Employment decisions must be based on ability and merit, not age.
2007 EEOC discrimination charges jumped to highest level in five years
The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reported a total of 82,792 private sector discrimination charges were filed in fiscal year 2007. This is the highest volume of incoming charges since 2002, and the largest annual increase (9%) since the early 1990s, according to the federal agency’s enforcement and litigation statistics.
Employers need to be aware of the changes to the ADA that the new ADA Amendments Act puts into place effective January 1, 2009.
The ADA Amendments Act of 2008, signed by President Bush on September 25, 2008, came about from members of Congress disagreeing with key Supreme Court rulings defining “disability”. The amendments will overturn these prior court cases broadening the definition of disability and increasing the number of employees to be covered. The amendment restricts the ability to determine disability based on ameliorative effects of mitigating measures. Impairments that are episodic or in remission will now also be seen as a disability if it limits a major life activity when active. Congress in addition ordered the EEOC to issue new regulations on when an individual is “substantially limited”. On the plus side Congress has outlawed reverse discrimination suits.
The changes to the ADA will now make many more employees qualified as disabled. Employers will need to spend more time on determining reasonable accommodations than on whether the employee is disabled. HR policies and procedures will need to be updated and competent professional assistance should be procured.
During these had economic times, lay offs are causing an upswing in EEOC claims.
A recent article written by Jeff Thomas in the Boulder County Business Report has attorneys and local EEOC employees stating that wrongful termination claims will increase during these slow economic times. During this down economic time, laid off employees are having a harder time finding a replacement job. As time drags on with out employment, the ex-employee will likely become angry and focus on the lay off. Employers need to make sure that they are abiding by fair employment practices during lay offs or they will have employment attorneys and the EEOC knocking on their doors. Lay offs should be handled very carefully and employers should make sure they have good documentation to back up their decision. Both, EEOC representatives and attorneys, that are quoted in this article state that the number of disputes are rising.
Employers need to get assistance through either their employment attorneys or their HR representatives. It is too easy for an employer to pick the wrong employee to lay off, only to have that employee come back with a wrongful termination or discrimination claim. These type issues are expertly handled through the use of a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) such as StaffScapes. PEOs act as an outsourced HR department and give expert advise on legal employment matters such as lay offs.
To read the full article from the Boulder County Business Report click on the link below.
New Posters
Effective November 21, 2009 ALL employers are required to post the new Equal Employer Opportunity Poster. This notice now includes Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008(GINA), which prohibits genetic information discrimination in employment.
Effective January 1, 2010 all Colorado employers are required to post the new Colorado Minimum Wage Order Poster. This notice explains what rights and protections employees have under the Colorado Minimum Wage Order, including minimum wage, work periods and overtime. If you have any questions regarding the application of this Order please contact StaffScapes.
This year there was a reduction in the Colorado State Minimum wage to $7.24 per hour. Since the Federal Minimum wage of $7.25 per hour is greater, $7.25 will be the rate that must be used as minimum pay.
StaffScapes provides clients with all of your required posters, and notification of these changes. If you have any questions or need posters please contact Lora Manternach at 303-466-7864.
Let’s face it, litigation is a fact we all have to deal with. And, if you are a business owner, chances are even greater that at some point in your career you will be directly impacted. Lora Manternach, Benefits Administrator for StaffScapes, Inc. recently attended a legal updates seminar presented by Fisher & Phillips, LLP. Here’s a few key statistics that they shared that you need to know:
1. Lawsuits are up almost 400% over the past 20 years
2. Most common target for lawsuits is private employers with 5-100 employees
3. In federal court, 67% of all awards exceed $100,000 with the average compensatory damages awarded at almost $500,000
One large area of litigation centers around EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) claims. As expected, filings have increased and in fact set a record high of 95,402 in 2008. This marked a 15.2 % increase from the year before. The response is that the EEOC has become more aggressive aided by a $23 million dollar budget increase. After hiring an additional 300 employees, the EEOC has collected $274 million, filed 290 “merit” lawsuits, focused additional attention to class actions and systemic violations and worked to change enforcement policies.
What’s the best way to mitigate potential claims? We recommend establishing policies and procedures and/or making sure current handbooks are up to date. Keeping consistent is key in how you deal with daily operational situations. For further assistance, please contact StaffScapes, Inc. at 303-466-7864 or info@StaffScapes.com.
Cell phones are a way of life. We update our Facebook accounts, check e-mail, find a restaurant, text our significant others and even occasionally talk to someone. But increasingly, cell phones are becoming a vehicle for what is being labeled as “textual harassment” or harassment via text messages. It’s easy to discount, thinking that this is a simple issue and one that won’t ever affect you, but “textual harassment” is becoming a problem for all age groups and it is an issue that employers must deal with.
Employees today are using their cell phones as new weapons for sending threatening and abusive messages to co-workers. They are spreading non truths about others including their supervisors and/or the companies they work for. They are sexually harassing colleagues and employees alike and even bullying co-workers. Considering all of this, it is important for employers to have clear policies in their handbooks that detail what is and is not acceptable when it comes to texting. This form of harassment can also apply to social media posting. When drafting your policies, consider the usage of not only personal cell phones but also privacy issues related to company paid for and company reimbursed cell phones as well. Once your policies are in place, you should establish training for staff members that explains your position and outlines procedures for complaints to management. Dealing with reports immediately, documenting the complaint, investigating the claim and evaluating the evidence for potential corrective action will go a long way in defending you and your company should the EEOC get involved.
StaffScapes is experienced in dealing with claims of textual harassment and works with its clients to have clear policies established. For more information or assistance for your company, please call StaffScapes at 303-466-7864.
11,364. That’s the number of new charges that were filed regarding Sexual Harassment with the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) in 2011. Of the 11,364 cases, 16.3% were filed by males. In 2011,the EEOC paid out $52.3 million is monetary benefits to claimants, and this number does not include awards provided through litigation.
During the past year, the EEOC resolved 12,571 cases and settled 1,367 that reflected current as well as pending cases from previous years. How did the cases last year resolve? 761 were found to be credible while 6,658 were closed citing no reasonable cause. 1,150 resolved their claims with benefits and 2,635 were closed by Administration. Conciliations, both successful and unsuccessful resulted in 761 of total claims. In total, 205,996 cases have been filed since 1997.
Keep in mind that these numbers only reflect cases that are filed with the EEOC. There are thousands of situations that occur in which the victim does not report the incident nor feels safe in informing others of the occurrence. Sexual Harassment is just one of the many forms of unwanted behaviors towards employees and in some cases employers. It is also preventable. At StaffScapes, we encourage you to create a policy detailing a no tolerance stance on Sexual Harassment and indicate the consequence for this non-accepted behavior can and will include corrective action up to and including termination. We also recommend providing training sessions with all employees so they can better understand the policy and how Sexual Harassment is defined in the workplace.
Should an issue with Sexual Harassment lead to corrective action and or termination, StaffScapes has written a whitepaper to provide some direction. Our “Avoiding a Termination Lawsuit whitepaper” can be a great resource to answer some general questions.
To learn how this and other suggested and required policies can be implemented within your workplace as well as how StaffScapes can help you with your Human Resources, please call us at 303-466-7864 or info@StaffScapes.com. StaffScapes is a Professional Employer Organization that has been serving small businesses since 1996 with all of their human resource and payroll requirements, including areas such as workplace safety, benefits, employee relations, payroll and workers’ compensation.
Source: EEOC
