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| EEO Compliance Must Apply to Everyone |
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The Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) act ensures that businesses comply with the laws, regulations, and policies that prohibit discrimination in the federal workplace based on race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability, or reprisal. Penalties for violating Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) regulations are severe.
The EEO-1 report endorses employee self-identification of race and ethnicity, rather than asking employers to rely on visual identification. The EEO-1 report must be filed annually by employers with 100 or more workers, or employers with federal government contracts of $50,000 or more and 50 or more employees. The report gives the government workforce profiles by ethnicity, gender, and race split into job categories.
The job categories divide officials and managers into two levels: executive/senior-level, and first/mid-level.
The race and ethnic categories include:
- two or more races, not Hispanic or Latino
- Asians, not Hispanic or Latino
- Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, not Hispanic or Latino
Employers should let employees know that this request for identification is voluntary, and the information collected, whether by paper or in electronic format, must be kept confidential.
For more information about EEO compliance, click here to download a free HR compliance report. |
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 - Recent News |
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In July, the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that an employer is obligated to accommodate a worker’s disability, if it’s obvious, even if the employee didn’t ask for an accommodation. The ruling stems from a suit brought by a Wal-Mart employee who was transferred from one department to another when the employee’s boss “knew there was something wrong” and that he “wasn’t fit for the [initial] job.” A district court jury initially awarded the employee $2.5 million and $5 million in punitive damages, but both were later reduced to $600,000 and $300,000, respectively.
In July, the EEOC issued a new Compliance Manual Section detailing its policies on religious discrimination, accommodation, and harassment, as well as a review of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. A question-and-answer fact sheet and best practices booklet were also created. The section and fact sheet describe what makes up “religion” as it relates to Title VII as well as workplace issues that revolve around balancing an employee’s rights to religious expression against an employer’s need for a productive workplace. The Q&A fact sheet can be found at http://eeoc.gov/policy/docs/qanda_religion.html and the best practices report can be found at http://eeoc.gov/policy/docs/best_practices_religion.html.
In June, the EEOC settled a case against Central Park’s Tavern on the Green restaurant over harassment and retaliation of women, African Americans, and Hispanics. A claim fund of $2.2 million will be created for victims of the harassment and/or retaliation and the restaurant will set up a telephone hot line that employees can use to voice discrimination complaints. The EEOC had charged Tavern on the Green with carrying out sexual, racial, and national origin harassment, including graphic comments, demands for sex acts, and ridiculing Hispanic employees because of their accents. The restaurant will now also hand out a revised anti-discrimination and retaliation policy and train employees on those issues.
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 DOWNLOAD: Understanding the new requirements for workforce diversity reporting.
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Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990: Prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in employment, in public services, in public accommodations, and in telecommunications. |
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Civil Rights Act of 1991: Parties involved in a discrimination case can request jury trials, and compensatory and punitive damages can be recovered. |
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VETS-100: Requires any contractor or subcontractor with the federal government for $25,000 or more to hire and promote qualified Vietnam-era veterans, special disabled veterans, and any veteran who served on active duty. |
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A worker can collect lost wages and prejudgment interest, liquidated/double damages, compensatory damages, and punitive damages. |
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Fines for violating EEO compliance regulations can run, per person, from $50,000 to $300,000. |
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