December 2015 EEOC Compliance Matters You Don’t Want To Miss

By HR Resource Force In Compliance Management Systems

In these EEOC cases: a supervisor created a toxic workplace environment, a company ignored an easily identifiable risk factor, and officials altered sample data. Effective compliance programs are not just responsible for policies and procedures as they were a decade ago. Modern compliance managers and programs use agile LMS systems and (1) incorporate a strong risk prevention culture beginning with their leaders (2) continually identify risk areas within every facet of your company and (3) maintain visibility for your board members, shareholders, and senior management. These HCM tasks are a challenge in a growing innovative business. Read these recent compliance violations and share how you think these could have been prevented.

(1) MODERN COMPLIANCE INCORPORATES A STRONG RISK PREVENTION CULTURE BEGINNING WITH YOUR LEADERS
In this transgender case, the supervisor created a toxic workplace environment rather than incorporating a strong risk prevention culture. Britney Austin was assigned the male sex at birth and presented as male when hired by the company. Ms. Austin performed her duties satisfactorily in the com­pany’s Phoenix offices throughout a lengthy tenure. However, after she informed her supervisor that she was transgender and began to present as a woman at work, Deluxe refused to let her use the women’s restroom. According to the suit, supervisors and coworkers subjected Austin to a hostile work environment, including hurtful epithets and intentionally using the wrong gender pro­nouns to refer to her. The Minnesota based check-printing and financial services corporation, has agreed to pay $115,000 as part of the settlement.

(2) MODERN COMPLIANCE CONTINUALLY IDENTIFIES RISK AREAS WITHIN EVERY FACET OF YOUR COMPANY
This company ignored the restaurant industry’s well known fact – they are reputedly prone to sexual harassment – rather than implementing a rigorous sexual harassment compliance program. In this suit, EEOC charged that the employer, allowed six female servers to be subjected to repeated acts of sexual harassment by a manager. The sexual harassment occurred throughout the servers’ employment, occurring daily for some. According to the suit, the harassment included groping, in­decent exposure, explicit sex-related comments, requests for sexual favors and promises of better working assignments and other benefits if they engaged in sexual acts. When some of the servers rejected the sexual advances, they were assigned to less profitable sections of the restaurant or had their work schedules negatively changed, which resulted in lower earning opportu­nities. Although the employees complained to other management officials about the harassment, nothing was done to stop it, the suit charged. The agency also alleged that the working conditions were so intolerable that five of the women were forced to resign. Sirdah Enterprises, Inc. has consented to a judgment of $250,000 to settle the sexual harassment lawsuit.

(3) MODERN COMPLIANCE MAINTAINS VISIBILITY FOR YOUR BOARD MEMBERS, SHAREHOLDERS, and SENIOR MANAGEMENT
In the Flint Michigan lead water case, officials altered sample data to lower the lead-level reports rather than maintaining visibility to their concerns. For as little as $100 per day the state of Michigan could have treated the water and prevented the life-long suffering that the children of Flint are now going to experience, but instead it prioritized fiscal savings over the health and human rights of children. Had basic human rights been factored into the decision to switch Flint’s water source from Lake Huron to the Flint River, Flint’s children might never have been exposed to tainted water. This is human rights abuse in an American city.

EEOC NEWS
The EEOC made public a proposed revision to the Employer Information Report (EEO-1) to include collecting pay data from employers, including federal contractors, with more than 100 employees. This new data will assist the agency in identifying possible pay discrimination and assist employers in promoting equal pay in their workplaces.

The EEOC announced that it has voted to seek public input on proposed enforcement guidance addressing retaliation and related issues under federal employment discrimination laws. The Commission’s enforcement guidance documents inform the public about the Commission’s interpretation of the law and promote voluntary compliance.

By: Kristen Goodell, M.Ed, Co-Owner
Kristen converts inefficient compliance management systems and siloed technology into a dynamic workflow with end to end client support: RFP, selection, implementation, and adoption. Through our implementation process we reveal areas of hidden risk and produce new best practices for your compliance management team.
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