It's like a shot across the bow of your boat if you own or manage a business - they are coming for you if you don't start implementing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives now.
When implementing your DEI initiatives focus on these 4 main categories, which EEOC targets for systemic employment discrimination enforcement:
- Hiring / Promotion / Assignment / Referral
- Policies / Practices
- Lay-off / Reduction in Force / Discharge Policies
- ADA (disability) / GINA (genetic info)
The EEOC defines systemic as "pattern or practice, policy and/or class cases where the discrimination has a broad impact on an industry, profession, company or geographic location.”
Basically, it means that they are looking for more than just one plaintiff (think, class action, just a little different).
The new EEOC website lists the top 10 systemic enforcements topics, which you should review immediately to avoid a charge from the EEOC:
- Use of background checks
- Denying women jobs in fields such as truck drivers, dockworkers, laborers
- Refusal to hire African American, Hispanics and older workers for front of the house positions
- Ending staffing agency use of referring applicants based on customer preferences
- Widespread sexual harassment of teenagers in fast food chains
- Racially hostile displays such as nooses and racist graffiti
- Eliminating tap on the shoulder recruiting in favor of job posting
- Challenging policies of issuing attendance points for medical related absences, without accounting for disabilities
- Challenges of deportation made against employees complaining of discrimination
- Challenges to abuse of vulnerable workers who were subject to years of confinement, abuse, deplorable conditions, and reduced pay following charges of discrimination
If you aren't concerned yet, be warned that in "2020, OGC resolved 33 systemic cases, recovering $69.9 million for approximately 25,000 individuals."
Do you have your policies, practices, and procedures in place to prevent EEOC from charging your company?
