How to Prevent Discrimination in the Workplace as a Household Employer

Follow these guidelines to help ensure that you, as a household employer, can prevent discrimination in your home, which is your employee’s workplace.

• Treat all employees equally.
• Hire, promote, and fire without bias.
• Review employment policies for unfair practices that have a negative impact on a protected class (i.e., race, religion, ethnicity, gender, age, disability, or pregnancy).
• Eliminate any unfair or negative policies or practices.
• Take immediate action to eliminate discriminatory conduct, including inappropriate comments or behavior.
• Encourage diversity.
• Never retaliate against an employee for filing a discrimination complaint — it’s illegal to do so.
• Establish and enforce zero-tolerance for unlawful activities and behaviors such as sexual harassment.
• Be prepared to respond to any complaint of sexual harassment. While your employee handbook covers your zero-tolerance policy, know how you will handle this sensitive issue.
• Establish and implement procedures for dealing with illegal discrimination, and document them in your employee handbook.
• Keep in mind that many employment agencies are subject to equal employment opportunity laws and may not legally discriminate against a candidate or employee on your behalf.
• Be aware of the potential for document abuse and take care to verify a document’s validity.

Maintaining a safe and happy workplace for your employee means implementing human resource practices in your home to prevent discrimination. This will go a long way to creating a satisfying work environment and building a positive relationship with your employee.

We’re here to help in your efforts to prevent discrimination. Feel free to call us at (800) 929-9213, email [email protected] or chat with us about your questions or concerns on how to prevent discrimination.

Also, download The Complete Guide to Household Payroll. It will help you every step of the way and explain everything you need to do. There’s even a handy checklist and payroll calendar at the end of the guide to use as references.