A $52 million whistleblower verdict in LA. Six years of litigation. Attorney's fees not added yet.
Susanne Kleveros, founder of Don't Tell HR, joins Pulse by HRBench to unpack why employee relations just exploded, why silence after a termination is the clearest signal a lawsuit is coming, and how HR leaders at fast-paced companies can handle the hardest conversations in a way that protects both the business and the people in the room.
In this episode:
- Why employee relations cases tripled at many companies in the last year
- The $52 million LA whistleblower verdict every HR leader should know about
- How employment councils are tightening what counts as a valid policy acknowledgment
- Why silence after a termination almost always means a demand letter is coming
- The severance-offer mistake that invites the escalation you were trying to avoid
- How to support managers through the emotional weight of investigations and firings
- Why HR should be trained like salespeople on open-ended questions
For HR leaders at PE-backed and mid-market companies navigating more sensitive situations than ever.
Episode Chapters:
- 00:00 | Why employee relations just exploded
- 04:22 | Meet Susanne and Don't Tell HR
- 06:28 | Where companies underfund the highest-risk HR work
- 07:59 | The $52M verdict that started six years earlier
- 08:36 | Policy acknowledgments that hold up in court
- 10:42 | Adapt to AI. Don't just adopt it.
- 12:59 | Recording laws and termination video calls
- 13:40 | Employees are ambassadors for life
- 17:30 | Bill Walsh and scripting hard conversations
- 17:56 | Silence escalates emotion
- 22:04 | How managers change after an investigation
- 27:22 | Vicarious trauma and HR's emotional load
- 29:20 | Train HR like salespeople, not interrogators
- 31:13 | The post-mortem every HR leader should run
- 34:53 | The story behind "Don't Tell HR"
🎙️ Pulse by HRBench. Practical people analytics for HR leaders who tie their work to business outcomes. New episodes every week.
Connect with Susanne and Don't Tell HR on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanne-kleveros-914b7a71/
Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen.
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