How to Avoid False Harassment Accusations By Your Subordinates

California law provides numerous protections for victims of discrimination and harassment. However, there is virtually no protection against being falsely accused of harassing another employee who someone who who reports to you. And, while there is nothing you can do to guarantee that you will never be falsely accused of harassment, there are a few simple but very important rules you can and should follow to significantly reduce the chances of becoming a victim of such false accusations:

1. Do not have extended private interactions with employees who have history of filing questionable harassment complaints. Extended one-on-one meetings or private conversations between you and your subordinate who has a colorful history of making harassment accusations are being the next target of such a claim. When it's just the two of you, it means it will be your word against his or hers, and this will often not work in your favor. Having a third party present, such as an office assistant, will help your organization correctly determine what really happened if you end up being accused of something you supposedly said or did during those meetings.
2. Recognize people's natural tendency to exaggerate, especially if they are unhappy at work and / or do not like you. If your subordinate already doesn't like you, he will look for any reason to file some type of claim against you. A seemingly innocent compliment can be easily turned against you. I have seen numerous times how such well meant statements as "You look really nice today; are you going on a date later?" being interpreted as propositioning, and "I hear India has great schools. Do you plan to send you children back there for studies when they grow up?" twisted to "You should go back to India." I have also seen how a heart-to-heart conversation between a manager and his report, where he told her about his dating problems with his girlfriend was later used against him, when he passed her for a promotion. You may be tempted to share your personal issues and challenges, but before you do - ask yourself who you are sharing it with and whether it can be used against you in any way. This is not about being paranoid; this is reality - at least at our workplace today.
3. Discipline your subordinates in a respectful manner. No one likes to be disciplined at work or being told that they are not doing well. This often causes workers a lot of stress and anxiety and drives them into a defensive mode where they are eager to strike back at you. Therefore, you must make sure that your written or verbal discipline or performance criticism is respectful and doesn't include statements that could be interpreted as discriminatory. For instance, such a comment in a performance review of a 64 year-old employee as "his approach is outdated..." can be easily interpreted as ageist and ... justifiably so, even if you didn't really mean to refer to that employee's age. Even such statements like "he doesn't understand luxury" have been used before by a minority employee in a racial discrimination claim, alleging that he was treated differently from his white co-workers.
4. Resist the urge to share any jokes or stories at work that could be interpreted as discriminatory. Ironically, the funniest jokes and stories have a discriminatory or sexual undertone to them. You may be tempted to share them on Slack or forward them by email or Facebook to your co-workers to make them laugh When you do this, however, you give a potentially disgruntled employee a powerful weapon to use against you in the future. The record of those comments and jokes will stay there forever and can come back and bite you many months later. For instance, a black or Mexican joke can be easily turned against you by a minority employee in a racial discrimination case. And even though that alone might not be enough to prove a case, the investigation process alone can cause you a great deal of stress, even if you are not terminated or demoted. After all, it's much easier and legally safe, so to speak, to discipline an employee who was accused of harassment than question the accusation itself.
5. Two rules for holiday parties and networking events. These rules are simple. (a) Keep alcohol consumption to a minimum or even better - consider playing it safe and don't drink at all, and (b) do not physically touch other employees beyond a regular handshake or a hug upon greeting or saying bye. Not having even one drink might take much of the fun out of these types of events, but it will also save you from behaving irrationally and the headache of dealing with resulting accusations later. Being sober will also allow you to remember things well if you do end up becoming involved in a situation. Have as many drinks as you want at your non-work related functions, but don't mix business with booze.

The above five rules are easy to follow and they can help you avoid many situation where you can be potentially falsely accused of harassment of discrimination.