WHAT HR NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT TRIAL

Posted on August 12, 2022 in Uncategorized

People might find this odd or even disturbing, but the truth is, I love jury trials.  Nothing else in my work spurs the same exhilaration and thrill.  Rarely does my client share this perspective, so it becomes very important that I make sure the HR professional seated with me at trial is ready for the experience.  With this in mind, I thought I would share with you three things juries expect of human resource professionals.

1. Juries think HR can stop bad decisions.

Juries view HR like a judge assessing the facts and witnesses to protect employees from unfair decisions. They think of HR as a gatekeeper ensuring management makes prudent decisions.  While seemingly unrealistic, juries expect HR to intervene and stop a wrongful termination.  They believe, correct or not, that HR has powers that might not exist in every workplace.

This jury expectation of HR makes it so important that HR do its best to help management make sound, well-reasoned decisions.  When management is headed in the wrong direction, HR should ask the smart, tough questions that force reexamination of the situation.  Sometime, where the facts warrant it, HR figures out how to get the employment-law attorney on the phone with management to help steer the situation to a good decision.

2. Juries expect HR to be excellent witnesses.

Juries might give some witnesses a little slack, but not HR.  HR is held to a higher standard.  People associate HR to lawyers believing HR is experienced in legal matters and ready to tell their story at trial.  Similarly, HR is a job that involves working and interacting with people.  That translates to an expectation that an HR professional should be very comfortable on the stand.

3. HR listens to everyone’s opinion.

Most employee handbooks explain that the company has an open-door policy.  The idea is that management wants to hear from employees about all their concerns.   Translation: employees expect they can walk into HR and talk about anything and everyone.   Come trial, juries expect that open door concept to mean that HR has an obligation to listen to everyone’s opinion.   HR is there to make sure everyone’s side of the story is told and, more importantly, recorded and reflected in notes and written statements.  Juries will not excuse a failure to collect a statement from a key witness or missing the opportunity to hear from every person who had something important to share about a termination decision.

FINAL TIP:   Watch a trial.  Jury trials happen all the time in Harris County and in the post-COVID environment trials are broadcast on Court run Zoom lines.   Nothing will teach HR more about the trial experience than watching an employment law case.

I hope you enjoyed this newsletter!