Avoid Holiday Party Headaches

The holiday season is here — including Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, the Winter Solstice, Christmas and more. It’s when employers and their employees often let loose and celebrate the end of the year before the beginning of the next.

In this episode of The Workplace podcast, CalChamber Associate General Counsel Matthew Roberts, CalChamber Senior Employment Law Counsel Erika Barbara and CalChamber Employment Law Subject Matter Expert Vanessa Greene discuss what employers should consider for a wonderful end-of-year celebration — or any workplace gathering — that doesn’t lead to concerns or issues at the end of the party.

For example, because many year-end holidays are religious or cultural, a best practice is to avoid religious themes, traditions and décor at workplace events so that all employees feel welcome, and to reduce risk of religious discrimination claims.

Federal/State Law

Federal and California law prohibits employers from discriminating against employees because of their sincerely held religious beliefs. So, a party that celebrates a particular religious holiday over others is not going to be respectful of the workplace’s diverse religious beliefs and could lead to employees feeling left out or treated unfairly — which eventually could lead to a discrimination complaint.

Instead of hosting a Christmas party, consider a neutral-themed “winter wonderland” lunch, an ugly sweater party or even an employee gratitude celebration. Better yet — wait until January when the holidays are over and celebrate the completion of the prior year that has no tie at all to the holidays.

Tips/Best Practices

On this podcast, our experts offer tips, best practices and more to help employers avoid those thorny issues that arise with holiday parties, including:

• Reminding employees of existing policies and practices before the event;
• How to properly pay nonexempt employees as well as provide them with compliant meal and rest breaks during holiday parties;
• When planning the entertainment for a party, what considerations are important;
• Guidelines for gift exchanges, like a white elephant;
• Understanding liability issues for afterhours/off-site events; and
• Responding quickly to any post-party misconduct complaints.

Employers’ end-of-year parties are approaching quickly. Now is the time to ensure the celebration is fun, inclusive and compliant.