HRM’s role in the performance management process

1/24/2021 Print Preview

https://ng.cengage.com/static/nb/ui/evo/index.html?deploymentId=48845323535012744196703717175&eISBN=9781285872674&id=1035906966&nbI… 1/3

Chapter 8: Performance Management: 8.2b Do Your Evaluations Comply with the Law? Book Title: Managing Human Resources Printed By: Carmen Banner ([email protected]) © 2016 Cengage Learning, Cengage Learning

8.2b Do Your Evaluations Comply with the Law?

Because performance evaluations are used to make many personnel decisions, they must meet certain legal requirements. The Supreme Court ruled that performance evaluations were subject to the same validity criteria as selection procedures. Carefully defined and measurable performance standards are required. In one landmark case involving test validation, Albemarle Paper Company v. Moody (discussed in Chapter 3), the U.S. Supreme Court found that employees had been ranked against a vague standard, open to each supervisor’s own interpretation. This decision has prompted organizations to try to eliminate vagueness in descriptions of traits such as attitude, cooperation, dependability, initiative, and leadership. For example, the trait “dependability” can be made much less vague if it is spelled out in terms of employee tardiness and/or unexcused absences. In general, reducing the room for subjective judgments will improve the entire evaluation process.

Other court decisions indicate that employers might face legal challenges when evaluations indicate an employee’s performance is acceptable or above average but then the person is later passed over for promotion, disciplined for poor performance, discharged, or laid off from the organization. In a case decided in 2012 (Catherine Eno v. Lumbermens Merchandising Corp.), an employee claimed she was terminated because the company she worked for said she had a poor attitude. The problem? Her evaluations stated that she was “a pleasure to work with and handles herself in a professional manner,” and that she “hit the ground running in eastern and is doing an excellent job for that department. The staff in eastern is enjoying her presence.” The court ruled in her favor. Other companies such as Goodyear and Ford have also faced legal battles because their performance evaluations were viewed as discriminatory against older workers.

So, from a legal perspective, performance evaluations can be a double-edged sword. You need them to help employees perform better and document your actions as a manager, but if they are poorly done or inaccurate, or you don’t make decisions based on them, you can find yourself in legal trouble. To avoid problems such as these, performance evaluations should meet the following legal guidelines:

Performance ratings must be job-related, with performance standards developed through a job analysis. Only evaluate those areas that are necessary for effective job performance.

Employees must be provided with clear, written job standards in advance of their evaluations so they understand what they need to do to get top ratings.

1/24/2021 Print Preview

https://ng.cengage.com/static/nb/ui/evo/index.html?deploymentId=48845323535012744196703717175&eISBN=9781285872674&id=1035906966&nbI… 2/3

Managers who conduct the evaluations must be able to observe the behavior they are rating. This implies having measurable standards with which to compare employee behavior.

Do not allow performance problems to continue unchecked. Document problems when they occur and refer to them in employees’ evaluations. This information may prove decisive should an employee take legal action. An employer’s credibility is strengthened when it can support performance evaluation ratings by documenting instances of poor performance.

Supervisors should be trained to use evaluation forms correctly and apply the evaluation standards when making judgments.

A firm’s HR department should review the evaluations to see if minority groups are being adversely impacted.

The evaluations should be discussed openly with employees and counseling or corrective guidance offered to help poor performers improve their performance. Be open to the possibility that employees could be transferred to other positions that better suit their abilities.

An appeals procedure should be established to enable employees to express their disagreement with the evaluations.

Specific, measurable job standards help remove vagueness and subjectivity from performance evaluations.

© Bill Varie/CORBIS

HR professionals should also review the supervisors’ evaluation comments that could indicate the firm is not complying with the law. Consider the following comments: “Ted was absent for several weeks in 2014, which adversely affected operations.” If some of Ted’s absences were taken in conjunction with the Family Medical Leave Act, the comment could

1/24/2021 Print Preview

https://ng.cengage.com/static/nb/ui/evo/index.html?deploymentId=48845323535012744196703717175&eISBN=9781285872674&id=1035906966&nbI… 3/3

be used in court to show Ted was deprived of his right to take leave under the act without being retaliated against. Having evaluations reviewed by a supervisor’s superior can also reduce the chance of biased evaluations and evaluations that could be legally problematic.

Chapter 8: Performance Management: 8.2b Do Your Evaluations Comply with the Law? Book Title: Managing Human Resources Printed By: Carmen Banner ([email protected]) © 2016 Cengage Learning, Cengage Learning

© 2021 Cengage Learning Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this work may by reproduced or used in any form or by any means - graphic, electronic, or mechanical, or in any other manner - without the written permission of the copyright holder.