Is Your Business EEOC Compliant?

By: Jennifer Leahy
November 3rd, 2011

Even if a business is eventually vindicated, claims of employee discrimination lawsuits are always costly. In addition to the legal cost related to defending the business, employee morale and business reputation are sure to suffer. For employers, maintaining U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) compliance is a best practice as well as a protection against costly claims.

The EEOC prevents discrimination based on the following: age, disability, equal pay or compensation, genetic information, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion, retaliation, sex and sexual harassment.

All supervisors should be educated about the potential employee discrimination lawsuits that can occur in daily conversation.

While the categories of discrimination are fairly self-explanatory, employers often find themselves afoul of the EEOC when a casual conversation slips into the realm of discrimination. For example, consider this scenario: A supervisor and employee are discussing weekend plans and the employee mentions he will be attending a religious ceremony. The supervisor asks about the ceremony and then says, “That’s weird” after hearing the details. Now the employee can claim he was discriminated against for his “weird” religion if he is denied a raise, promotion or experiences any other real or perceived injustice.

Likewise, a supervisor noting that another employee has become “too emotional” as a result of pregnancy sets the stage for a potential claim.

Every business should have an anti-discrimination policy as a component of the employee handbook. It should state that discrimination in any form will not be tolerated and employees should sign-off that that have received, read, and will abide by the policy.

Many employers have deficiencies in the area of complaint reporting. Be sure that employees are given very clear instructions as to how they should report claims of discrimination. It’s also imperative that employees are given at least two options for reporting discrimination, in case the employee feels that one of the designated parties is not a viable option. For example, an immediate supervisor shouldn’t be listed as the point-person for discrimination complaints in case the supervisor is the offender.

Many companies create a flow chart illustrating how an employee should report discrimination. Having a predetermined method for managing complaints will ensure that managers appropriately handle the situation and that all claims are documented and investigated. While there isn’t a foolproof way to avoid discrimination lawsuits, it’s difficult for employees to allege discrimination at a later date if they were aware of a reporting mechanism and did not use it.

Another trap employers frequently fall into is that of retaliation claims, which are now the most common employee grievance filed with the EEOC. Such claims stem from the initial discrimination claim, when an employee indicates that they feel their employer has taken adverse actions against them as a result of their complaint.

Employers who fail to properly handle even the most ludicrous claims are at risk for an employee discrimination lawsuit, says Paul Jumonville, manager of equal employment opportunity compliance at Insperity.

The worst thing a supervisor can say after an employee reports discrimination is, “Are you serious?” or “You’re crazy.”

“Take every complaint seriously,” Jumonville says.

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