Don’t Rely on the Pence Rule to Safeguard Your Small Business, It May Lead to More Problems
The surge of accusations of sexual harassment happening all over the country is making me question a lot of things.
People are making claims, and in many cases, companies are acting hastily without thinking. They’re quick to fire someone without even asking for an explanation.
It’s not just famous people like Harvey Weinstein, Matt Lauer, Judge Roy Moore, and Senator Al Franken who are facing these accusations. Even small business owners might have to deal with this issue.
I’m sure small business owners must be wondering what they should do, if anything at all.
The #metoo movement keeps growing every day, with more and more victims coming forward and accusing high-profile celebrities, politicians, and industry leaders. It’s crucial for employers to respond, but they shouldn’t go overboard, says John Alan Doran, a partner at Sherman Howard, a law firm. Doran has been in this field for 25 years and has dealt with discrimination cases in the past.
The Pence Rule
Have you heard about the Pence Rule? It’s a concept that Vice President Mike Pence supports. He has a rule that he won’t spend time alone with a woman who isn’t his wife, including during business meetings. He even avoids being in a room where alcohol is being served without his wife.
The Pence Rule is based on Evangelical Christian beliefs and is sometimes referred to as The Billy Graham Rule, named after a famous evangelist who also believed in it.
At first glance, the Pence Rule may seem like a good idea. After all, if men and women can’t be alone together, then there won’t be any opportunities for harassment in the workplace. But this rule actually creates more division and could potentially be against the law.
You know what? I gotta tell you something important. What might work for Billy Graham or even Mike Pence could land you in some real legal trouble. I’m not kidding! You see, the Pence Rule doesn’t actually protect you from harassment or discrimination claims. In fact, it could actually be used against you in a court of law, warns Tom Spiggle, a lawyer at the Spiggle Law Firm in Washington, DC, in a LinkedIn post.
According to Spiggle, the Pence Rule is simply discriminating against someone because of their gender. And hey, if we believe in equality in the workplace, there’s absolutely no reason why a woman or a man should be excluded from a meeting just because of their gender or someone else’s beliefs.
So, for all you small business owners out there considering adopting the Pence Rule as a one-size-fits-all policy to prevent sexual harassment claims or something worse, think long and hard about it. It may not be the smartest move after all.
If all the men in your company start following the Pence Rule, it would mean that only men would have meetings to discuss important business matters. And the same would apply if you, as a female small business owner, adopt a discriminatory practice against your male employees.
In addition to discriminating against employees based on their gender, the rule doesn’t even prevent claims of sexual harassment or assault.
For instance, the rule doesn’t stop harassment online or through smartphones. And it definitely doesn’t shield you from claims made by people of the same gender, as evidenced by the high-profile accusations against actors Kevin Spacey and George Takei.