Page 10 - BusinessWest August 22, 2022

Editorial
IA Smart Move? You Bet
t took a few years longer than it should have, but sports Indeed, state lawmakers tend to overthink these things, if gambling finally seems to be a reality in the Bay State. that’s even the right term, and this leads to indecision. It hap-
The Massachusetts Legislature recently approved a pened with gaming for several years, and it happened with
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sports-betting bill, and Gov. Charlie Baker has signed it into law. If all goes well — something that doesn’t happen often in this state — systems should be in place for sports betting for later this year and certainly by the time the Super Bowl rolls around next February.
This news is cause for celebration in the state’s three casi- nos, which have been pushing hard for such a measure, and for good reason. Gaming revenues have certainly not been what they were projected to be nearly four years after MGM Springfield opened its doors to great pomp and circumstance. And the lack of sports betting has given gamblers one more reason to cross the border and go to facilities in New Hamp- shire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York. Sports betting seemed to always make sense as a way to help these casinos improve traffic, bring more revenue to the state, and add some jobs. But that didn’t stop the Legislature from doing what it does all too often: sit on its hands.
Opinion
sports betting as well.
After four years of “painstaking work and research,” as state
Sen. Eric Lesser called it, the Legislature was able to come to an agreement on a bill providing for both retail and mobile sports wagering, one that will allow betting on college sports, with some restrictions, and also comes with a number of consumer protections. These include a provision whereby,
for online and mobile betting, bets cannot be linked to credit cards — a measure implemented to make sure consumers are wagering with funds on hand and not borrowing.
Projections of revenues vary, but the measure is expected to bring in more than $35 million annually. That’s not a huge number, but right now, it’s money that’s going elsewhere, and that the state could put to good use in areas ranging from workforce development to public health.
The state is once again late to the party. But late is better than never — or even later. v
The Power of Workplace Investigations
EBy Mark Adams
mployers have an obligation
to maintain a workplace free
from unlawful harassment and discrimination. When it comes to the pillars and strategies for achieving this outcome, many focus upon their efforts and resources on training their management and employees. Others focus on promoting and reinforcing positive behaviors and conduct in support of their values and culture to pull their workforce together, foster greater employee engagement, and thereby collectively root out such inappropriate and unlawful conduct. Most, if not all, enforce existing poli- cies or practices for compliance and employee-relations purposes.
Yet despite the myriad paths to take (whether individually or concurrently), one tool that is critical towards support- ing all of them is the need to conduct effective and thorough investigations.
Internal investigations are a power- ful tool. Done effectively, they can help mitigate and control the risk that an organization may face when a dispute or complaint surfaces. Is termination warranted? Some other form of disci- pline? Or no discipline at all? A thor- ough and objective investigation can provide the foundation and backbone to justify whatever action management chooses to take in response to a situa- tion, especially if challenged by others or by opposing legal counsel (if litiga-
tion later ensues).
Investigations can also serve as a
deterrent against inappropriate conduct occurring in the workplace in the first place. While some perpetrators will suc- cumb to the temptation of engaging in bad conduct when they are not being supervised or when they feel manage- ment will not be able to get to the bot- tom of it, they may think twice or not do something at all when management has a reputation of taking complaints seriously and conducting investigations thoroughly.
Then there is the engagement benefit that comes with investigations. Employ- ees often feel disengaged if they feel they don’t have a voice in the workplace when their concerns are ignored or are not addressed. Such disengagement can have severe consequences for a com- pany. It can lead to lost productivity and turnover, and when it involves questions of illegal conduct, it can also lead to employees going elsewhere to air their concerns (such as by filing a complaint with a state or federal anti-discrimina- tion agency or going to court).
By contrast, employers who conduct investigations in a timely, thorough, and objective manner can engender trust and credibility among their employees, and with that gained trust, employees are more likely than not to utilize an employer’s internal complaint- and problem-resolution procedures rather
than going outside the organization. Employers who ignore conducting
them altogether do so at their peril. In an opinion handed down by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the court described the failure to inves- tigate a sexual harassment complaint
as follows: “an employer’s investigation of a sexual-harassment complaint is
not a gratuitous or optional undertak- ing; under federal law, an employer’s failure to investigate may allow a jury to impose liability on the employer” (Malik v. Carrier Corp.).
So, do you have a plan for how inter- nal investigations are to be conducted? Will it be by someone from inside the organization? If so, are they trained on how to conduct workplace investiga- tions? Will you use an outside resource to conduct them on your behalf? Or will you evaluate which path to take on a case-by-case basis? For employers, it is important to have answers to these questions and have either the internal or external resources in place to be able to respond promptly. Failing to do so can lead to delay or inaction altogether, which can create greater risk. u
Mark Adams, director of Compliance for the Employers Assoc. of the NorthEast, leads EANE’s HR Services Team. This article first appeared on the EANE blog; eane.org
10 AUGUST 22, 2022
OPINION
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