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by Amy M. McLaughlin In its year-end statistics, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reported that 75,768 discrimination charges were filed against private-sector employers in 2006. That was the first increase in charge filings in four years. By 2008, the total number of charges filed with the EEOC had jumped 25% to 95,402. With workplace […]
Q: Now that it’s getting warm (or should I say “hot”), some employees are wearing less and less to work every day. It doesn’t really bother me, but I believe some employees may be a little uncomfortable with the skimpy attire of their coworkers. A: As with most things that fall under the heading “best […]
ACME Insurance Company employs 500 employees and managers at its Toronto head office. They work in a pleasant, some might even say tranquil, office environment. In the 50-year history of the company, there has never been any hint of violent behavior in the workplace. To the contrary, some people find it too quiet there. Bawring, […]
Ontario is looking to reduce violence and harassment in the workplace. To that end, Bill 168, An Act to amend the Occupational Health and Safety Act with respect to violence and harassment in the workplace, received first reading on April 20, 2009. Bill 168, if passed, would amend the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA). […]
The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) recently issued a decision that reads like a “what not to do” in response to employee complaints. When one employee complained to her manager about sexual harassment and assault by a coworker, the company looked into the matter but failed to protect her. In fact, the […]
Yesterday’s Advisor considered harassment complaint systems. Today, we cover who takes complaints, offer a sample complaint form, and discuss one additional key element—training. Who should handle harassment complaints? The people designated for this task should be people viewed as credible, objective, sensitive, and trustworthy. Note that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) says any complaint […]
Many managers think they can ignore sexual harassment until there’s a formal complaint, but that’s a dangerous course. In fact, the opposite is true: Most experts recommend encouraging complaints. “Encourage complaints? Don’t I have enough to deal with without begging for more hassles?” We hear you, but the bottom line is this: Dealing with complaints […]
Yesterday’s Advisor covered the first three conditions that must be met to invoke an “affirmative defense” against harassment claims. Today we move on to the fourth condition, and bring you news about a unique tool that helps smaller HR departments with harassment—and the rest of HR’s major challenges. The fourth condition that must be met […]
Although the Supreme Court has made it clear that employers are responsible for unlawful harassment by supervisors, the Court did provide a clear-cut method of avoiding liability under certain circumstances. Here’s how it works. First, the Court clarified that an employer is always liable for a supervisor’s harassment if it results in a tangible employment […]
Happy holidays! But which holidays? Christmas, Hanukkah, Eid ul-Adha, Kwanzaa, the winter solstice? All of the above? None of the above? One of December’s chills, at least for HR professionals, can be a little shiver of trepidation over handling employees’ varying religious needs with sufficient sensitivity. Do you put up a tree? What kind of […]