November 28, 2018
Best Practices for #MeToo Due Diligence
This recent PE Hub article lays out 10 “best practices” for conducting sexual harassment due diligence. This excerpt lays out a few that focus on the assessment of a target’s internal workplace culture:
– Request copies of anti-harassment and anti-retaliation policies and procedures, including employee handbooks. Validate whether they’ve actually been followed. If the seller has failed to follow its own policies, that’s a red flag for broader compliance concerns.
– Request information on the seller’s anti-harassment program. Does the seller conduct anti-harassment training? If so, how often, who is required to attend, and is it completed in-person or online? Is a traditional anonymous hotline offered and, if so, how many reports have been harassment-related, and what were their outcomes? Are analytics being run on workplace equity, and if so, what are the data showing? The answers to these questions can be a good indicator of how seriously, and proactively, the seller has been addressing workplace equity.
– Get copies of any climate surveys the seller has conducted. The most revealing metrics will be in the trends around diversity and inclusion. If early surveys show a problem in these areas, what did management do to address the problem? Did the metrics improve over time?
Other recommended best practices include obtaining a #MeToo rep that’s separate from the general litigation rep, raising questions about harassment issues & diversity and inclusion during management interviews, and speaking with rank & file employees about their experience if the deal process permits.
– John Jenkins