documenting anything that is of concern to you from the moment you first became
concerned. Although a negative, retaliatory response to your well-intentioned communica-
tions to your leadership does not bode well for your continued employment at that com-
pany, you can still prepare yourself for the many possible outcomes of your courageous and
ethical actions. It is possible that if you complain and present compelling evidence to the
appropriate authorities, that your job will be safe and your company’s noncompliance will
be remediated. At the first sign of any retaliation against you for having performed your job
ethically, professionally, and well, you are advised to consider which of the steps listed in
the HR Tool entitled “Personal Protective Steps to Take at the First Sign of Retaliation,” on
pages 99–100, might benefit you in your situation.
If you have experienced unlawful harassment, discrimination, or retaliation, document
it as accurately, thoroughly, and succinctly as you can and call either your city or state
Human Rights Commission or the EEOC to consult with their staff on whether you are at a
point that warrants filing a formal charge against your company. Try to document this on
your own time at a computer other than your workplace computer.
You will want to think very carefully about whom you can trust at work, if anyone.
Remember, when people become afraid of losing their jobs, their income, and their health
benefits for themselves and their families, their loyalties can easily shift out of fear, or they
can just become extremely self-protective. They may not want to be seen with you, may not
want to be associated with you, and may not be willing to themselves make anonymous
complaints even if they have knowledge and/or proof of wrongdoing.
You will need to be sure that you are ready for whatever happens, and remain as com-
posed and centered as you possibly can at work. The last thing you will want to do is have
a very bad day and then blow up or send an ill-advised e-mail without thinking through all
the wording and possible consequences very carefully. If you are going to speak up at work,
you need to do so with as much accurate information in front of you as possible, having
thought carefully about all the risks, and having considered what you will do if it does not
have the outcome for which you had hoped.
The very good news is that there are whistleblower protections for employees and there
is recourse for wrongly terminated employees. The bad news is you need to see which, if

CHAPTER 7 • Dealing with Inconsistent Application of P olicies 91