Is Good HR Worth the Time, Effort and Money?

Many times employers have told me that a good Human Resources program is not worth their time or effort. They say that they have never had an HR related lawsuit or discrimination claim and never expect to have one.

When an employer tells me that, I wish them good luck and continued success.

Unfortunately, that is sometimes a short sighted view. Let’s look at a few statistics.

Employers lose:

63% of all employment related lawsuits
71% of race based lawsuits
67% of disability based lawsuits
66% of gender based lawsuits
59% of age based lawsuits

When an employer loses an employment related lawsuit, the verdicts can be enormous.

The average jury verdict in:

Federal court = $603,376
State court = $808,337

What do juries believe?

61% believe that that most discrimination lawsuits against employers are justified
69% believe that employers retaliate against low level employees who complain

In 2018, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reported that sexual harassment charges were up 50% over the prior year. This represented the highest year to year increase in the agencies’ history.

Over the last several years, both the Federal EEOC and the South Carolina Human Affairs Commission (SCHAC) have increased the size of their staffs and are now conducting more active and aggressive investigations.

So, what is an employer supposed to do?

1. Have a well written (and up to date) employee handbook that is South Carolina compliant.
2. Conduct a full and comprehensive audit of all of your HR practices. (Policies, procedures, benefits, compensation, training, handbooks, employee relations and compliance)
3. Conduct regular (annual) harassment/discrimination training for all employees.

A company’s best defense against the potential expense and aggravation related to federal or state law violations is to proactively review and revise as needed all Human Resources policies, handbooks, hiring procedures, compensation, benefits, training programs, communications tools and other functions. The professionals of PHHR are ready to assist your organization with this type of training as well as to maintain compliance with the latest state and federal mandates.

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Paul Hilton is a certified Human Resources Consultant, located in Columbia, SC.
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