By Eric B. Meyer
Thus far, you’ve managed to keep your equal-employment-opportunity nose clean.
Good for you. In fact, with the economy the way it is, combined with the dwindling resources available to our federal agencies — including the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission — your odds of facing a federal investigation based on a complaint of discrimination or harassment are fairly slim.
But…
On Tuesday, the EEOC announced its Strategic Enforcement Plan. And within that plan, you’ll find six areas of EEOC focus over the next four years:
My read on the plan is this: If one of your employees has a “typical” discrimination or sexual-harassment claim, the EEOC may investigate and not do much more (e.g., litigate the matter in federal court). This is true, especially if your employee has an attorney. The EEOC will view that situation as one in which your employee has access to the courts.
However, if an unrepresented employee (or better yet, employees plural) shows up at the EEOC complaining about you, the EEOC is likely to take an interest. This is especially true if the complaints involve more unique issues like:
So what are some ways in which you can remain compliant in 2013 and beyond?
This was originally published on Eric B. Meyer’s blog, The Employer Handbook.
