Original date: January 21, 2019

Many of our organizations will be conducting sexual harassment trainings with our workforce and board of directors.  As we all know, this training is mandatory in New York State and other states throughout the country.  The EEOC released some statistics towards the end of 2018, which we as leaders should be aware of.

Below are highlights of the 2018 EEOC workplace discrimination and settlement numbers:

  1. “The increased demand is reflected in over 554,000 calls and emails to the EEOC and more than 200,000 inquiries concerning potential discrimination claims. The launch of a nationwide online inquiry and appointment system as part of the EEOC’s Public Portal resulted in a 30 percent increase in inquiries and over 40,000 intake interviews.”[i]
  2. “Over 67,860 individuals benefitted from the EEOC’s resolutions of charges, cases, and federal employees’ complaints and appeals in Fiscal Year 2018.
  3. The EEOC secured $505 million for victims of discrimination in private, state and local government, and federal workplaces, including:
    1. $354 million through mediation, conciliation, and settlements;
    2. $53.5 million through litigation; and
    3. $98.6 million for federal employees and applicants in hearings and appeals.
  4. The EEOC reached more than 398,650 individuals nationwide in 3,926 outreach events with information about employment discrimination and their rights and responsibilities in the workplace.
  5. The EEOC resolved 141 lawsuits and filed 199 lawsuits on behalf of individuals alleging discrimination and filed 29 amicus curiae briefs in significant employment discrimination cases across the country.
  6. The EEOC tackled many operational challenges head on this past year, including the pending inventory of private sector charges, which has been a longstanding issue for the EEOC and the public it serves. The EEOC made progress in reducing the following backlogs:
    1. Resolved 90,558 private and public sector charges, reducing its backlog by 19.5 percent to 49,607 charges — the lowest inventory in more than ten years.
    2. Increased resolutions of federal sector hearing requests by 30.4 percent, totaling 8,662 resolutions, reducing the backlog by 8.5 percent, and secured $85 million for federal employees.
    3. Reduced the federal sector appellate inventory by 19.4 percent to 2,942 at the end of 2018. The EEOC resolved 4,320 appeals of agency decisions, including 85 percent of appeals that were more than 500 days old, and secured $13.6 million in remedies.”[ii]
  1. “EEOC wins jury verdict against Favorite Farms for sexual harassment and retaliation. Farmworker sexually assaulted by supervisor, then retaliated against by company, EEOC charged in a lawsuit. Federal jury awards $850k in compensatory and punitive damages.”[iii]
  2. “Draper Development to pay $80k to settle EEOC sexual harassment suit. Former general manager at Subway franchise owned and operated by Draper sent text messages to 17-year-old female applicants offering jobs in exchange for sex.”[iv]
  3. “The Cato Corp. to pay $3.5M to resolve an EEOC nationwide systemic investigation. The retailer of women’s fashions and accessories denied reasonable accommodations to certain pregnant and disabled employees.”[v]
  4. “Family Healthcare Network to pay $1.75M to settle EEOC suit. The California-based company, operator of more than 20 health care sites, is accused of using rigid leave policies to deny reasonable accommodations to pregnant and/or disabled employees.”[vi]

What You Should Know: EEOC Leads the Way in Preventing Workplace Harassment

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Yes, the EEOC numbers are on social media as well.  The EEOC Twitter account also communicate ways in which to file a claim, directly with the social media world.  Remember, these numbers are federal numbers only, they do not include state or local lawsuits/settlements.  As we are training our managers, supervisors and boards of directors, we should be communicating these numbers to ensure they know the impact an EEOC claim can and will have on an organization.  I have trained hundreds of managers, supervisors and employees on sexual harassment, harassment, retaliation, bullying, hostile work environment, etc.  The more transparent and direct we are in our approach with the training the more evolved our culture becomes and organizations will be.  Communicate expectations and hold everyone accountable.  If you are unclear on where to begin, seek guidance on setting up a thorough and effective training solution for your organization.  Reference back to my article on January 14, 2019.

– Matthew Burr, HR Consultant

[i] https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/11-9-18.cfm

[ii] https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/wysk/2018_highlights.cfm

[iii] EEOC Tweet, December 21, 2018

[iv] EEOC Tweet, December 11, 2018

[v] EEOC Tweet, December 11, 2018

[vi] EEOC Tweet, December 11, 2018

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Published by Mathew W. Burr, MJ-LEL, MBA, MHRIR, GPHR, SHRM-SCP, SPHR, CPHR-INT, Chartered CIPD

Mathew W. Burr, MJ-LEL, MBA, MHRIR, GPHR, SHRM-SCP, SPHR, CPHR-INT, Chartered MCIPD Lean Six Sigma Black Belt ABOUT: Matthew Burr has over 18-years of experience working in the human resources field, starting his career as an Industrial Relations Intern at Kennedy Valve Manufacturing to most recently founding and managing a human resource consulting company; Burr Consulting, LLC, Talentscape, LLC and Co-Owner of Labor Love, a Labor, and Employment Law poster printing company. Prior to founding the consulting firm, the majority of his career was heavy industry manufacturing and healthcare. He specializes in compliance auditing, training labor and employment law, conflict resolution, performance management, labor, and employment relations. Matthew has a generalist background in HR and operations, while providing strategic HR and operational solutions to his clients, focusing on small and medium sized organizations. He works as an Adjunct at Alfred State University, Tompkins Cortland Community College, and Montgomery Community College. He successfully designed an HR Concentration in the business management major that aligned with both SHRM and HRCI certifications, providing opportunities for students to sit for both the SHRM-CP and aPHR certifications upon completion of the degree, concentration, and internship hours as an Assistant Professor of Management at Elmira College (Retired January 2022). Matthew is also the SHRM Certification Exam Instructor, with a current pass rate of 92% on the SHRM-SCP and 83% pass rate on the SHRM-CP and a combined 88% on both exams over a 7-year period of instructing the course (Elmira College, Collin College & The College of St. Rose). Matthew works as a trainer at Tompkins Cortland Community College, Corning Community College, Broome Community College, and HR Instructor for Certification Preparation for the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI). He also acts as an On-Call Mediator and Factfinder through the Public Employment Relations Board in New York State, working with public sector employers and labor unions. PUBLICATIONS: Matthew has over 70+ publications including, American Bar Association (ABA) Experience Magazine, Cornell HR Review, Business Insider, New York State Bar Association (NYSBA), PayScale, Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), and Expert 360 (in Australia). In early 2017, he published his first book, “$74,000 in 24 Months: How I killed my student loans (and you can too!),” proceeded by his second book, which was published in January 2021, “Slay the Student Loan Dragon: Tips and Tricks on How to Conquer the Student Loan Game” and his most recent book, “Unbox Your HR Career” in July 2023. VOLUNTEER WORK: Matthew is currently the New York State Society of Human Resource Management (NYSSHRM) District-Director. EDUCATION & TRAINING: Additional Training & Development:  SHRM Workplace Coaching and Mentoring Recertification Program, 2020  SHRM Foundation Employing Abilities @Work Certificate, 2020  SHRM Foundation Veterans at Work Certificate Program, 2018  Delta County Chamber of Commerce: Delta Force Leadership Program, 2013 FEATURED IN & ON: Matthew was featured on CNN Money, Fast Company, Fits Small Business, Fox News, Magnify Money, Monster.com, My Twin Tiers, Namely, Student Loan Hero, Smart Sheet and CEO Blog Nation, Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI), Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM). Burr Consulting, LLC Capabilities Statement General Information: Burr Consulting, LLC Owner: Matthew W. Burr Mission Statement: “Strategically Aligning HR as a Partner for the Success of Your Business” Contact Information: Burr Consulting, LLC What's New in HR Blog Talentscape, LLC Labor Love, LLC (Labor Posters) The HR Support Center The Upstate HR Podcast (607)227-4386 Matthew@Burrconsultingllc.com Facebook: Burr Consulting, LLC LinkedIn: Burr Consulting, LLC Twitter: @Burrconsulting Online Certification Verification: Credibly Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) Number: 080776443 NAICS Codes: 541612, 923130, 54161, 541611, 541613, 611430, 541618, 561312, 561311 SIC: 8742, 8748, 9441, 8748001, 8748026 Our Services HR MANAGEMENT New Hire Orientation; Temporary HR Support; Recruiting and Application Tracking; HR Compliance (ADA, FMLA); Employee Handbook; Policy and Procedure; HRIS; HR Audits; Job Profile Design and Revision; HR Key Performance Indicators; EEO Reporting and Classification; State Unemployment Insurance Services TRAINING & TRAINING DEVELOPMENT Organizational Development; Employee Relations; Workplace Violence; Harassment & Sexual Harassment; Union Awareness; Managerial EMPLOYEE & LABOR RELATIONS Employee Relations Training; Conflict Resolution; Mentoring; Workplace Investigations; Labor Contract Costing; Mediation & Arbitration Prep; Fact-Finding; Workplace Investigations; Coaching & Counseling; Performance Reviews; Contingency Plan Development; Contingency Plan Training; State of New York Public Employment Relations Board (PERB)PERB Mediation and Fact-Finding Panels (Albany, NY covering the Elmira, NY Area) HIRING & RECRUITMENT Applicant Tracking Systems; Metric Development; Interview Training; Workforce Planning; Recruitment; Interviews; Job Offers; New Hire Process POLICY & COMPENSATION Group Plans – Healthcare, Dental, Vision, Group Life, Short- and Long-Term Disability; Retirement – 401(k), Profit Sharing, Roth; Workers Compensation; Total Compensation Design and Strategy; Deferred Compensation Plans; Salary Surveys; Reward Systems; Online Payroll; Customized Payroll Processing; Employee Self Service; Customized Reporting HR COMPLIANCE MATERIALS Burr Consulting, LLC is excited to announce a new partnership with Labor Love LLC, expanding our services to include HR printed materials compliant with industry standards.

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