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HR MATTERS E-TIPS
THIS WEEK'S E-TIP: Compliance Training: Who Needs It?
Published by Personnel Policy Service, Inc.
"Your Policy and Compliance Experts Since 1972"
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THIS WEEK'S E-TIP: Compliance Training: Who Needs It?
The EEOC has just released its activity report for its fiscal year 2005.
Total complaints filed were down about 5%, but dollar recovery amounts
in favor of employees rose 8%. |
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THIS WEEK'S E-TIP: Compliance Training: Who Needs It?
How important is it to train your employees about their obligations
under
employment discrimination and harassment laws? Consider these
statistics: for fiscal year (FY) 2005, the Equal Employment
Opportunity
Commission (EEOC) received over 75,000 complaints of employment
discrimination and recovered more than $270 million in back wages
for
the complaining employees through settlements, mediation, and other
administrative resolutions. Employees alleged in these claims all
forms
of employment discrimination (race, sex, including harassment,
national
origin, religion, age, and disability) involving such issues as
hiring,
termination, promotion, and leaves.
HR and legal experts agree that most of these complaints are the
direct
result of managers and employees making bad decisions because they
do not understand the employment laws. For example, if a supervisor
does not follow proper procedures to resolve a harassment complaint,
you could easily end up in court defending the manager's inaction.
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But, compliance training can be hard to sell since the expense is
clear
and immediate but its benefit is often intangible and measured by a
lack
of complaints being filed. Still, if you do not properly train your
employees in these important issues, you risk becoming an EEOC
statistic with a weak or nonexistent defense. (Make sure you take
part in
our
benchmarking survey.)
Below is a breakdown of the claims filed in the most recent period
with
the EEOC, plus six simple actions you can take to avoid being added
to
these statistics.
EEOC Claims for FY 2005 Focus on Race, Sex, and Retaliation
Overall, the EEOC reported that 75,428 complaints were filed with
the
agency in FY 2005. Race discrimination was alleged the most,
accounting for over 35% of the claims filed. Sex discrimination
accounted for over 30% of the claims, and over half of those cases
involved sexual harassment. Here is a summary of the complaints
filed: |
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No. of claims |
% of total |
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Race |
26,740 |
35.5% |
| Sex |
23,094 |
30.6%
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| Retaliation |
22,278 |
29.5%
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| Age |
16,585 |
22.0% |
| Disability |
14,893 |
19.7% |
| National Origin |
8,035 |
10.7% |
| Religion |
2,340 |
3.1% |
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(Note that because employees often file charges claiming multiple types
of discrimination, the number of total charges for the year is less than
the
total of the seven types of discrimination listed.)
The EEOC collected $271.6 million in back wages for the aggrieved
employees through settlements, mediation, and other administrative
settlements. In addition, the agency litigated 383 cases in court and
collected over $107 million to resolve them, an average of $279,000 per
case litigated (before legal expenses).
Six Steps to Prevent Claims
Given the time and money costs, you really don't want to be in the
position of defending against a claim, even if you win in the end. Most
legal experts put a price tag in the many thousands of dollars on the
formal resolution of a complaint at the government agency level. Add a
court battle to that, and your external legal expenses alone can quickly
spiral to many times that amount. So, a better plan is to take proactive
steps to prevent claims from being filed in the first place, including:
- Train supervisors about discrimination, harassment, wage and
hour, FMLA, and other employment laws. Make sure they understand
the employer's obligations and are prepared to handle any complaints
efficiently and appropriately.
- Train all other employees about their obligations under
discrimination and harassment laws. Focus on what workplace behavior
is acceptable and how to make complaints internally.
- Review every termination decision to ensure proper procedures
were followed. Pay special attention to whether the terminated
employee is being treated consistently with other similarly-situated
employees.
- Don't retaliate. Retaliation claims accounted for almost a third
of
the EEOC discrimination claims filed, and employees often succeed with
these claims even if they lose the underlying discrimination
complaint.
- Document, document, document. Every employment decision
should be documented so there is no question as to why an action was
taken or how the employee was treated.
- Get a second opinion. Have a group or panel of outside experts
you can call on when creative solutions or specialized help is needed.
Make sure your attorney is part of this group. This network can be
cheap
insurance in avoiding the cost and aggravation of bungled compliance
decisions.
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Information provided in HR Matters E-Tips is researched and reviewed
by the HR experts at Personnel Policy Service as well as employment
law attorneys. However, it is not intended as legal advice. Readers are
encouraged to seek appropriate legal or other professional advice.
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