Last week the EEOC held a public meeting on “Steps to Transform Workplace Culture to Prevent Harassment.” The consensus was that employers best accomplish this through a “holistic approach.” Those are fancy words. But what precisely can you do to address harassment?…
Sexual Discrimination
SHRM Harassment Survey: Some Improvement, But Culture Needs to Change
“Change is taking place, but organizational culture must continue to evolve.” That’s one takeaway from the study that SHRM released earlier this month as part of its “Harassment-Free Workplace Series.” “We have a long way to go.” That’s my takeaway from the study. Many…
New California Employment Laws Expand Harassment Rules, Require Women On Boards
Seyfarth Synopsis: California Legislators sent Governor Jerry Brown 1,217 bills to consider in his final bill-signing period as Governor—more than any California governor has seen since 2004. The final tally: 1016 signed, 201 vetoed. Below is our full, final roundup of new laws that…
EEOC Says Harassment Charges and Litigation Increased Dramatically In FY 2018
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)’s litigation program brought 66 lawsuits alleging workplace harassment (41 alleging sexual harassment) in fiscal year 2018 (which ended Sept. 30, 2018), a more than 50% increase over the prior year, Acting Chair Victoria A….
ACLU Charges Facebook, 10 Employers With Men Only Targeting
One of the most powerful marketing features of sites like Facebook is the ability to target messages to specific groups. If you’re selling roofing and remodeling services in Silver Spring, Maryland, it makes sense to target your ads to homeowners…
In Sexual Harassment, the ‘Trauma Lives Past the Event’
One in three workers have experienced sexual harassment; 71% of them didn’t report it. Avery Francis is not part of that 71%. As too many of these stories go, this is where we would expect to hear how HR ignored…
A Look Ahead at the Legal and Market Forces Affecting Employment
Almost two years into the new presidential administration, and with highly consequential and hotly debated mid-term elections around the corner, Littler’s Workforce Policy Institute’s Labor Day Report examines the state of the American workforce. The WPI offers this report to…
Women Are Ready to Lead, So Put Them In
For the past few decades there’s been a lot of talk about how companies need to build a strong bench of female leaders to diversify C-suites and senior management roles. It would be counter to a significant body of research…
A Look at the #MeToo Movement’s Impact In the US, Brazil and the UK
Since the #MeToo movement began in October 2017, hardly a week goes by without the hashtag making headlines. From Miss America pageants to proposed legislation, the movement has given victims of sexual violence and harassment a new voice and has…
Appeals Court Says #MeToo Shows Employee Delay In Sex Harassment May Be Reasonable
In a July 3, 2018 opinion based in part on the revelations of the #MeToo era, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that an employee’s failure to report sexual harassment over a period of several years…
Reconvening Its Task Force and Filing 7 Suits, EEOC Signals Sex Harassment Still a Top Priority.
The EEOC sent a powerful signal last week that sexual harassment was still squarely on its radar filing 7 lawsuits against employers across the nation while reconvening its Select Task Force on the Study of Harassment in the Workplace. “As…
The Effects of Gender Disparity Ripple Through An Organization
Gender inequality takes many forms, the most obvious being the difference in earnings between men and women doing the same kind of work. Even where there is pay equity, subtler forms of inequality may be present from men getting the…
Supreme Court Rules In Favor of Baker In Wedding Cake Discrimination
The US Supreme Court has ruled in favor of a Colorado baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. However, the 7-2 decision sets no precedent, instead the majority said the Colorado Civil Rights Commission showed a…
Epic Shift: Court’s Class Action Decision Could Limit #MeToo Cases
The Supreme Court’s landmark decision yesterday on arbitration agreements has widespread implications for all employers. In Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, a 5-4 opinion written by Justice Gorsuch, the Supreme Court held that arbitration agreements and class/collective action waivers are…
If You’re Sued, Your Sexual Harassment Report Could Become Public
A female employee has just complained to HR that the CEO harassed her. This complaint is the third one against the same alleged harasser. So, you hire an outside attorney to conduct a full investigation, anticipating that there might be subsequent…
‘Ground-Breaking’ Ruling Says Transgender Discrimination Is Covered by Title VII
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently ruled, in what many have described as a ground-breaking decision, that discrimination based on an employee’s transgender status is discrimination based on “sex” in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights…
Shedding Light On Workplace Abuse
For decades, an executive at a movie production studio engaged in predatory behaviors against women who worked for and with him. When allegations came to light it was revealed that dozens of women were his victims. Worse, the organization he…
Can I Immediately Fire a VP Based on Sexual Harassment Allegations?
Dear Littler: I am a senior HR manager at a mid-sized company. One of our female team members just reported her manager, a vice president, for inappropriate conduct. She claims that what started out as mild flirtation on his part has…
We Get the Sex and Lies, But Why HR?
When I first started in HR, no one knew who we were. Heck, we weren’t even HR back then. In 2005, popular business magazine Fast Company brought HR into the spotlight, in a not-so-gracious way, with a cover story stating Why…
If You Call Him ‘Mr.’ Then Call Me ‘Ms.’
In the eighties, I worked on a project that required me to travel with a team to a site where we had to sign in and wear badges. We went there about once every month for over a year. It…