According to Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, race charges are most frequently filed. Sex discrimination is the next most common type, followed by retaliation. Disability, age and national origin claims come next. The number of retaliation claims is often surprising to people as many don’t realize that how you respond to a complaint is every bit as important as whether or not you’ve discriminated in the first place. In fact, some employers “win” discrimination claims and lose related retaliation allegations.

 

Pregnancy discrimination cases were at record highs as were the number of harassment cases filed by males (15% of all claims). Last year’s 75,768 claims against private employers was the first increase in filings since 2002.

 

How do you avoid these claims? There’s a simple, although less than glamorous solution. Implementing good, basic HR practices is the key. Train your managers and supervisors. Adopt, consistently use, and regularly communicate solid policies. Employ an effective performance appraisal system. Set high expectations for professional conduct, fairness, and respect in the workplace. Many discrimination cases have very little to do with discrimination but arise because an employee feels that he or she has been badly treated. Finally, use common sense. Much of HR and employment law is really about common sense and those people skills we learned in kindergarten.

Apparently a lot of employees have taken a workplace snooze.  According to a survey by Careerbuilder and Harris Interactive,  45% of employees reported that they had fallen asleep at work.  39% admitted kissing a co-worker (probably inappropriately), 22% said they had stolen items from the workplace, 21% used alcohol while working, and 18% said that after work they had looked into private work areas of other employees.

Even the big law firms get hit with employment law claims.  In October of 2007, a major national law firm agreed to pay $27.5 million to resolve age bias claims filed by some of the partners in the firm.  The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently also settled, for over $4 million, a national origin discrimination case on behalf of Hispanic workers at one of the largest retail sellers of photographic, computer and electronic equipment in the New York metropolitan area.  A Nevada federal jury has awarded a former publishing company sales employee more than $3.7 million in damages for alleged age bias. The employee claimed he was discharged at age 53 as a result of a pattern of forcing out higher paid long-term employees and replacing them with younger, lower paid employees.  Finally, the United States Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has announced that a Texas food company has paid $1 million to settle claims that the company discriminated, based on gender and ethnicity, against some 5,300 applicants.

According to a recent study by Manpower subsidiary Right Management, employers can expect a struggle trying to retain young talent for the long haul, as 61 percent of survey participants say they will stay at their first job for less than three years. Is this really a new trend? I don’t think so. I would argue that it’s exactly what we should expect for a generation of workers who have seen their parents change jobs several times for various reasons including being laid off, bad work environment, advancement opportunity, or new vocation/career direction. For nearly two generations . . . since the 1980’s, employee loyalty has been eroded by a corporate mentality that human resources are expendable assets. It’s not personal. It’s business. The manufacturing boom eroded and gave way to the technology boom leaving legions of workers displaced with skills that were no longer relevant and in demand. The worker mentality morphed to be less focused on being rewarded for company loyalty and more focused on picking themselves up off the floor and looking out for themselves.

A Virginia court has ruled that there is no attorney-client privilege attached to a letter an employee wrote to his attorney on his employer’s computer.  In reaching its decision, the court relied on a statement in the employer’s handbook that said there is no expectation of privacy for any information contained on the employer’s computers or electronic equipment.  All employers should include similar language in handbooks or other notices to employees, as well as reserving the right to inspect/monitor/search any company equipment.  Such notices should also state that employment and/or continued employment constitutes consent to the same.

SALT LAKE CITY (October 23, 2007)—The MountainWest Capital Network has named HRN Management Group as the 82nd fastest growing company in Utah. The 2007 Utah 100 Awards, honoring the 100 fastest growing Utah-based businesses, were presented at a luncheon on October 22 at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City attended by over 1500 Utah business leaders. Speaking at the awards luncheon was Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr. This is the second consecutive year HRN has been named to the Utah 100.

HRN develops and markets products designed to simplify and improve human resource management, employee development, compensation administration, and HR regulatory compliance. Revenue growth has been led by HRN’s Performance Pro and Compease products, along with continuing excellence in customer retention.

Commenting on the Utah 100 award, HRN President & CEO Jerry Nelson, stated, “It’s an honor to be named a Utah 100 company for the second consecutive year. We are grateful to our valued clients and proud of our staff whose talents and dedication has made achieving this award possible.”

For more information about MountainWest Capital Network Utah 100 direct your Internet browser to www.mwcn.org.

Will your 2008 pay increase keep pace with the rising price of gasoline? Probably not. According to a study by Mercer Human Resource Consulting, American employers plan 2008 average pay raises of 3.8% for management and professional staff, 3.7% for office and technical employees, and 3.6% for production, trade, and service workers.  The very top “star” performers could see raises of as much as 5.7%, with average employees finding 3.5% more in their paychecks, and lower performers 1.7%.  The trend toward providing more compensation through incentive pay also continues.

 

According to an annual Census Bureau survey,  2006 median earnings for the U.S. civilian, full time population over 16 was $30,613.  That’s up from $30,289 in 2005.  Professional, scientific, and technical jobs had the highest annual median, $60,327 with company managers at $57,039.  The lowest earners worked in food services and hotels, $22,159.   Men earned a median of $36,129 while women earned $25,081.  Another survey tidbit… the average commute time has remained around 25 minutes.  Survey information can be found at http://factfinder.census.gov .

Discrimination lawsuits are expensive.  Class action suits, in which a small group of plaintiffs represents a large class of employees regarding discrimination issues and conduct applicable to the group, are outrageously expensive. We’ve seen an explosion of wage and hour (e.g., overtime) class actions over the last decade.  Recently one of the largest ever ($200 million) gender discrimination cases has been filed.  In the case, female sales reps at Novartis Pharmaceuticals contend that they have systematically been discriminated against through compensation, performance appraisal, and promotion practices. They also allege widespread pregnancy discrimination Plaintiffs point to both statistical evidence, that shows lower appraisal scores and pay given to females, and also to anecdotal evidence of discriminatory practices.  This case serves as a reminder for all employers to periodically examine their key HR practices to ensure that there are no widespread, systemic patterns of discrimination, either intended or unintended.  Additionally, pregnancy discrimination cases are on the rise.  Do your managers understand employees’ rights in this area?

It has been a tough couple of weeks, at least regarding employment law, for New York celebrities.  A federal jury has ordered the owners of the New York Knicks professional basketball team to pay $11.6 million to a former team marketing executive who alleges she was sexually harassed by, and retaliated against for complaining about, Knicks president/coach and former Detroit Pistons NBA star Isiah Thomas.  The jury agreed with the plaintiff’s allegations that Thomas called the woman degrading and insulting names but later proposed a romantic liaison to her.  Part of the evidence used against the Knicks was the fact of a player’s affair with a team intern, used to show that the team had a “frat house” mentality rather than that of a professional work environment.  In other New York news, other women in New York have sued the company owned by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, alleging he “fostered, condoned and perpetuated” discrimination against female employees.  The plaintiffs allege that females, notably pregnant women, were denied employment opportunities at the Mayor’s company.  Bloomberg also was sued for pregnancy bias and sexual harassment in 1997, a case that was later settled.

I am in the process of hiring a new staff member. Nothing new, I have hired many people over the course of my career. What is unique about this hire is that the position being filled did not fit the criteria of any previous position and existing job description at HRN. This circumstance required me to define this position by writing a new job description. This is something I have only had to do once before at another employer and it was a tedious and time consuming process. At HRN, and I hope in your organization, each job title has a detailed job description that is provided to the employee and kept on file to ensure that each staff member is aware of their responsibilities and understands their job function.