Fifty years after The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) opened in response to Lyndon B. Johnson’s Civil Rights Act of 1964, they are adding initiatives to align with modern societal demands. Keeping your staffing firm current on these initiatives will assure your compliance and help to reduce Staffing Employment Practices Liability claims against your business.
The original act, Title VII, prohibits employment discrimination on the basis on race, color, religion, national origin, or sex, while also prohibiting retaliation against individuals who seek relief under the law, as defined by Lexology. Since its start, the EEOC has also added and enforced the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, and Genetic Nondiscrimination Act, among others. In light of the recent awareness of transgender individuals and other societal discriminations, the EEOC seeks to add five more stipulations.
Religious Discriminations and Accommodation- Under this law, an employer cannot refuse to hire an applicant based on religious affiliations. If any of the company’s policies conflict with the individual’s religious customs, the employer must accommodate them accordingly.
Transgender Protections- The scope of “sex discrimination” listed in the original Title VII Act is emphasized with this new policy. This also provides protection for those who fail to conform to traditional gender stereotypes to protect against discrimination. For example, the EEOC recently argued two lawsuits resulting from workplace discrimination. The first incident was a construction manager who was harassed by his superiors for not being “a manly man.” Next, a woman who was not “feminine” enough for her role and was advised to take etiquette courses to not be so “aggressive and macho.” As the LGBT population gains more legal traction, the EEOC knows that is crucial to provide fair and equal protections.
Systemic Investigations- The EEOC defines this as involving “a pattern or practice, policy, or class case where the alleged discrimination has a broad impact on an industry, profession, company or geographic area.” This procedure is used to discover any potential discriminatory actions in a case and used primarily for enforcement.
Narrowing “Gender Pay Gap”- The EEOC has pledged to focus on enforcing federal equal pay laws. The EPA is helping to enforce this issue as it requires both men and women to be paid equally for identical work. Plaintiffs must prove men and women were paid unevenly for equal jobs and employers must justify the wage gap with seniority, quality of work, or merit in order to resolve the issue.
Background Checks- This statute is aiming to eliminate hiring exclusions as a sole result of criminal history.
Maintaining compliance with the EEOC can ensure the success of your staffing agency. At World Wide Specialty Programs, we offer customized solutions at competitive rates to fully protect your staffing business. For more information, contact us today at (877) 256-0468.