A federal judge recently granted final approval of a settlement resolving a class action race bias lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against Walgreens Co., the nation’s largest drugstore chain. Under the settlement, Walgreens will pay over $24 million to approximately 10,000 African-American workers who charged they were discriminated against in promotions and assignments.
The Walgreens case is just the latest in a string of race discrimination developments to hit the headlines—an unfortunate indication that racial bias persists in the American workplace. Other recent race settlements include:
- Engineering firm Washington Group International, Inc., has agreed to pay $1.5 million to African-American employees who were racially harassed and then retaliated against when they complained.
- Allied Aviation Services, Inc., will pay $1.9 million to African-American and Hispanic workers who were subjected to racial slurs, graffiti, cartoons, and hangman’s nooses at a facility in the Dallas/Ft. Worth airport.
- Lockheed Martin, the world’s largest military contractor, settled a race bias and retaliation lawsuit brought by the EEOC, agreeing to pay $2.5 million to an African-American electrician who was racially harassed with, among other things, threats of lynching and the “N-word.”
Help protect your company from discrimination problems with our sample EEO policy and sample anti-discrimination policy.
Taken together, these developments suggest that employers must go the extra mile to prevent race bias in the workplace. Here are four suggestions:
- Have a strong equal employment opportunity (EEO) and antiharassment program. Having appropriate policies in place, and making clear that the policies are embraced by the CEO and other top executives, are key steps in avoiding discrimination and harassment problems.
- Avoid insensitive names and remarks. Make it clear to all employees that racial epithets are off-limits, including statements or names that aren’t directly related to an employee’s skin color or other physical characteristics but could have a biased meaning.
- Put your hiring and promotion standards and procedures in order. Position requirements and qualifications should be in writing, job related, and communicated to anyone involved in the hiring/promotion process. Also, high-level review of all decisions is an important safeguard against bias.
- Document decisions. Keep detailed records of your legitimate reasons for selecting one person over another. Save copies of your questions, interview notes, evaluations, and other documents that played a role in your assessment.