Just in case you thought potty training and preventing lawsuits had nothing in common, herewith a connection presented in a seminar at the Hauppauge Industrial Association Tuesday morning.
“Preventing liabilities and litigation in the workplace is a lot like potty training,” says attorney Christopher M. Valentino of Jackson Lewis in Melville. His son Teddy, 3, has just met with some success in the latter. “What it takes is preventative strategies.”
An unsuccessful strategy for Teddy was to repeatedly ask him if he had to go. His answer was always “No,” and later on, there was an accident, Valentino told the crowd at the Sheraton Long Island Hotel in Hauppauge.
The solution was to take more direct action and put Teddy on the potty. Some direct-approach equivalents in the workplace include making sure you hire smart by staying away from questions on applications that could prompt lawsuits and by conducting adequate background checks on prospective employees. Dr. Spock would have been proud. Of Teddy, of course.
--CARRIE MASON-DRAFFEN