• 03
  • December
    2011

Few things can cause as much disruption and, potentially embarrassment and expense, to an organization than to be the target of employment discrimination claims. For employers there is no hidden agenda in their employment decision, it make business sense to hire or retain the best employee for the job. A company is not likely to risk the welfare of their business by hiring a less qualified employee due to a perceived prejudice.

Many employees however may have difficulty accepting the simple fact they were not the most qualified individual for the job or that their performance was not meeting expectations. An employee may then try to seek out other reasons for the employer's actions. This can lead to significant headaches and expense for businesses.

An example of the potential cost of discrimination claims occurred recently in Georgia. The former coach of the Savannah State Football resigned last year citing health and personal reasons. The coach is white and the school is a historically black college. Later, the coach recanted and indicated that his resignation was not completely voluntary.

A lawsuit against the college ensued, but last month the two sides came to a settlement agreement in which the university paid $350,000. The University maintains that the payment is not an admission of fault or liability. The agreement also called for the former coach to withdraw his application for a position as the athletics director of the college.

In the second portion of this series we will look at some of the specific damages claimed by the coach as well as concerns that the school had with his conduct.

Source: Savannah Morning News, "Robby Wells receives $240,000 in settlement with SSU," Donald Heath, Dec. 1, 2011