In this scenario Sarah an employee at ABC corporation is speaking with the HR manager to discuss a concern. Lets listen in. Do you have a minute? Sure. Thanks for making time for me. Not a problem Sarah, how are you? Not so good actually. Really, Whats up? Well I don't want to get anyone in trouble but there is something going on in my department that's making me uncomfortable. Im sorry to hear your uncomfortable are you able to share a little more about whats going on? Well it's a little embarrassing and I want to make sure that what we talk about remains confidential. Before Sarah says anything else. What should the Hr manager inform her of? in text citations and references

I would inform Sarah that the EEOC enforces guidelines against racial/ethnic discrimination. I would advise that her concern would be kept confidential, however, if it is an act of discrimination, then the concern would need to be addressed. It doesn't mean that the HR representative will go around parading that Sarah told on someone or got someone in trouble, but actions cannot be corrected if no one knows they are going on.

I would reassure Sarah that there are policies against retaliation, so she has nothing to be concerned about. Her feelings are valid in not wanting to get someone in trouble but also being uncomfortable. I would reassure Sarah that even though coming to HR about her concern was a hard decision to make, that it was the right one.

I would also go into details about the problem at hand and explain how they are typically handled. If this is sexual harrassment, I would talk about the various laws about sexual harrassment and how it is handled. If this was a racial/ethnic discrimination, I would go into detail about the laws they have put in place. Ultimately, I would want Sarah, or any employee, to know that they are in a safe place and can express their concerns, how they are feeling, and make sure that if it is discriminatory, that it doesn't happen again.

You can't tell the employee what kind of corrective action is to be taken against the other employee that is doing wrong as that is confidential. You wouldn't be able to say that the employee making "inappropriate jokes" has done it several times or talk about their history. Your job as an HR representative is to reassure the employee with concerns that they are in a safe place and that they can come to HR for any concerns at any time.

What are your thoughts on this?