“If It Can Happen to SHRM, It Can Happen to Anyone.”
The world’s largest HR organization — SHRM — was just hit with an $11.5 million discrimination and retaliation verdict by a federal jury.
Yes… the organization that literally teaches companies how to prevent these very claims.
What Happened — In Plain English
A SHRM employee alleged race discrimination and retaliation after raising concerns.
A jury agreed — awarding $11.5M in compensatory and punitive damages.
What shocked CEOs across the country wasn’t the amount…
It was the reasoning:
The jury found SHRM failed to properly handle internal complaints and investigations.
Think about it:
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The largest HR education body in the world.
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With access to every handbook, training model, and best practice.
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With an entire staff dedicated to compliance.
…still ended up in court — and lost.
Why CEOs Should Be Paying Attention
Most CEOs assume HR problems are “HR’s responsibility.”
But the SHRM verdict sends a message so loud the business world can’t ignore it:
If your name appears on the decision-making chain, your name can appear on the lawsuit.
This verdict highlights five CEO vulnerabilities that no policy or handbook can shield you from:
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Inadequate or biased investigations.
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Failure to act on repeated complaints.
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Retaliation risk when termination follows a complaint.
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Documentation gaps or missing reports.
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Trusting HR without verifying the process was done correctly.
These are the exact issues that get leaders sued personally.
And your competitors are reading this verdict wondering:
“Could this happen to us?”
The 2026 Reality Check: If It Happened to SHRM, It Can Happen to Anyone
I work with CEOs every day who believe:
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“We handle things internally.”
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“My HR manager knows what to do.”
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“We’ve never been sued.”
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“We’re too small for a big verdict.”
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“We don’t have these issues.”
But here’s the truth:
Lawsuits don’t start with a lawsuit.
They start with a complaint that isn’t handled correctly.
They start with:
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A supervisor making an offhand comment.
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HR doing a quick, insufficient investigation.
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Leadership not documenting the review.
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A termination too close to a complaint.
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A failure to interview witnesses.
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A lack of training.
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A missing or outdated procedure.
SHRM’s mistake wasn’t one catastrophic event.
It was a chain of small, preventable failures — the same ones I see in HR audits every month.
What You Should Do Before January 2026
Every CEO reading this should take three steps immediately — not next quarter.
1. Conduct a Year-End HR Investigation Audit
Are your investigation procedures defensible?
Are they documented?
Are your HR managers trained to avoid retaliation triggers?
Is leadership protected from personal liability?
If you want to fast-track this, you can use my Investigation Readiness Checklist
2. Review All Open Complaints and Employee Relations Issues
Ask your team three questions:
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Are any complaints unresolved?
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Were investigation steps fully documented?
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Could any recent terminations be misinterpreted as retaliation?
If the answer to any question is, “I’m not sure,” you have exposure.
3. Schedule an Executive Protection Assessment (EPA)
This is the CEO-level assessment I perform that identifies:
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Where you may be personally exposed.
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Where your investigation processes are vulnerable.
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Where HR documentation is missing or weak.
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Where retaliation risk is hiding.
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What needs to be corrected before a plaintiff’s attorney finds it.
In just 20 minutes, you’ll know exactly where you stand going into 2026.
Schedule Your Executive Protection Assessment here.
This Verdict Is Not the Story — Your Response Is
The SHRM case isn’t about SHRM.
It’s about every CEO who assumes their HR infrastructure is stronger than it actually is.
Elite CEOs — the ones who stay out of court — aren’t perfect.
They’re simply proactive.
They audit their blind spots.
They strengthen weak processes.
They protect their leadership reputation before something goes sideways.
If you want to be in that group, not the group writing six- or seven-figure checks…
CTA: Let’s Protect Your Organization — and Your Reputation — Before 2026
If you’d like:
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The Investigation Checklist, or
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To reserve a complimentary Executive Protection Assessment
Your future self will thank you.
Wishing you a safe, strategic, and successful start to 2026,
Vanessa G. Nelson, HR & Investigations Expert
Expert Human Resources, LLC
