Test Your Knowledge: Handling Workplace Problems

Take the True/False quiz below to test your knowledge of how to handle workplace problems that can threaten the safety of you and your employees, not to mention the financial security of your company if one of these situations is mishandled. Answers follow the quiz.

Questions

1.  Your company’s progressive discipline policy should try to anticipate every conceivable type of employee misconduct, so employees will know what discipline will be imposed. True or False?
2.  Employees can use a poorly written progressive discipline policy as part of a lawsuit against your company. True or False?
3.  If an employee complains that she was sexually harassed, but the alleged harasser denies it, there’s nothing the company can do. True or False?
4.  You don’t have to investigate every workplace incident or complaint. True or False?
5.  If an employee complains that another employee is harassing him or her, it’s best to move the complaining employee to another work area until you figure out what really happened. True or False?
6.  Keeping complaints confidential can help you avoid claims of retaliation. True or False?
7.  There’s very little a company can do to reduce its risk of a violent workplace incident. True or False?
8.  Employers in some states can get a restraining order, prohibiting someone who has committed domestic violence against one of their employees from coming on the worksite. True or False?
9.  A company can be sued for damage caused by an employee only for incidents that take place on the worksite, during work hours. True or False?
10.  A company can be legally liable for an employee’s criminal behavior. True or False?

Answers

1. False. You couldn’t possibly list every possible employee offense, and you shouldn’t try to. The best progressive discipline policies reserve the company’s right to decide how to handle incidents on a case-by-case basis.
   
2. True. If the policy appears to lock the company into a particular course of action, and the company departs from it, then the worker might have a legal claim for breach of contract.
   
3. False. The investigator can talk to any witnesses, examine relevant documents (such as emails between the workers), and consider each employee’s demeanor, motives, and consistency.
   
4.  True. Although it’s best to err on the side of investigating, there may be situations in which the alleged wrongdoing is extremely minor or the employees involved agree about what happened. In these cases, you may be able to skip the investigation.
   
5.  False. If you move the employee who complained, the company could be accused of retaliation. If you must separate workers temporarily, it’s a better idea to move the accused employee.
   
6.  True. A negative employment action qualifies as retaliation only if it is done because an employee complained. The fewer people who know about a complaint, the fewer people who are in a position to commit illegal retaliation.
   
7.  False. Although there are no guarantees, treating employees with respect, and giving them fair warning of misconduct and performance problems through evaluations and progressive discipline, can help avert trouble.
   
8. True. Traditionally, only a victim of abuse could get this type of order, but the laws of some states allow employers to get them to protect an employee, as well.
   
9. False. A company can be held liable for any harm an employee causes within the course and scope of the employment, whether on site or off, during work hours or not. But if the employee acted independently or purely out of personal motives, the employer probably won’t be liable.
   
10. True. A company can be held liable for criminal acts a worker commits against a customer, client, or coworker if the company knew, or should have known, that the worker was dangerous and failed to prevent potential crimes—for example, by conducting a background check (as allowed by state law) or screening before hiring a delivery- or repairperson who will enter customers’ homes.

So how did you do? Hopefully you made a perfect score, but if you didn’t, use what you learned to make your company safer for you, your employees and from lawsuits.

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Test your knowledge of how to handle workplace problems that can threaten the safety of you and your employees, not to mention the financial security of your company if one of these situations is mishandled.