Phil Castle, The Business Times

Employers that set and enforce standards for professionalism in the workplace are better positioned to deal with conflicts between employees with protected statuses.

“It just needs to be constantly reinforced,” said Melanie Daly, a staff attorney with the Employers Council.

Daly was among the speakers scheduled to lead presentations as part of the Employers Council employment law update set for June 4 in Grand Junction. The Employers Council offers a variety of services to more than 4,000 employer members in Colorado as well as Arizona, Utah and Wyoming.

Daly discussed her presentation before the event in a telephone interview with the Business Times.

Federal and state laws protect employees from discrimination in the workplace based on age, disability, gender, national origin or religion.

In Colorado, state law also prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, Daly said. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to hear three cases that could set legal precedent on a national level, she said.

Problems arise, she said, when protected statuses create conflicting obligations. A disabled employee who requires a service dog might trigger health problems for another employee with asthma, for example. Another problem potentially could arise when employees with certain closely held religious beliefs conflict with LGBT employees.

Daly said she worked for the Employers Council from 1994 to 1998 and rejoined the organization as a workplace investigator in 2016 and staff attorney in 2018. The occurrence of conflicts between protected rights has increased more recently, she said. “It is something that I’m seeing more.”

It’s important to address conflicts quickly, to meet with the employees involved and find out as much information as possible, Daly said.

It’s a matter then of analyzing whether or not protected rights are involved, if they actually conflict and accommodations could alleviate the conflict.

Employers also can take a proactive approach by setting, articulating and enforcing standards for professionalism in the workplace as well as promoting a workplace culture of mutual respect, Daly said.

While employees retain their federally and state-protected rights, they’re also expected to follow standards and conduct themselves professionally, she said.