What Do The Numbers
Tell Employers?
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently released its 1998
statistical report on charges filed against employers for workplace discrimination. What
do these numbers really tell us?
Are all the resources that are aimed at training and education in an effort to combat
discrimination having any significant impact? Are we as employers making any headway? Is
discrimination in the workplace really this pervasive?
The data reveal that the number of charges filed has remained fairly constant across
most categories and in the aggregate. It doesn’t appear that much progress has been
made in decreasing the number of charges despite the increase in training and educational
programs that target the elimination of workplace discrimination. For employers the
frustration mounts when all of the efforts taken do not result in a dramatic decline in
the numbers across the board. Take heed, however. The news could have been worse: There
could have been a dramatic increase in the number of complaints. So considering the
alternative, employers are holding their own.
One area that deserves special attention: the increase in retaliation charges. The
January/February edition of Florida Business Insight featured an article titled, Employed
for Life?, which examined workers’ compensation retaliation claims arising from
alleged wrongful terminations. An employee can make a claim of retaliation when an adverse
employment action follows the employee’s engagement in a protected activity
(workers’ compensation claim, EEOC claim, etc.). The article gives advice for
avoiding claims of retaliation and, in light of the 1998 statistics, I encourage you to
review the article.
The EEOC statistics are a warning to employers that they need to keep up with the
preventive maintenance programs implemented in order to avoid lengthy, costly EEOC
investigations that have the potential to lead to even lengthier and more costly
litigation.
Kathleen "Kelly" Bergeron is executive vice president and chief of
staff of Associated Industries of Florida and affiliated companies (e-mail: kbergeron@aif.com).
May/Junel 1999 -- Florida Business Insight, PO Box 784,
Tallahassee, Fla. 32302, (850)224-7173, insight@aif.com
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