(Newswire.net — July 26, 2019) — Workplace discrimination is a major problem for both employees and employers today. It can entail a broad range of categories and harms.
Despite extensive legal guidelines that govern how to handle complaints, too many instances of potential discrimination are being handled improperly. As Vox recently reported, even the US Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Commission has been negligent in its duties: simply closing cases without investigating them, in order to lessen the commission’s backlog.
If workers are to be treated justly, individual employers, HR departments, and governing bodies all need to act positively to ensure that discrimination cases are being properly handled and adjudicated. In order to do that, all parties ought to develop greater awareness of the applicable laws.
Victims especially need to advocate for themselves actively, when questions about their employment conditions arise.
Federal Employment Discrimination Law
Workplace discrimination, specifically as structured under federal law, includes a wide range of possible violations as well as qualified victims. Workers are protected under six major federal laws, which include the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Age discrimination is an increasingly relevant problem as the American workforce trends older, but all these issues demand equal and fair consideration, typically starting with an EEO complaint.
In order to file an EEO complaint, you’ll ideally want to work with a federal employment lawyer who can help you determine the best path forward. This includes deciding between EEO counseling or an alternative dispute resolution process; or, in more serious scenarios, bringing a lawsuit against your employer.
Your legal counsel can also help you gather the appropriate evidence to support your allegation of discrimination, manage many of the bureaucratic details, and help protect you from workplace retaliation.
A Lack Of Resources
In addition to helping to manage your EEO complaint, a qualified federal employment lawyer is vital for workers who seek to make a discrimination claim because the EEO doesn’t have adequate resources. That’s the reason the commission has been cutting down its backlog by closing unresolved cases: the EEOC lacks the money and staff to manage all the claims.
An attorney can help ensure that this doesn’t happen to your complaint, and can monitor your case’s standing and refile it if the case gets closed inappropriately.
In spite of the evident lack of resources, the EEOC can be extremely effective when it chooses to pursue litigation against discriminatory firms. Last September, for example, the Phoenix EEOC brought a suit against Corizon Health on the basis of disability discrimination.
The investigation ultimately lead to a $950,000 settlement on behalf of 23 employees. In addition, the company will be compelled to effect major policy changes and hire an ADA compliance monitor, as well as other adjustments.
Enforcement Trends and Targets
Ideally, the EEOC should and will receive proper funding and staff to resolve employee complaints, but the primary issue comes down to employers. Companies should be complying with federal nondiscrimination law without their workers having to file complaints, but too many continue to prefer to take the risk.
Either through presumption or ignorance, many private firms regard the potential benefits of discrimination as more valuable than the potential costs of getting caught. Aggressive and successful EEOC investigations seem to come in waves.
Right now, the commission appears to be focusing on gender-based pay discrimination, which might create a false sense of security among employers who engage in other types of discrimination. This only further underscores the fact that workers need to take the lead to defend themselves and their rights in the workplace.