Racial Harassment Claims Hit Record High
The Civil Rights Act has been in place for more than forty years. The EEOC has been enforcing the law and educating employers on the evils of discrimination for decades. Nearly all U.S. employers have had strict anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies for years. Millions of U.S. employees go through mandatory diversity training every year.
So, is it working?
Not so much, according to the EEOC. Racial harassment cases filed with the agency have more than doubled since the early 1990s and hit a record high of nearly 6,977 in 2007.
Recent high-profile cases back up the statistics. As we reported here, earlier this month the EEOC set another record when Lockheed Martin agreed to pay $2.5 million — the largest individual race discrimination settlement ever — to a black employee who alleged that he was subjected to the “N-word” and death threats and then and laid off in retaliation for complaining.
Last year, the EEOC settled a suit against AK Steel, in which employees alleged multiple acts of harassment, including nooses, graffiti death messages, KKK videos and swastikas in the workplace. The case ultimately settled for $600,000.
In another case, Home Depot paid $125,000 to settle a suit featuring allegations that a supervisors called an employee “black boy” and “black dog” and said that “the Supreme Court had found black people to be inferior.”
So what should employers do?
Promote Diversity. As we discussed in one of our Questions of the Week, diversity training alone does virtually nothing to improve workforce diversity. Experts recommend a variety of mechanisms to supplement diversity training, including: (1) accountability at the top; (2) mentorships; (3) creating a diversity point person or task force; and (4) recruiting from a wide variety of sources (e.g., minority colleges). Diversity is far more than a feel-good program. It’s an absolute business necessity. Companies that start taking steps to build a diverse workforce will be ahead of the pack as the war for talent continues to intensify.
Enforce EEO Policies and Investigate Claims. As the cases above graphically illustrate, failing to adhere to anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies can have drastic consequences. Investigate all claims of discrimination fairly and thoroughly and take appropriate disciplinary action promptly and consistently.
