Avoiding Performance Management Pitfalls: Preventing abuse of authority, managing employee reactions

While performance management can be a useful tool for employers and employees, it can also result in significant legal issues when conducted improperly. In this session, experts will identify common pitfalls in performance management and explain how to avoid them, addressing issues such as the following:

• How might bias or discrimination arise intentionally or unintentionally in the course of performance management? What strategies should employers implement in evaluating and managing performance to counteract bias, avoid discrimination, and ensure fair treatment of employees?
• How should an employer respond to an employee’s poor performance? Is an employer obliged to offer support or training to an employee who is performing poorly? Can employees challenge negative performance reviews that they feel are inaccurate or unfair?
• Do employers have a duty to inquire into whether a disability might be contributing to an employee’s poor performance? What might the duty to accommodate require in the context of performance management?
• When might a performance improvement plan or a negative performance review be considered a form of retaliation or disguised discipline?
• What criteria must an employer meet to justify dismissing an employee for poor performance?
• Can performance management ever constitute bullying or harassment? How do adjudicators differentiate between abusive and legitimate management actions? How should an employer handle a claim of harassment against a supervisor by an employee who may simply be unhappy being managed?
• Do employees have the right to union representation during performance reviews or other performance management meetings?