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DEI for legal teams
Jeff Peterson

DEI for legal teams

January 11, 2022/in Corporate Transactional Law, News /by Jeff Peterson

DEI for Legal Teams

What legal responsibilities do business owners have to implement Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion into the workplace and how can a well-executed DEI strategy positively impact valuation? It is important for organizations to not only have strategies for implementing DEI and anti-harassment policies but also to implement them through effective training. Keeping employees safe and creating an inclusive workspace is not only smart from a culture and engagement perspective, it is always wise to reduce the risk of an employment lawsuit.

Training is not only for simply meeting compliance requirements, it can highlight different perspectives on the company culture and open the dialogue to create opportunities for team bonding, changes in HR policies, and increase productivity in the workplace by increasing the sense of ownership and agency employees have.

Training is no longer the sole purview of Human Resources, rather it is now a joint effort of leadership, HR, and the legal department of any mid-sized and larger organization.

DEI Training

When considering the costs of both diversity, equity and inclusion training and harassment prevention training, especially in a hybrid or remote world of work it can be easy to overlook the hidden risk-cost of not engaging in effective training.

Consider remote sessions with small teams as a way to keep the company running while creating “pods” of team members who are bonded through their experience and also able to disseminate their learning to other teams in the organization. (this is not a replacement for each person receiving training, of course).

Spending more money on an effective, motivating training program may, in fact, save money on time spent by employees, leadership and legal doing endless sessions to no positive impact. Starting with leadership and working your way down to those in middle management ensures that the message is consistent, that everyone is on board, and that the message doesn’t disappear after the training is over.

An Ounce of Prevention

From a risk management perspective, the cost of prevention is easily offset by not only the risk of harassment or discrimination action but also by the compliance requirements of each state.

Employment lawsuit damages and penalties can be significant if you lose, and legal fees in the hundreds of thousands even if you win. By adopting a comprehensive anti-harassment policy and providing effective training, employers can show that they have taken active steps to create a positive, inclusive and safe workspace.

Losing employees because of poor company culture, an unsafe workplace, or lack of diversity has costs to the employee in their pain and suffering and also costs to the organization in lower morale and therefore lower productivity, increased resignation rates, damage to brand reputation, and brand loyalty and increased insurance costs.

Weigh the cost of high-quality training against those of failing to promote a safe and inclusive workplace and company culture to truly understand the cost of DEI and harassment training.

How to Select a DEI Training Company

High-quality content, engaging activities, real-world experience, and well-presented experiences are essential to employee engagement. A “cheesy” or out-of-touch free-online course is likely to backfire causing employees to out the efforts on social media as ineffective and creating a hostile workplace environment to try another type of training program in the future.

By giving employees and management a high-quality experience the message is that leadership is invested in the DEI initiative, that tolerance for harassment or exclusion is very low and that the employees must take the program seriously.

Programs that include real-world experiences and immersive training in emotional intelligence and leadership strategies can change behaviors, not only of potential harassers but of bystanders and the company as a whole.

A well-executed DEI training program can create lasting and positive change. And that is priceless.

Disclaimer: The foregoing blog post does not constitute legal advice, but instead only addresses the general topic of DEI Training. Anyone seeking legal advice should consult with an attorney regarding its specific circumstances and needs.

https://lawofficesjtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/DIversity_Equity_and_Inclusion-scaled.jpg 1153 2560 Jeff Peterson https://lawofficesjtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/JTPlogo-01.png Jeff Peterson2022-01-11 12:21:002022-02-10 10:43:43DEI for legal teams
Chinese companies are delisting off the N.Y.S.E.
Jeff Peterson

Chinese Companies Delisting off the NYSE

January 4, 2022/in News, Securities Law /by Jeff Peterson

According to a December 2021 article from the New York Times, dozens of Chinese companies publicly traded on the N.Y.S.E. may be delisted over the course of the next three years because of ongoing disputes over audit transparency in Chinese and Hong Kong-based accounting firms.

The United States and China have been arguing about the audit issue for roughly more than a decade since the 2011 meeting and agreements signed by President Barack Obama and President Hu Jintao.

At issue are audit standards for publicly traded companies.

The Securities and Exchange Commission currently has the authority to delist The Securities and Exchange Commission currently has the authority to delist companies that do not have approved overseas audits. The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (the “PCAOB”) has thus far been unable to fully inspect the audit papers and other documents of accounting firms in China and Hong Kong. These pending audits will affect the listings of such entities as Didi Rideshare and more than 190 other companies in a similar situation.

The aforementioned accounting firms have signed audit reports for nearly 200 publicly listed companies on the N.Y.S.E.. Those companies all run the similar risk of being delisted if the transparency requirements of the PCAOB are not met. The potentially non-compliant audit reports account for a combined global market capitalization of $1.9 trillion.

China is increasingly willing to trade on the Hong Kong exchange and leave the American markets indefinitely. At the start of 2021, China Telecom, China Unicom, China is increasingly willing to trade on the Hong Kong exchange and leave the American markets indefinitely. At the start of 2021, China Telecom, China Unicom, and China Mobile were delisted by the N.Y.S.E. to comply with an executive order that barred Americans from investing in companies with ties to the Chinese military. This and the recent delisting of Didi indicates that investors in the US will have to risk Chinese fiscal oversight regulations and less transparency if they want to invest in the companies now listed exclusively on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

https://lawofficesjtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/iStock-1304628896.jpg 1414 2121 Jeff Peterson https://lawofficesjtp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/JTPlogo-01.png Jeff Peterson2022-01-04 14:54:582022-02-10 10:43:43Chinese Companies Delisting off the NYSE
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Disclaimer: The information on this website is provided for general informational purposes only, and may not reflect the current law in your jurisdiction. No information contained on this site should be construed as legal advice from The Law Offices of Jeffrey T. Petersen or the individual author, nor is it intended to be a substitute for legal counsel on any subject matter. No reader of this content should act or refrain from acting on the basis of any information included in, or accessible through, this website without seeking the appropriate legal or other professional advice on the particular facts and circumstances at issue from a lawyer licensed in the recipient’s state, country or other appropriate licensing jurisdiction.

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