Racial or Threatening Comments

difficult employees Apr 03, 2019

Scenario: An employee is threatening other staff members, or causing other members to be uncomfortable because of confrontational remarks or behaviors.

Solution: Threats of any kind should not be tolerated. If an employee makes a threat to another employee or member of management, then the situation needs to be documented thoroughly and the employee may need to be dismissed depending on the severity of the threat. In the case of a minor threat, dismissal should not occur on the first offense, but a written counseling needs to be provided. When any situation is occurring that makes other staff members feel uncomfortable, the behavior needs to be addressed immediately in a private conversation. For example:

"Mary, making comments such as __________ is not appropriate at work. These comments show a lack of respect for other members of our team, and we have no tolerance for disrespectful behavior. Your behavior needs to change immediately, and you need to be careful about the way that you are treating other staff members. Threatening comments or behaviors are not allowed in any way."

Solution: Thank the employee for letting you know about the situation, and assure them that racial comments are not acceptable in the workplace and the situation will be taken care of. Any form of racial prejudice in the workplace is a serious offense, and it should not be taken lightly. Remind the employee that they were right by telling you about the situation, and it is very important to you that this type of behavior is not occurring in the workplace. Meet with the person who made the comments and ask them about the situation and let them know that the behavior is not allowed. If necessary, an investigation may need to be completed to talk with other people who were involved in the situation to determine exactly what happened. During the conversation with the employee who made the comments, provide them with a copy of the policy and let them know that racial comments will not be tolerated. For example:What if an employee approaches you and tells you about racial comments made by another employee, either directed at them or another person?

"Mary, according to our company policy, as well as the employment law in this country, it is not acceptable to make racial comments in the workplace. On _______________ (fill in the day, time etc. that the situation occurred), you made inappropriate comments about race. Here is a copy of our policies, and you will see that this behavior is not tolerated."

Because this situation involves other employees, you should complete a written counseling with the employee and let them know that termination may occur if it happens again.

Stay connected with news and updates!

Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our team.
Don't worry, your information will not be shared.

Subscribe
Close

50% Complete

Two Step

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.