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Legal Issues with Performance Reviews

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A sister agency in Idaho recently has legal troubles as a result of a performance review. We are coming up on our performance review and I have done one before with another type of company. I’m concerned that I may also open our agency up for potential legal troubles, especially because one employee in particular is receiving a bad review. Can I do anything to avoid legal problems here?

Well, you can never prevent an employee from filing a claim that her personal rights were taken away or that she or she was discriminated against. However, you can protect yourself in the courts by making sure to keep detailed records of your dealings and of employees’ performances. As long as your have documented proof about how a person has performed, then you will be able to prove that your performance evaluation is based on evidence and numbers, and not just on personal opinions.

Here are some tips to help you throughout the year so that when review time comes, you’re prepared with evidentiary support:

Make sure your employees understand what is expected of them. Have goals laid out as well as policies that the company expects them to adhere to. You need to have this information available to your employees in writing so that they can reference it.

Make sure that feedback is a part of the everyday operations of your agency. If your employees need coaching, workshops, or other training, it’s important that they are able to get it early on, rather than after it’s too late to make a difference.

The performance evaluations should be standardized and consistent across the board. It’s important that all employees are subject to the same reviews and that those reviews are clearly communicated to the employees.

Employees should also be evaluated on performance results. While they can also be evaluated for their behavior and attitude, it’s important to keep in mind that the facts will be your primary means of support (along with any claims that may be filed against them.)

Performance and compensation should not be addressed in the same meeting. It’s important that your employees do not enter into the meeting with the expectation that they will have a salary increase when they should really be there to hear about how they can improve.