Contact the experienced employment law attorneys at Maya Murphy, P.C. today at (203) 221-3100 or JMaya@Mayalaw.com.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), interprets and enforces Title VII’s prohibition of sex discrimination as forbidding any employment discrimination by employers against employees based upon race, color, gender, religion, sex, age, genetic information, or national origin.
In order to avoid employee discrimination claims, the first line of defense of any employer is a thorough and outlined anti-discrimination policy. However, having a written policy is wholly inadequate if the managers and supervisors are not properly trained regarding the policy implementation, enforcement, and discrimination in general. To assist employers, the EEOC has provided best practices that an employer may incorporate in terms of training their management and supervisors.
HOW EMPLOYERS CAN TRAIN MANAGEMENT AND SUPERVISORS
Mangers should initially be informed that discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, disability, age or genetic information (including family medical history), is illegal and will not be tolerated. An employer should describe their business policies regarding discrimination, harassment and reasonable accommodations, and if the policies are written, distribute them and inform management of where copies can be found at all times.
PROVIDING AN ACCOMMODATING ENVIRONMENT
Along with such policies, the training of the management and supervisors is of the utmost importance to any employer. Each employer should ensure that management understands their responsibilities in providing a harassment and discrimination free workplace including providing training to management to ensure that they understand not only that employees and applicants should not be subjected to discriminatory conduct, but also training to ensure that management is able to recognize and respond to requests for reasonable accommodations because of an applicant’s or employee’s medical condition or religious beliefs.
AVOIDING RETALIATION
An employer should also spend significant time training its management regarding ways to avoid retaliation against employees and applicants making claims of harassment and discriminatory treatment. Managers should ensure that applicants, employees and former employees are not punished for reporting discrimination, participating in a discrimination investigation or lawsuit, or opposing discrimination (for example, threatening to file a discrimination complaint).
HANDLING COMPLAINTS APPROPRIATELY
When an applicant or an employee makes a claim for discrimination, management should be properly trained on how to handle such complaints. Training by the employer should include: identifying the individual(s) responsible for receiving, investigating and responding to discrimination questions and complaints; instructing managers to respond appropriately to discrimination or to report it to individuals who are authorized to respond; ensuring that relevant managers understand how to investigate, stop and correct discrimination; and explain the consequences of violating the business’s non-discrimination policies.
By training management and supervisors regarding the employer’s anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies, an employer can attempt to address situations that may arise before they increase in intensity to a level of a discrimination complaint against the employer.
If you are an employer and are faced with an employee claim of discrimination under Title VII, or are facing a claim under jurisdiction of the EEOC, contact the experienced employment law attorneys today at 203-221-3100, or by email at JMaya@mayalaw.com. We have the experience and knowledge you need at this critical juncture. We serve clients in both New York and Connecticut including New Canaan, Bridgeport, White Plains, and Darien.
Source: eeoc.gov
