Paula and Bubba: A Cautionary Tale for Family Business

Paula Deen has a “long row to hoe”.  The former Food Network star and her businesses are involved in a lawsuit brought by a former General Manager of a restaurant owned by Paula’s brother. Because Paula’s holding company owns part of her brother’s restaurant, she and her businesses, were named as defendants.

The complaint alleges that Paula, her brother, Bubba, and other senior employees exhibited inappropriate workplace conduct, regarding race, sex, and gender.  Among other things, the alleged conduct included employment practices, comments and jokes that were discriminatory based on religion, race, gender, and sex.  The allegations go on to state that Ms. Deen and other senior managers were aware of complaints about Bubba specifically but failed to take appropriate action to stop his conduct.

From her recent appearance on the Today show and from her deposition, it sounds like “big sister” Paula loves her brother and hasn’t accepted the fact that he could have engaged in inappropriate conduct around employees.  If the plaintiff’s allegations are true, Paula as CEO and part owner in Bubba’s restaurant, knew about and failed to address Bubba’s behavior as an employee.  Whatever did or did not happen, it sounds like a family issue impacted the business, now seriously affecting Paula’s livelihood.

Ahh.  The joy of a family business.

Can your family peccadilloes withstand workplace standards?  Some behaviors that are tolerated at home may be unlawful in the workplace.  Just because it’s your company doesn’t give you and your family members freedom to do whatever they want.  As with any other business, your family business is held to the same workplace laws as other businesses.  So, it’s important to be clear with your employee-relatives (and yourself) about what’s expected when they step into their work roles.

If your family dynamics include sexual innuendo and jokes about religion, race, sex or gender, and you carry on this way at work, watch out.  Non-family employees might not share an appreciation of this sense of humor, and state and federal law will back them up.

Are you willing to address the workplace conduct of family members?  Working with family is often a delicate balance that lends itself to avoiding conflict.  How difficult will it be for you as “little sister” to address an issue with a parent or sibling who exhibits inappropriate conduct around employees? And you might get grief from other family members (inside and outside the company) for addressing an issue with a family member.  Are you and your family members prepared for that?  When all is said and done, the CEO and other senior leaders must ensure that touchy issues are addressed, whether it involves family or not.

Drafting a family employment code of conduct could serve as a road map.  To clarify family-employee expectations, you could draft a family code of conduct, which could include standards for performance, behavior, promotions, and accountability for family members working in the business.  Use the standards you would apply to non-family employees as a minimum and have higher expectations for family members. Include language for the process for handling family member conduct violations and poor performance.  Finally, you can include a conflict resolution process and appeal procedures.  The type of appeals process chosen is not as important as the fact that you have one.

As with any investigation, take all complaints seriously – especially those again family members -- and follow up with prompt remedial action as necessary.  It’s hard to take seriously some of the issues employees bring to you, especially if issues are brought to you by those who have a reputation for being “whiners” or “complainers”.   Nonetheless, it’s wise to listen, interview witnesses, and address any wrong-doing through disciplinary action or training.

While we don’t know exactly what happened in Paula Deen’s situation, it’s possible that she wouldn’t be in her current circumstances if she had been better able to separate her feelings as family member from her responsibilities as a business owner.