HR: Discrimination in the Workplace
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reported a record number of people who filed discrimination lawsuits against private employers last year. According to the report, just under 100,000 charges were filed in 2010 and more than $404 million were collected from employers on behalf of employees.
This number of charges represents a 7% increase from the previous year. Why such a big increase? One reason-- anytime there is a high number of layoffs, as there were in 2010, more suits claiming unlawful firings are expected. Experts also believe that increased diversity, shifts in the labor force and the current economy were also factors in the up tick. In addition, some believe that the efforts by the EEOC to educate employees on discrimination and their rights also had a big impact on the rise.
The top types of discrimination in the workplace in 2010 were:
- Retaliation – 36,258
- Race – 35,890
- Sex – 29,029
- Disability – 25,165
- Age – 23,264
- National Origin – 11,304
- Religion – 3,790
- Equal Pay – 1,044
Not only are discrimination charges in the workplace costly and time consuming, statistics show that they are becoming more and more complicated. For managers and HR professionals it’s becoming increasingly demanding to defend their businesses against these charges.
It’s important for organizations to implement employee policies and staff training initiatives that ensure that discrimination of any kind is not tolerated in the workplace.