Most companies house a Human Resources (HR) Department to handle employee and office matters. This includes administering benefits, onboarding employees, and planning company events, but also involves handling more severe issues including harassment, discrimination, workplace safety, and more. If you’ve experienced a serious situation at your workplace, filing a complaint with HR may be your next best move, but there are a few important things to note before doing so.
What are some reasons I may file a complaint with HR?
Complaints can be made to HR for a number of reasons and include but are not limited to:
- Harassment of any kind including verbal, physical, or sexual
- Discrimination against age, race, sexual orientation, gender, religion, and more
- Retaliation or violations of whistleblowing laws or taking protected medical leave
- Violations of labor laws
- Violations of workplace safety laws
When is it time to file an HR complaint?
Regardless of severity, if you believe any of your protected rights have been violated, it’s crucial to document it with HR immediately. While it can be intimidating, you have the right to protection and the right to a safe workplace.
What should I know before filing a complaint?
While it’s HR’s responsibility to protect you and your rights, it’s important to remember that they work for your organization, not for you. Before filing a complaint, read your employee handbook and be sure to follow all procedures for filing complaints that are listed there. Regardless of what your handbook states, you should always record your complaints in writing. Even if you have a conversation with HR in person, be sure to document all conversations in emails with HR so you have a paper trail to refer to.
For a thorough complaint and investigation, be sure to include the following details in your report:
- Laws you believe were violated
- Who was involved
- When the incident occurred including specific dates, times, and locations
- Any other evidence including emails, phone calls, text messages, etc.
I’ve filed a complaint with HR. Now what?
Once you’ve filed a complaint, advocate for yourself and be sure to follow up with its status if you don’t hear anything. Most likely, your organization will complete an investigation looking into the situation. Be sure to keep your own notes and documentation on the process of the investigation.
When is it time to call an employment attorney?
If the internal investigation fails to adequately address your concerns or improperly finds your complaint invalid, or if you have been retaliated against for filing a complaint with HR, an employment lawyer can help. Located in Boston, Massachusetts, Greene and Hafer represents employees who have filed complaints with Human Resources and need to be advocated for. With more than 22 years of combined employment law experience, our attorneys are prepared to ensure your rights are recognized.
